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Geraardsbergse Mattentaart | Traditional Sweet Pie From Geraardsbergen, Belgium | TasteAtlas

Geraardsbergse mattentaart

(Tarte au maton)

A typical dessert of the East Flanders, mattentaart is a small puff pastry pie with a tender, almond-flavored cheese curd filling called mattenbrij. These delicious Flemish pies are traditionally made in the city of Geraardsbergen and the neighboring village of Lierde, and their production depends heavily on the Geraardsbergen area's dairy produce, since genuine mattentaarts are prepared using only fresh milk, butter, and buttermilk from the local farms.


Although the origins of mattentaart can be traced back to the Middle Ages, the oldest known recipe was found in Een Notabel Boecxken van Cokeryen, the first cookbook in Dutch, written and published in 1514 by Thomas van Der Noot. Later on, the famed mattentaarts were even depicted by the Flemish Renaissance painter and printmaker Pieter Bruegel the Elder in his 1567 painting The Peasant Wedding.


And even though mattentaart is today famous throughout Belgium and abroad, in 2006, this pie has been declared a regional product protected by the European Union which means it can only be called mattentaart if it is produced in Geraardsbergen or Lierde.