vlaaien)[1] is a pastry consisting of dough and a filling, traditionally associated with the provinces of Limburg found both in the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as parts of Germany across the border.

[3] Other variations are a crumbled butter and sugar mix ("greumellevlaai" in Limburgish, or "kruimelvlaai" in Dutch) and a cooked rice and custard porridge (rijstevlaai).

According to a mention in the chronicle of the abbey of Sint-Truiden (the extant copy dates to 1503), Duke Henry van Leuven laid siege to the city (located in modern-day Belgium in 1189.

"Honest and prudent eunuchs and burghers of the town" offered him "plăcintă" (as it was rendered in medieval Latin) that was baked following old local recipes.

It is not clear from the text alone whether the vlade recipes would have been put in a crust and one of them specifically mentions filling a bowl; vla in modern Dutch refers to flan or pudding.

However, it also lists pies (tarten) with apple or cherry filling that are specifically baked in bread (broot), which bear a stronger resemblance to modern vlaai.