Smörgåstårta, Swedish Sandwich Cake

It's a cake, but it's not a cake!! Smörgåstårta literally means sandwich cake in Swedish and that is exactly what it is. It's a cake made of what is essentially sandwiches. But of course it's made in the most beautiful Scandinavian way that you will want all your guests to see.

The smörgåstårta is a Swedish invention but it' s eaten all over the Nordics and it's a beautiful addition to a buffet or party table and not as complicated to make as you might think.

The first written recipe for smörgåstårta was in 1951 but it was a simpler affair of just one layer. Gradually over the decades it became more and more elaborate with multiple layers that make this delicacy a bit of a showstopper. In essence it's layers of sandwiches made into a cake shape and decorated in the most beautiful way with cucumber, smoked salmon, prawns, in fact whatever takes your fancy!

It's often something that you find replacing the hot dish on a buffet at parties, weddings, and gatherings. It can be any shape, but is usually round, square or rectangular. Most of us home bakers will make rectangular smörgåstårta because it's the easiest shape to work with.

Most often it's made with seafood such as prawns and smoked salmon and a meat such as ham or speck. It's this unusual combination of meat and fish together that is so typically Swedish and that we don't see very often anymore. The "icing" is cream cheese and the decorations are all the sort of delicious ingredients that go so well with seafood. If you are not a fan of fish you can swap that for ham, egg, or even some very thinly sliced roast beef. The whole point of a smörgåstårta is the shared experience for your guests of a "meal community" with everyone having a slice of the same dish and taking a beer, coffee or soft drink with it. For me, I absolutely love the sight of a smörgåstårta. I think they are stunning and something that is so unusual and such a great link to Swedish heritage. My recipe is a combination of egg filling, ham and cheese which my family love and are a little less divisive than smoked fish, prawns and caviar.

Traditionally smörgåstårta is made from a round loaf of bread, but for ease you can make it from a rectangular loaf instead. If you are keen to keep with tradition and have trouble finding a round loaf you can do what I do and make one yourself. My recipe for a classic white Norwegian loaf is perfect for this and rather than shaping it into an oblong prove it and cook it in a round springform tin.

Smörgåstårta (Swedish Sandwich Cake). Serves 12 people (at least!)

Ingredients

1 large round or rectangular white loaf, unsliced

Filling 1 - Speck & gherkin

100g speck or other ham

100g cream cheese

75g finely chopped gherkins or cornichons

Salt and black pepper

Filling 2 - Egg Mayonnaise & Dill

6 eggs, hardboiled for 9 minutes then peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Finely ground black pepper

Salt

Handful of chopped dill

Filling 3 - Sundried Tomato, Cheese & Basil

50g sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped

150g grated cheese such as cheddar or Jarlsberg

100g cream cheese

Handful of chopped basil leaves

Icing

300g cream cheese

300ml creme fraiche

Decorations (be creative!)

Hard boiled egg

Rolled slices of speck

Chives

Chive flowers or other edible flowers

Sliced cucumber

Cherry tomatoes, halved

Sprigs of dill or other herb

Method

Cut the crusts off the bread leaving it whole. Then slice the bread into 4 equal slices cutting it horizontally. Don't throw the crusts away. You can use them for croutons or breadcrumbs for another dish.

Mix together the ingredients for each of the individual filings.

Lay the bottom slice on a serving dish and spread with the first filling. Lay another slice of the loaf on top and repeat with filling number 2 and again for filling number three ending with the final slice of bread. Put the cake in the fridge whilst you prepare the icing and decorations.

Put the creme fraiche and the cream cheese in a bowl and whisk together until it is firm rather like a heavy whipped cream.

Spread the frosting on the top of the cake and on the sides smoothing it out as much as possible. You don't need to be too fussy because you are going to cover it with garnishes.

Garnish and decorate your smörgåstårta in whichever creative way takes your fancy. Most people use cucumber slices on the sides and go to town on the top with slices or quartered eggs and rolls of speck and sprigs of herbs.

Once you have decorated your smörgåstårta you can refrigerate it until you are ready to eat it. It will keep happily in the fridge until the next day (lightly cover it to keep the garnishes fresh) and will even benefit from the fillings sitting for a few hours.

Serve at a celebration buffet as an exciting showstopper, or simply for Fredagskos because you have got through the week.