All posts filed under: Food

Weekend Cake: Brunsviger from Fyn

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My husband’s absolute favorite cake is a Danish cake called “Brunsviger” originating from the small southern Danish island Fyn (Funen) where Hans Christian Andersen is from. I have no idea how to translate this name into English. It is a yeast bread with a caramelized brown sugar topping. You can find it in most Danish bakeries but there is a big difference between the Copenhagen version and the one from Fyn. Actually, it was not until my husband took me to Fyn where his family is from that I discovered how good brunsviger can be. Of course brunsviger is also delicious in Copenhagen but the version from Fyn tops everything. In Copenhagen the brown sugar topping is thick and sugary whereas on Fyn it is like a sirup-caramel topping. Apparently, it is so unique to Fyn that my husband told me to think of the rolling hills of Fyn when I shaped the cake. As you can hear he is very passionate about this cake and Fyn. This southern Danish island sure is beautiful with …

Dream Cake from Brovst

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Dream Cake from Brovst is such a classic from my childhood in Denmark. Originally invented by the Danish woman, Jytte Andersen, who took part in a baking competition in 1960 in the Danish town Brovst, Jutland (See Droemmekage on Wikipedia). This woman would be a millionaire if she had got the copyrights for the recipe because it is a favorite everywhere in Denmark. So much so that it was voted the fourth most popular cake in Denmark in a cake research/questionnaire conducted by the newspaper Metroexpress. I have already received feedback from enough Americas to know that this cake will become a classic over here as well. It is similar to a pound cake – heavy and moist with lots of eggs and butter. But it is the topping with coconut and brown sugar that makes it. It is pretty simple to make and will be a hit at any social get-together.   Droemmekage fra Brovst / Dream Cake from Brovst Recipe Ingredients: 250 gram / 9 ounces all-purpose flour 3 tsp baking powder 50 gram …

Hindbaersnitter / Raspberry Slices of Happiness

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Summer and heat is here and hygge has moved outside. Outdoor summer hygge makes me crave the Danish pastry called “Hindbærsnitter” or “Raspberry Slices”. In fact, I cannot think of a happier cake than a Hindbærsnitte (except for maybe a cupcake or birthday cake). Just take a look at it! A real slice of happiness… Raspberries on a flaky crust glazed with sugar to give you that happy kick. And kids seem to go crazy for them – just cut the slices into halves for small children so the sugar doesn’t make them go truly crazy! Hindbærsnitter have a lot in common with Pop Tarts but are not quite the same. You can find Hindbærsnitter in every Danish bakery. It is a true Danish classic. Good news is that you do not have to travel all the way to Denmark to bring them to your coffee table – they are actually pretty easy to make! So here you go – a recipe on how to make your own slices of happiness:-) Hindbærsnitter / Raspberry Slices Recipe Ingredients: …

Friday Cake: Coconut Lime Macaroons

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This week’s Friday Cake is ideal for Spring or Summer hygge outside on the porch or in your backyard. It is a fresh take on the classic Danish “Coconut Tops”/”Kokostoppe” with lime added to them. I used an adapted version of Mette Blomsterberg’s recipe (see link here: Kokostoppe med lime og marcipan) and a recipe on Soendag.dk (see recipe here: Kokostoppe klassisk opskrift). You can see my English version below. Lime and coconut really works well together but more importantly, these Coconut Lime Tops are ridiculously easy to make. Mix five ingredients together, form as tops, bake and dip in chocolate. That’s it. I think this will work quite well for me on those hot and humid Maryland Summer days that are here before we know it. Once again, my Friday Cake did not come out as perfect as I had seen on pictures but as my husband said: “Brown is where the flavour is”. And he was right – the flat ring of melted, caramelized sugar and coconut that formed around the tops was the tastiest …

Friday Cake: Marble Cake

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This week’s Friday cake is a classic from my childhood that my grandmother used to make. It is a chocolate/vanilla Marble Cake or as it is called in Danish “Marmorkage” because of the marbled pattern inside. Even though it is not an Easter cake it somehow reminds me of Easter. Maybe because it has a nice golden glow – or rather, it was supposed to be golden but as you can see on the photo my cake did not turn out so perfectly and got a little burnt. Browse the internet and you will see some nice Marble Cake pictures for sure! Burnt or not, it tastes delicious. Especially because this version has chopped dark chocolate in it. Taste it warm out of the oven and you will love it too! It is an adapted version of a recipe in the Danish magazine Hendes Verden. See “Hendes Verden” Marmorkage Recipe which is a version with orange added to it and I have seen another version with coffee mixed in with the chocolate. So this is only the beginning …

Friday Cake: Chocolate Biscuit Cake

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Finally Friday and time for some hygge, coffee and cake 🙂 Today’s cake is my first time making a delicious Danish cake called “kiksekage” or chocolate biscuit cake and I am excited it turned out well! It might also be a little hard to mess this one up since it is as simple as can be. I am almost certain this one is going to achieve international success one day, haha! Biscuits layered with a thick and rich chocolate cream – what’s not to like…? The recipe is an adapted version from the Danish interior design magazine Boligliv and you can find the original version on this link. Kiksekage Recipe Link Their website is worth a browse just for the sake of the beautiful photos from inspiring Danish homes. It is my favorite Danish interior design magazine.   Ingredients 300 gram (11 oz) dark chocolate (60-70 %), coarsely chopped 1 can sweetened condensed milk (400 gram or 14 oz) 35 gram (1.2 oz) butter 1 vanilla stick (or maybe you could try a little vanilla …

Friday Cake: Lemon Cake

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Friday is back and it is time to get in the mood for the weekend and hopefully lots of hygge! These last couple of days the bright Spring sun has been hiding behind grey clouds. So my daughter and I have decided to make a little piece of sunshine in a cake. Here is our lemon cake as yellow as the sun and the daffodils. Its tartness will energize you and bring that Spring vitality back! I love cakes that you have to cut. They just seem more hyggelige because they are ideal for sharing and togetherness – unless you plan on eating the whole thing by yourself of course… My mother-in-law remembers how lemon cake was one of the cakes they had at the coffee table on the farm on Funen in Denmark. The recipe is based on one of those old family recipes and I have just made a few adjustments to it. Originally the cake is baked in a bread form but I think a round cake will give more of that sunny feeling …

Friday Cake: Dream Cake

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It is almost the weekend and therefore a great excuse to bake a good old Danish hygge cake. Danes often share Friday cake at their workplace or bake for family hygge on the weekends so I am going to bring this tradition to my blog by introducing a Friday Cake series. For the next several weeks every Friday you will get a recipe for one of those delicious Danish cakes that are perfect for enjoying some hygge with family, friends or co-workers. This week’s Friday Cake is Dream Cake (Drømmekage). I have been craving this cake since my post about hygge, coffee and cake and I honestly do not think I have had Dream Cake since I was about 12 years old. Class mates would regularly bring in Dream Cake for the “the class’ hour” (klassens time), a time once a week where we had cake and story time together in class. As you can see in the photos, I have already had a nice piece (or two) of Friday hygge and I was not disappointed with my reunion with Dream Cake! It …

Nordic Food Hall in Grand Central

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  I am loving the new Northern Food Hall by Danish top chef, Claus Meyer! I have been wanting to go there ever since they started planning it about two years ago and now this Christmas I was finally able to go and was not disappointed at all. First of all, the design and Christmas decorations are beautiful and typically Nordic – and combined with the elegance of Grand Central Station it gets even better. Second of all,  it is not just a cafe/bakery, it is a little shopping hall consisting of many pavilions or bars. There is the bakery with delicious rye bread, baguettes and real Danish pastries which are so hard to find in the U.S. And there is a sandwich pavilion with the classic Danish “smoerrebrod” (open-faced sandwiches beautifully arranged on healthy and delicious rye bread). Then there is a hotdog pavilion, a cake and coffee bar, a cocktail bar and even a grain bar. And as an extra surprise they also have a gift store with everything from the latest new …

Nougat Marzipan Easter Eggs

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  These Easter eggs are a Danish classic. You can buy them everywhere in Denmark at Easter time and I whenever Easter comes I start craving them. So fortunately I just discovered that they are super easy to make! You need a roll of marzipan and half a roll of soft nougat – preferably from Denmark but maybe it can be found online… Then you cut both nougat and marzipan each into twelve pieces, put a ball shaped nougat piece into each slice of marzipan and roll it into a ball and then make it egg shaped. Dip them in melted dark chocolate. I decorated with licorice powder and dried raspberry powder but you don’t have to use this. Try to find pure marzipan without too much added sugar. Let it cool and enjoy!