My 6 Favorite Danish Cakes

I’ve always loved visiting Denmark, and now that I live in Bergen I often have layovers in Copenhagen when flying abroad, and whenever I can I try to extend them so I can spend a few days in the city. Copenhagen is so beautiful, I love wandering the streets, and Copenhagen has way better shopping than Bergen. But the highlight for me is always Copenhagen’s bakeries.

And I don’t think I’m alone in saying that. Ask anyone about their trip to Denmark and I guarantee they’ll mention a pastry or cake – or many pastries and cakes. And oh were they delicious.

Here are my top choices for the best Danish cakes – including recipes, of course. I’ve also shared my favorite Norwegian cakes here and Swedish cakes here.

Dream cake

While Denmark is home to so many wonderful cakes, dream cake is definitely my favorite. Danish dream cake is a light and buttery vanilla sponge cake with an incredibly flavorful caramelized coconut topping. It’s simple and yet quite unique, plus you can cut it up into tiny squares perfect to serve at a party.

I’ve shared my Danish dream cake recipe here.

Brunsviger

Brunsviger is a yeast based coffee cake that’s a bit of a cross between a cake and a Danish, topped with a gooey brown sugar and butter caramel. Brunsviger tastes best warm out of the oven served with a cup of coffee.

The brunsviger dough only has a little sugar in it so it’s not particularly sweet, but the topping is super sweet. I think it makes a great weekday cake, as it’s not too fancy but still a little indulgent.

I’ve shared my brunsviger recipe here.

Lagkage (layer cake)

Danish lagkage, or layer cake, is probably the most popular birthday cake in Denmark, but you’ll see it at all sorts of celebrations in Scandinavia. Lagkage is a vanilla sponge cake with layers of jam and vanilla pastry cream, all topped with icing as well as whipped cream along the edge of the cake (I skip the whipped cream, since I’m not a big fan of it). It’s a classic for a reason – I think everyone loves this cake, especially as it’s easy to make small adjustments to the flavors used.

I’ve shared my lagkage recipe here.

Fragilité cake

Fragilité cake has layers of hazelnut meringue filled with a thick coffee egg cream. The meringue top is slightly crispy with a chewy bottom, and the coffee cream complements the hazelnuts perfectly. And because fragilité cake is intentionally imperfect, it’s quite easy to make. If you like hazelnuts and you like coffee, prepare to be obsessed with this cake.

I’ve shared my fragilité cake recipe here.

Kanelstang

Okay, a kanelstang isn’t exactly a cake, but I think it makes a great cake substitute at a party. A traditional Danish kanelstang is a long cinnamon twist essentially made of a bunch of cinnamon rolls (kanelboller) that are connected on the bottom. You’ll find them in most supermarkets in Scandinavia, but the homemade version is so much better.

Since the cinnamon rolls here are still all connected, it’s like the whole kanelstang is the center of the cinnamon roll, which we all know is the best part. It’s extra soft and buttery, and the kanelstang won’t dry out as quickly as cinnamon rolls. You can slice up the kanelstang or let everyone simply pull it apart into pieces.

I’ve shared my kanelstang recipe here.

Hindbærsnitter (raspberry squares)

Hindbærsnitter, or raspberry squares (also called Alexandertorte), are made with two sheets of vanilla shortcrust pastry filled with a thick layer of raspberry jam, topped with icing and cut into squares. They’re a wonderful spring or summertime treat, and they’re so pretty! You can top them with freeze dried raspberries, colorful sprinkles, or whatever you like.

I’ve shared my hindbærsnitter recipe here.