Ask any Dutch person to name a typical food from the province of Limburg and they will most probably answer: "vlaai"! Vlaai is a cake made of a flat spongy base that is then topped with fruit and whipped cream. It is said that vlaai originally was a Germanic dish. Germanic tribes would bake flat breads on hot stones and top them with honey or fruit. They called this bread "vladel". In the early Middle Ages German monks baked similar cakes to offer at Easter, which they called "vlade". From there the custom spread to Belgium and the Southern Dutch province of Limburg.
