Smorgastarta (also known as Smörgåstårta) is a traditional Swedish Sandwich Cake enjoyed year round, especially during special celebrations like Midsommar, birthday parties and weddings.
Our quick & easy homemade Sandwich Cake recipe features a savoury icing made up of whipped cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream and fresh dill.
The interior is layered with bread slices, egg salad and German ham & pickle salad. The cake is then topped with sliced vegetables, fresh herbs and lemon slices, which makes the dish a real show stopper as it has great eye appeal!
Authentic Smörgåstårta is a beauty to behold, sure to impress your guests at your next luncheon. After slicing into the sandwich cake your guests will be dazzled by the impressive layers of bread and colourful fresh cold salads that make up the tasty interior.
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What Is Smorgastarta?
Ever wished upon a star hoping you could eat a slice of cake for dinner? With Sweden’s Smorgastarta, you can!
Smörgåstårta literally translates to “sandwich cake,” but rather than being constructed of sweet sponge cake and buttercream, it’s assembled with layers of bread, and alternating cold salad fillings.
The Swedish dish is also popular in neighbouring Scandinavian countries like Estonia (võileivatort), Finland (voileipäkakku) and Iceland (brauðterta).
The first recorded reference to Swedish Sandwich Cake was in a Småland newspaper in 1934, and it appears to have grown in popularity after the World War II, possibly due to the free availability of ingredients such as butter and cheese after rationing ended.
In 2012, November 13th was chosen as the official “Smorgastarta Day,” following Swedish’s beloved tradition of giving national foods their own day of celebration. It was popularized by the group Smörgåstårtans Vänner, translating to Friends of the Sandwich Cake.
It is a celebratory savoury cake that is similar to a sandwich, but with large amounts of filling and garnish, similar to a layered cream cake.
Sandwich Cake is normally made up of several layers of whole wheat or light rye bread with creamy fillings in between. The fillings and toppings vary, but egg and mayonnaise are often the base; additional fillings may include one or more of the following: liver pâté, olives, shrimp, ham, cold cuts, caviar, tomato, cucumber, grapes, lemon slices, cheese, and smoked salmon.
Smorgastarta is served cold and cut like a dessert cake. The types of sandwich cakes vary from meat, fish, combinations of cheeses and meats, to vegetarian or vegan. The garnishes on top often reflect the ingredients hidden inside.
Travel To Sweden By Making This Smörgåstårta Recipe At Home
I’ve also traveled extensively through Scandinavia, eating my way through the best restaurants in Westfjords, Reykjavik, Helsinki, Oslo, Bergen, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Goteborg.
I first bought Scandinavian Sandwich Cake in a grocery store in Goteborg. I had never dreamed you could transform the solitary sandwich concept into a more celebratory, shared savoury cake experience. I ate an entire store bought Smörgåstårta, lured by the pretty toppings including cucumber, tomatoes, orange slices, grapes and cold cuts.
Once back home from a Scandinavian holiday you’ll have a newfound appreciation for the flavours of Sweden and can impress friends and family by making your very own homemade Smorgastarta recipe!
What Type Of Bread To Use?
You can assemble a Swedish Smorgastarta in two ways:
- Using normal sandwich bread slices with the crusts removed. We use this method by placing 4 slices of bread into each layer, creating a square or rectangular shaped Smörgåstårta.
- Some Swedish Sandwich Cake recipes use circular loaves like a traditional rye or pumpernickel loaf. If you opt for these loaves you simply need to take a bread knife and cut around the loaf to create a cake shape. Finish by slicing through the loaf so you have several circular bread slices to layer the Sandwich Cake.
The best Scandinavian Sandwich Cakes showcase a colourful and distinct interior, which can be achieve by selecting loaves with contrasting colours. Why not make a cake with dark brown pumpernickel bread and bright white sourdough?
As long as the bread is soft and easy to slice you’ll be just fine. Avoid thick crusted artisanal loaves as they are hard to slice.
Swedish Sandwich Cake Fillings
Making homemade Smörgåstårta is fun because once you master the assembly and basic recipe you can get creative with your fillings.
Most Sandwich Cakes always have a layer of egg salad but you can prepare alternative fillings based on the season or your personal taste preferences.
Here are some of the best filling ideas:
- Egg Salad: classic filling featuring hard boiled eggs, mayo, lemon juice and fresh herbs.
- German Ham & Pickle: a tasty filling for meat lovers featuring Black Forest Ham and chopped gherkins.
- Chicken Salad: poultry lovers can prepare a salad with leftover roast chicken, sliced grapes and roasted walnuts or pecans.
- Tuna Fish Salad: classic tuna salad tastes great with shredded cheddar.
- Smoked Salmon: prepare a seafood salad with smoked fish and capers.
- Shrimp Salad: mix finely chopped shrimp with lemon juice, sour cream and dill.
Swedish Sandwich Cake Garnishes
When you’re walking down the aisles of a grocery store in Sweden and spot a stack of Sandwich Cakes in the fridge you’ll notice the garnishes help inform shoppers on what fillings will be found inside.
The garnishes typically reflect the proteins used in each filling and flavours that will pair well together:
- Meat Smorgastarta: garnish with tomatoes, radish, cucumber, sliced charcuterie, olives and cocktail onions.
- Seafood Smorgastarta: garnish with sliced lemon, poached shrimp, twirled smoked salmon slices and capers
- Vegetarian Smorgastarta: garnish with fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs and sliced cheese.
Smörgåstårta Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe so add items that aren’t in your fridge or cupboard to your grocery list. You can also easily print the recipe card at the bottom of this story:
- Hard Boiled Eggs
- Mayonnaise
- Scallions
- Dijon Mustard
- Lemon juice
- Paprika
- Black Forest Ham
- Dill Pickles
- Cream Cheese
- White sugar
- Sliced Bread
- Sour cream
- Fresh Dill
- Fresh Chives
- Cucumbers
- Radishes
- Lemons
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Capers
Swedish Sandwich Cake Directions
- Prepare Egg Salad: In a mixing bowl add chopped hard boiled egg, mayonnaise, scallions, mustard and lemon juice. With a wooden spoon mix ingredients until fulled combined. Keep cold in the fridge until ready to assemble the sandwich cake.
- Prepare German Ham Salad: In a mixing bowl add chopped ham, mayonnaise, pickles, cream cheese and sugar. With a wooden spoon mix ingredients until fulled combined. Keep cold in the fridge until ready to assemble the sandwich cake.
- Prepare Smörgåstårta “Frosting”: In a mixing bowl use a wooden spoon to combine cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise and dill. Keep cold in the fridge until ready to assemble the sandwich cake.
- Slice bread loves horizontally to assemble an easy rectangular layered sandwich cake. Cut off the bread crusts and use them to make homemade bread crumbs (we’re a no waste kitchen).
- Place the first slice of whole wheat bread on a rectangular serving platter. Spread some of the Smörgåstårta Frosting all over the bread slice.
- Top icing layer with egg salad mixture and spread evenly.
- Add a layer of rye bread and gently press onto egg salad. Top with more Smörgåstårta icing and top with German ham salad.
- Continue alternating whole wheat bread slices and rye bread slices with the two creamy cold salads.
- Once you’ve added the last bread slice to the top of the sandwich cake, smear with creamy frosting.
- Surround the rim of the cake with quartered cherry tomatoes. Decorate the interior space with thinly sliced lemons, cucumber and radish.
- Use a palette knife to smear the remaining icing on the sides of the cake. Lightly pat finely chopped chives to the sides of the cake. The fresh herbs should stick to the icing.
- Store Smörgåstårta in the fridge until ready to serve. Plate as you would a traditional dessert cake.
When To Serve Sandwich Cake
- While Smorgastarta is often served during Midsommar and through the warm summer months, we love serving this savoury sandwich cake year round.
- Our Swedish Sandwich Cake is an eye-catching main course, perfect for celebrating special occasions like birthdays, Mother’s Day, baby showers and bridal showers.
- Since the cake serves a crowd it’s best to make this dish when at least 6 people are coming over to eat so you don’t have too many leftovers as the bread can get soggy quickly.
- This is the perfect recipe to prepare with kids as it doesn’t involve the hot stove and allows them to get creative in the kitchen with their food design ideas and edible garnishes.
What To Serve With Sandwich Cake
Swedish Sandwich Cake is best enjoyed all on its own as a quick & easy snack sliced right out of the fridge!
If you’re enjoying the cake for brunch, lunch or dinner, pair a slice with fresh salad or homemade soup. If you’re serving our Swedish Sandwich Cake recipe at a summer barbecue or special celebration like a birthday, it pairs nicely with craft beer, fine wine or cocktails.
At a summer luncheon slices of this savoury cake go perfectly with picnic dips like Guasacaca, Spinach Dip, Melitzanosalata Greek Eggplant Dip, Creamy Whipped Paprika Feta Dip, Southern Spicy Jalapeno Pimento Cheese Dip, and Spicy Greek Feta Cheese Dip Tirokafteri.
If you’re feast has a Swedish theme you might like to serve these delicious desserts:
- Rabarberkage Swedish Rhubarb Cake
- Swedish Rhubarb and Custard Tart
- Swedish Rhubarb Cherry Pie
- Kardemummabullar Swedish Cardamom Buns
- Jordgubbstårta Recipe: Gluten Free Swedish Strawberry Meringue Cake
- Chokladsnittar Swedish Chocolate Cookie Slices
- Finska Pinnar Swedish Almond Shortbread Cookies
- Budapestrulle Swedish Budapest Roll Cake
How To Store Smörgåstårta
Since Swedish Sandwich Cake is made of mayonnaise and sour cream it can easily melt at warm temperatures. As soon as you finish assembling the cake store it in the fridge to keep cool.
You can store leftover Smorgastarta in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Best Swedish Sandwich Cake Smorgastarta Video
Ham & Egg Salad Smörgåstårta Swedish Sandwich Cake
Equipment
- Palette knife
- Cake plate
- Mixing bowls
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- French knife
- spatula
Ingredients
Egg Salad
- 8 Hard boiled eggs finely chopped
- 2/3 cup Mayonnaise
- 2 Scallions finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp Paprika
German Ham Salad
- 170 g Black Forest Ham finely chopped
- 1 cup Dill pickles finely chopped
- 2 tsp Pickle juice from the jar
- 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup Cream cheese
- 1/2 tsp White sugar
Smörgåstårta
- 20 slices Bread
- 1 1/2 cups Cream cheese
- 1 1/4 cups Sour cream
- 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
Garnish
- 3 tbsp Dill chopped
- 2 tbsp Chives chopped
- 1/2 cup Cucumbers thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup Radishes thinly sliced
- 1/2 Lemon thinly sliced
- 1 cup Cherry tomatoes quartered
- 2 tbsp Capers
Instructions
- Prepare Egg Salad: In a mixing bowl add chopped hard boiled egg, mayonnaise, scallions, mustard and lemon juice. With a wooden spoon mix ingredients until fulled combined. Keep cold in the fridge until ready to assemble the sandwich cake.
- Prepare German Ham Salad: In a mixing bowl add chopped ham, mayonnaise, pickles, cream cheese and sugar. With a wooden spoon mix ingredients until fulled combined. Keep cold in the fridge until ready to assemble the sandwich cake.
- Prepare Smörgåstårta "Frosting": In a mixing bowl use a wooden spoon to combine cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise and dill. Keep cold in the fridge until ready to assemble the sandwich cake.
- Slice bread loves horizontally to assemble an easy rectangular layered sandwich cake. Cut off the bread crusts and use them to make homemade bread crumbs (we're a no waste kitchen).
- Place the first slice of whole wheat bread on a rectangular serving platter. Spread some of the Smörgåstårta Frosting all over the bread slice.
- Top icing layer with egg salad mixture and spread evenly.
- Add a layer of rye bread and gently press onto egg salad. Top with more Smörgåstårta icing and top with German ham salad.
- Continue alternating whole wheat bread slices and rye bread slices with the two creamy cold salads.
- Once you've added the last bread slice to the top of the sandwich cake, smear with creamy frosting.
- Surround the rim of the cake with quartered cherry tomatoes. Decorate the interior space with thinly sliced lemons, cucumber and radish.
- Use a palette knife to smear the remaining icing on the sides of the cake. Lightly pat finely chopped chives to the sides of the cake. The fresh herbs should stick to the icing.
- Store Smörgåstårta in the fridge until ready to serve. Plate as you would a traditional dessert cake.
Nutrition
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