The Tiel carnival cake is only on sale in the third week of October during the Tiel autumn fair. It is a traditionally made, luxurious type of gingerbread cake with a fine herb taste. There are varieties with rock candy and ginger. The cakes are always sweetened with pure bee honey that is produced in the vicinity of Tiel. One does not buy a carnival cake for oneself, but to give it to somebody else. It is the tradition to buy the cake on the fair to show one’s love for somebody. The cake is usually eaten in company. It is to be cut in thin slices. One can put butter on them. Tiel carnival cake is baked according to an old recipe. It comprises freshly harvested rye flour, a herb mixture and honey from the Betuwe region. But the rest of the recipe is secret. The bakery works with old cake baking trays between wooden cake bars. The wooden bars give the cake the specific wood taste. The baking is done in a masonry stone oven that is slowly heated up on gas.
