Dutch Maid Bakery’s sweet debut on the big screen

TRACY CITY, Tenn. (WDEF) – A new movie is hitting the silver screen, and this time, it has a Tennessee twist.

The Holland, an American thriller starring Nicole Kidman, is set to premiere soon—and tucked within its suspense-filled scenes is a small but flavorful cameo: a Dutch Maid Bakery pastry made right in the heart of Tracy City, Tennessee.

The film’s props department reached out to Cindy Day, the owner of Dutch Maid Bakery, asking her to recreate a traditional Dutch pastry called banketstaaf.

It’s a sweet almond-filled treat with golden, flaky layers—perfect for a dramatic bite on camera.

“When the company first called and asked me to make the pastry, I said, ‘You’ll have to text me that name because I really don’t know exactly what that is,’” Cindy explained with a laugh. “So they did, and I looked it up online. When I saw how it was made, I said, ‘Yes, I can do it.’”

But recreating the traditional pastry wasn’t as simple as following a recipe.

“It did take several tries of making different sizes,” she elaborated. “I needed to know what size the props department wanted so the actors could hold it correctly in the scene. After about four or five attempts, we got the size just right.”

The pastry, called banketstaaf, features a rich almond paste center wrapped in layers of flaky dough.

“It’s an almonded paste that goes in the middle,” Cindy described as she demonstrated. “We fold it into thirds, seal the edges, paint it with an egg wash, and sprinkle on thick crystal sugar—real heavy. Then it bakes for about 25 minutes until golden.”

She held up the finished product, gleaming with a golden crust.

“This is what the pastries look like when they’re done. They have a beautiful golden color from the sugar,” she said proudly. “Now we glaze them with an apricot glaze for that extra shine.”

Dutch Maid Bakery plans to keep their shelves stocked with this special pastry to celebrate the movie’s debut. But be warned: they recommend calling ahead or pre-ordering, because these crispy, flaky treats won’t last long.

“Well, you heard it here first,” Cindy said with a smile. “These are bonkstaff—or however you want to say it! So if you want one while you’re watching the new movie, stop by Dutch Maid Bakery and ask for me. I’ll make you one fresh out of the oven.”

But this sweet success didn’t come overnight. In fact, it comes with more than a century of history.

Click here to learn more about the Dutch Maid Bakery.

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Cindy Day Shares Dutch Maid’s History

“The Dutch Maid Bakery was founded in 1902 by Swiss-German immigrants who came here from Switzerland,” Cindy shared emotionally. “They had six boys, and all of them grew up working in the bakery. Everything was made from scratch—no shortcuts.”

She continued, “The recipes they used back then are still the same ones we use today. That tradition, that authenticity—it’s what makes this place special.”

Major changes came to the bakery during some of the most difficult periods in American history.

“During the Great Depression in 1929, a lot of local families couldn’t afford to feed their children,” she recalled. “Many homeless boys came to live in the bakery. They slept on the floors, ate scraps—but they survived. The bakery became a safe haven.”

World War II brought another transformation.

“Before the war, it was called Bagenstosh Grocery and Bakery,” Cindy explained. “But when all the men went off to serve, the women took over. They realized it wasn’t a good idea to have a German name during that time.”

She added, “Interestingly, the Grundy County Courthouse had accidentally listed the bakery’s founders as ‘Dutch’ instead of ‘Deutsch’—which means German. So the women decided to officially rename it the Dutch Maid Bakery.”

That identity stuck, and through generations, the bakery held strong.

The final chapter of family ownership came in 1992, when the youngest brother passed away.

“Herman and Robert—the older brothers—decided to sell it,” Cindy said. “They passed it on to Lynn Craig, a kind of extended family member. He ran it until he passed away in 2002. His wife held on for a short time, and then she passed as well.”

That’s when Cindy stepped in.

“I was living in Tampa, Florida,” she shared. “We had bought some properties here, and one day I saw a big ‘For Sale—Going to Auction’ sign on the bakery. I thought, ‘Shucks, how hard could it be to run a bakery?’”

With a background in the grocery store industry, she felt confident enough to give it a shot. “That was in 2005. Now it’s 2025—I can’t believe it’s been 20 years.”

Though the journey came with challenges, Cindy has grown to love the work.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I’ve learned so much. I absolutely love it,” she said. “We’ve had visitors from all over the world. Just today, a couple from the Netherlands came by because they heard about our movie pastry. They said it’s a traditional Christmas treat where they’re from. That meant the world to me.”

The bakery isn’t just a place to grab a treat—it’s a living museum, as Cindy describes it.

“Our breads are made from scratch, hand-cut, hand-rolled,” she said. “That’s rare nowadays. When you walk into the Dutch Maid Bakery, it’s like stepping back in time.”

As the sweet aroma of pastries fills the historic bakery, Cindy invites the community—and curious moviegoers—to come and experience a slice of history for themselves.