If you’re looking for a local bakery in the Netherlands that feels more like an actual café experience instead of a quick pastry counter, Wim Koelman Bakery Heemskerk ended up being one of my favorite casual stops in Heemskerk. We originally came here because I wanted to try their famous Heemskerk Donkey Ear dessert, but the menu ended up being way bigger than I expected.
If you’re planning a spring trip through the Netherlands, this bakery works especially well as a stop while exploring North Holland outside Amsterdam. We visited while staying nearby, and it paired really well with our slower tulip season itinerary days outside the bigger cities.
If you’re planning a similar route, my Where to Stay in the Netherlands (Best Areas to Do in One Trip) and Best Day Trips from Amsterdam blogs may help you map things out.
Wim Koelman Bakery Heemskerk has been around since 1983 and is still family-owned. It was originally started by Wim Koelman and his wife Mary before eventually being passed down to their son and daughter-in-law.
The bakery became especially known for creating the “Heemskerk Ezelsoor,” also called the Heemskerk Donkey Ear pastry, back in 2009. And yes, I immediately needed to know why a bakery dessert was named after a donkey ear.
The story actually ties into local Heemskerk history. Strawberries have historically been a major regional product here, and farmers used to transport them by donkey to nearby auctions in Beverwijk. Because of that, people from Heemskerk were nicknamed “donkeys” for years. The bakery combined both parts of that history into a signature dessert shaped like a donkey’s ear.
Honestly, this may be one of the more unexpectedly specific pastry backstories I’ve ever encountered.
The dessert itself is made with soft sponge cake filled with fresh strawberry bavarois, covered in almond marzipan, and finished with chocolate decorations. It became popular enough that they eventually expanded it into mini versions, XXL versions, and seasonal variations.
After a major renovation in 2014, the bakery updated the entire shop and branding, but it still feels very rooted in traditional Dutch bakery culture.
Inside, it feels like a mix between a pastry shop, coffee café, and neighborhood bakery. The display cases were packed with pastries, fruit tarts, chocolates, cream-filled desserts, waffles, cakes, and rows of fresh bread. Meanwhile the café menu itself was much larger than I expected for a local bakery.
You can come here for a quick pastry and coffee, but you could also easily stop for breakfast or lunch.
If you’re spending time in this area, my Best Things to Do in Heemskerk Netherlands guide includes a few more places nearby that worked well during our trip.
The drink menu honestly surprised me a little because it was more extensive than a lot of smaller cafés we visited throughout the Netherlands.
They had:
The smoothie menu especially stood out because there were a lot of tropical fruit combinations instead of just the standard strawberry banana situation.
We ended up ordering hot chocolate and fresh orange juice.
The hot chocolate was the only thing I felt didn't completely shine. It felt less sugary and more chocolate-forward, which I appreciated but overall wasn't that flavorful. The fresh orange juice tasted super fresh and paired really well with all the pastries.
We ordered:
And it turned into more of a full breakfast/lunch stop than a casual bakery visit.
The ham and cheese croissant was simple, buttery, flaky, and exactly what I wanted after walking around the Netherlands eating approximately 47 desserts. Sometimes you just need something savory to balance out your life choices.
The quiche made the meal feel more substantial and café-like instead of just pastries and coffee. If you’re stopping here for an actual breakfast or lunch instead of dessert, I think adding one of the savory items makes a big difference.
The cream-filled croissant tasted very fresh without being overwhelmingly sweet. A lot of pastries in the Netherlands felt a little less sugary than American desserts overall, which I actually ended up liking quite a bit during the trip.
You could still tell it was dessert. It just didn’t immediately annihilate your sugar tolerance for the next six business days.
The strawberry tart was probably my favorite thing we ordered because it tied directly back into Heemskerk’s strawberry history and the bakery’s signature desserts.
The strawberries tasted fresh, the pastry itself stayed light, and it felt very connected to the bakery’s identity instead of just being another generic fruit tart sitting in a display case.
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Even if you order other pastries, I still think trying the Heemskerk Donkey Ear dessert is part of the experience here simply because it’s so tied to the town itself.
A lot of bakeries have “signature desserts,” but this one actually has a very specific local story behind it, which made it feel more memorable than I expected.
Also, if someone casually asks whether you tried donkey ear dessert in the Netherlands someday, you’ll have a confident answer ready to go.
Wim Koelman Bakery Heemskerk ended up feeling like much more than a quick bakery stop. Between the café menu, the fresh pastries, the local strawberry connection, and the famous Donkey Ear dessert, it felt very tied into the town itself instead of feeling overly tourist-focused.
I’d especially recommend Wim Koelman Bakery Heemskerk if you enjoy local bakeries, Dutch pastries, slower breakfast stops, coffee and dessert cafés, and trying regional specialties while traveling.
And if you go, go hungry, excellent decision honestly. The pastry cases make self-control significantly harder than anticipated.
Here are a few other resources that may help while planning your Netherlands trip:
If you’re driving around the Netherlands like we did, this is also the kind of stop that fits really well into a slower road trip day between tulip fields, smaller towns, and bakery breaks.
You can also compare rental car prices for the Netherlands here, and I usually check flights into Amsterdam using Skyscanner before booking trips.
A portable charger like my favorite power bank is also worth having if you’re out exploring all day taking photos, using maps, and aggressively tracking down pastries across the Netherlands.
I walked through the gates and immediately understood why people fly back to Curaçao just for this place. 🌴
23 rooms. Private beach. A Balinese-inspired resort built stone by stone by the owners themselves. Buddha statues next to conch shells. Candles lit everywhere at night. Beachfront dining that eats like fine dining but feels like you’re just having dinner on the sand.
It’s currently the #1 resort in the Caribbean and after spending time there, I get it completely.
Full review linked in bio
#travelling #curaçao #visitcuraçao #luxuryresort #travelvlog
I walked down to the beach and immediately noticed how calm the water was. 🐚
It sits in a small cove, so there’s really no waves pushing in. You just walk right in without thinking about it. I grabbed my snorkel (they actually rent them for free at the resort, which I didn’t expect) and went out near the pier and stayed way longer than I planned, because the water was that clear.
Honest caveat: if you need a lot of energy and activity at a beach, this probably isn’t it. It’s quiet, it’s calm, and you’re mostly just... sitting there. Which for me was exactly the point.☀️
Full Baoase review linked in bio. 🔗
#curaçao #travel #luxuryresort #privatebeach #visitcuraçao
Dinner at Baoase in Curaçao isn’t just a restaurant, you’re walking into a full resort setting where everything feels intentional. The table is right by the water, the food is French-inspired with tropical and Asian flavors woven in, and the whole thing moves slowly in the best way. We sat there for hours and didn’t want it to end.
✨ Culinary Beach Restaurant, oceanside tables, candlelit ambiance
✨ French-inspired menu with tropical and Asian influences
✨ Service that’s attentive without being over the top
✨ The kind of dinner you’re still thinking about days later
Fair warning: this isn’t a casual grab-a-table kind of spot. You’re making a reservation, thinking through your outfit, and blocking off the whole evening and it’s worth every bit of that.
If you’re celebrating something or just want one dinner that feels a little extra, this is where to do it. Full Baoase resort review linked in bio. 🔗
Curaçao has the beaches everyone talks about, and then it has these. The spots that made this trip actually feel like mine weren’t on any resort map. I found them by renting a car, asking locals, and just following what looked good.
✨ Playa Lagun: a calm little cove where the water does all the work
✨ Playa Kalki: rocky entry, but the snorkeling right off shore is worth it
✨ Playa Jeremi: no rentals, no crowds, no setup. Just the beach
✨ Fort Nassau: watched the sun go down over Willemstad and stayed for dinner
✨ Hofi Cas Cora: breakfast on an actual farm and the freshest food of the whole trip
✨ Willemstad Street Party: I had no idea Thursday nights turned into that. Just followed the music.
✨ Playa Forti: cliff jumping and amazing food, talk about dinner and a show!
Honest caveat: if you need everything planned and structured, a few of these will feel a little too unpolished. But if you like the kind of trip where the best parts are the ones you stumble into, this is exactly that.
All 7 spots with full details are linked in bio. ☀️
#curaçao #hiddengems #travel #travelguide #whattodoincuracao
Here’s the thing about Curaçao that nobody talks about enough there’s really no bad time to go. 🌤️ Outside the hurricane belt. Mid-80s nearly every day of the year. Colorful buildings no matter what month it is.
But there IS a difference between going in peak season vs. shoulder season, and it shows up in your wallet, your beach chair availability, and how long you’re waiting for a table at dinner.
Full breakdown of every season, what to expect, and when I’d personally go linked in bio.
Follow @travelwithwendyplummer for Beautiful Beach Destinations, City Guides, Foodie Spots, and Luxury Hotel Recommendations.
