What is christmas spice mix?
Christmas spice mix is a ground blend of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger and cardamom used across northern Europe in almost all December baking. Every country calls it something else — speculaaskruiden in the Netherlands, Lebkuchengewürz in Germany — and the proportions vary, but the core is always the same: cinnamon leads, and clove is the one you have to measure carefully.
What goes in, and in what proportion
A ratio that works for almost everything: 8 parts cinnamon, 2 parts ground clove, 2 nutmeg, 2 ground ginger and 1 cardamom. Some versions add anise, allspice or a pinch of white pepper — that last one is what gives pepernoten their surprising warm bite.
Cinnamon is the volume and everything else is an accent. The commonest mistake is splitting it evenly: with clove at cinnamon level, the blend turns medicinal.
Why grinding it fresh matters
The essential oils that carry the aroma evaporate once the spice is ground. A blend bought a year ago smells of very little, so you use twice as much — and that is exactly when the bitterness shows up.
Grinding the whole spices yourself — clove, cardamom and nutmeg above all — is noticeable immediately. Cinnamon sticks are the hardest to grind at home and lose the least, so buying that one ready-ground is reasonable.
It is not the same as pumpkin spice
They look alike and they are not interchangeable. The American pumpkin blend has cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove but no cardamom, and it is built for something sweet and creamy.
Cardamom is precisely what makes this blend Nordic: it is why a Swedish bun smells of Scandinavia rather than of autumn pie.
Where to find it
Ready-made blends are sold as mixed spice or pumpkin spice, but neither is quite this: mixed spice usually skips the cardamom too. Building your own is worth it.
Buy the whole spices from a spice merchant or a South Asian or Middle Eastern grocer, where cardamom is usually far cheaper. One jar a season is plenty: ground, it fades within months.
The recipes
Frequently asked questions
- Can I just use cinnamon?
You can, but it becomes something else. Cinnamon alone gives aromatic sweetness; what makes the Christmas blend recognisable is the contrast of the clove and the warmth of the ginger behind it.
- How much blend does a recipe take?
One to two teaspoons per 250 g of flour. More than that turns bitter, especially if the clove is well represented.
- Is Lebkuchengewürz the same as speculaaskruiden?
At the core, yes. The Dutch blend tends to be peppery and the German one more cinnamon-forward, but the ingredients are the same.
Updated on 2026-08-29T19:00:00.000Z