What is Couque de Dinant?
[[File:Couques de Dinant display.JPG|thumb|''Couques de Dinant'' at a Dinant bakery]] The '''''Couque de Dinant''''' ({{lang-en|Cake of Dinant}}) is an extremely hard and sweet [[biscuit]]. It is a traditional biscuit of the southern [[Belgium|Belgian]] city of [[Dinant]] in [[Wallonia]]. ==Preparation== ''Couques'' are made with three ingredients: [[wheat]], [[flour]] and [[honey]]. Preparation is fairly easy: The same amount of each ingredient is added, and nothing else. For example, neither water nor [[yeast]] are added. The [[dough]] is put in a wooden [[Mold (cooking implement)|mould]]. The wood is obtained from [[pear]] tree, [[Juglans|walnut tree]] or [[Fagus sylvatica|beech tree]]. The moulds have many different shapes. These includes animals, floral patterns, people or landscapes. The biscuit is cooked in an oven preheated to around {{convert|300|C|round=25}} for 15 minutes. This allows the honey to [[caramel]]ize. On cooling, the biscuit becomes very hard. It can be preserved indefinitely. ''Couques'' can be displayed as decoration as they will not rot. They are used as [[Christmas tree]] ornaments, or used to commemorate special occasions.<ref name=Dinant/><ref>{{cite web|title=Belgium: Couques de Dinant (the Dinant Cookie or Dinant Cake)|url=http://www.europeancuisines.com/Belgium-Belgian-Couques-de-Dinant-Molded-Cookie-of-Dinant-Dinant-Honey-Cake|publisher=European Cuisines|access-date=5 October 2014}}</ref> A different type, the '''''couque de Rins''''' also adds sugar to the dough.<ref name=Dinant>{{cite web|title=La couque de Dinant et de Rins|url=http://www.dinant.be/patrimoine/specialites/la-couque-de-dinant|publisher=City of [[Dinant]]|access-date=5 October 2014|archive-date=27 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227132245/http://www.dinant.be/patrimoine/specialites/la-couque-de-dinant|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is sweeter and softer as a result. ==Consumption== [[File:Couque de Dinant with scale.png|thumb|''Couques de Dinant'' are fairly large. Here a smallish one