Recipes

Swedish Sandwich Layer Cake (Smörgåstårta)

  • Serves

    serves 8-10

PER RANUNG

By Annica Triberg


Published on April 1, 2011

This recipe is reprinted from Annica Triberg's Very Swedish with permission from the publisher, Max Strom. For partygoers in Sweden in the 1970s, sandwich layer cake was part of the experience. Now it's back again. The filling consists of salmon and bockling (smoked Baltic herring).

Ingredients

For the Bread Layers

  • 50 grams (1 3/4 oz.) fresh yeast (or approximately 12 g—1 1/2 tbsp.—dried)
  • 500 ml (2 cups) water at 37ºC/99ºF
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. dark syrup
  • 2 tsp. cooking oil
  • 165 grams (1 1/4 cup) whole wheat flour
  • 380–450 grams (4 1/2–5 cups) all-purpose flour

For the Fillings and Garnish

  • Böckling Mousse
  • 300 grams (10 1/2 oz.) cream cheese, softened
  • 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) sour cream
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 12 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
  • 1 12 tbsp. Dijon mustard, at room temperature
  • 1 12 tbsp. mild mustard salt
  • 100 ml (scant 1/2 cup) cooking oil
  • 400 grams (14.1 oz.) cold-smoked salmon
  • 1 egg, hard boiled
  • Baby shrimp, cooked, peeled, and chilled, to garnish
  • 1 (10-cm/4-inch) cucumber, sliced
  • A few radishes, sliced, to garnish
  • Romaine lettuce, shredded
  • Chopped parsley, to garnish
  • Butter, softened
  • Mineral water

Instructions

Step 1

To make the bread layers: Dissolve the yeast in water. Add salt, syrup, oil, and whole wheat flour. Mix in white flour. Knead and put back into a bowl, cover and let rise 45 minutes. Remove dough from bowl, knead, and make a round cake. Let it rise in a greased, round dish, ideally a springform pan. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes. Heat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/GM6. Bake the bread for about 35 minutes. Cool under a cloth.

Step 2

For the cream cheese spread: Mix together the cream cheese and sour cream. Season with salt and white pepper. Set aside.

Step 3

For the mustard sauce: Make sure that the ingredients for the mustard sauce are at room temperature, otherwise it will split. Mix sugar and mustard and drizzle in oil. Season with salt. Store in the fridge.

Step 4

To assemble: Cut the crusts off the bread loaf and slice into three horizontal layers. Put the first layer on a dish. Moisten with a little mineral water. Spread with Böckling Mousse and cover with sliced cucumber. Press the next bread layer down. Moisten with mineral water. Spread a little butter, then cover with the salmon, saving a few slices for garnish. Drizzle the mustard sauce over the salmon. Add some shredded lettuce. Press the top bread layer down. Moisten with mineral water. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the tops and sides of the cake. Garnish with salmon, shrimp, egg, and radish. Pat shredded lettuce and chopped parsley onto the sides. Sandwich cake benefits from a couple of hours in the fridge before serving.

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