Smörgåstårta (Swedish Sandwich Cake)
It’s finally feeling like summer here in Bergen, which is perfect timing since we celebrated Midsummer over the weekend!
Swedes celebrated Midsummer Eve on Friday and Norwegians celebrated Sankthansaften on Sunday, and one dish that featured on many tables was smörgåstårta. Smörgåstårta, or smørbrødterte in Norwegian, is a savory cake made of several layers of different sandwiches and decorated with cream cheese, vegetables, and seafood or cold cuts and cheese.
While we call it a cake, it’s more like a giant layered sandwich that has been decorated to look like a cake.
Swedes traditionally eat seafood on Midsommar, so I chose to fill this smörgåstårta with smoked salmon, shrimp, and egg salad. But you can also get creative with your fillings, as you would with any sandwich! I’ve seen many smørbrødterter made with sliced meats and cheese as well, so if you don’t like seafood you can still make a lovely smörgåstårta with other fillings instead.
But the most important part of making a smörgåstårta is creativity! These sandwich cakes can get quite elaborate and are as much a visual display for your guests as they are lunch. So put on some ABBA and embrace embrace the camp:
Tips
Slice your bread into 24 slices and cut off the crusts. Then arrange the first six pieces on a platter for your first smörgåstårta layer. I like to begin with the smoked salmon layer because it’s flat and sturdy, so it makes a strong bottom layer.
If you don’t like arugula you can use whatever lettuce or greens you prefer.
I’ve included my recipe for egg salad in the recipe, but you can of course prepare it however you prefer.
I like to put the shrimp layer at the top because it’s the least stable, so I wouldn’t want it at the bottom of the smörgåstårta. If your shrimp comes in liquid, be sure to pat it dry so that it doesn’t make the bread soggy.
After adding all the fillings, cover the cake in the cream cheese and crème fraîche mixture. It’s best if you can let the smörgåstårta set in the fridge for about an hour before serving. To do this, place a few toothpicks on the top of the cake and then cover it in plastic wrap (the toothpicks keep the plastic from sticking to the top).
I wait until I’m about to serve the smörgåstårta to decorate the top, but you can do this beforehand as well if you’ll be pressed for time later.
I like to use elements from the smörgåstårta fillings to decorate the top, so people know what is inside the sandwich cake. And then I added some cucumbers and radishes for extra color.
If you want more of a minimalist look, you can decorate the top of the cake with just a couple of things instead and leave most of it white. The design is totally up to you, so have fun with it!
This will keep a few days in the fridge covered in plastic wrap, but it’s definitely best the first day.
You can switch the recipe from US measurements to metric by clicking from “US Customary” to “Metric” under Ingredients.
Smörgåstårta (Swedish Sandwich Cake)
Ingredients
- 24 slices white bread
Filling 1
- 3 tbsp crème fraîche
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 150 g smoked salmon
- 50 g arugula
Filling 2
- 6 hard boiled eggs
- 2 tbsp crème fraîche
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp fresh dill or chives
Filling 3
- 125 g cream cheese
- 2 tbsp crème fraîche
- 200 g peeled shrimp
- 50 g arugula
Topping
- 250 g cream cheese
- 4 tbsp crème fraîche
- 1 boiled egg
- 1 cucumber
- 4 radishes
- 1/2 lemon
- 5 slices smoked salmon
- 100 g peeled shrimp
- fresh dill
Instructions
- Cut off the crusts of the bread slices. Arrange six slices of bread in a rectangle on a platter.
Filling 1
- Mix the crème fraîche and Dijon mustard together and spread evenly across the rectangle of six bread slices. Add the smoked salmon in an even layer and top with arugula. Add six more slices of bread on top.
Filling 2
- Peel the boiled eggs and mash them together in a bowl with the crème fraîche, mayonnaise, mustard, and dill (or chives).
- Spread the egg mixture evenly across the rectangle of bread slices. Top with six more slices of bread, pressing down slightly.
Filling 3
- Mix the cream cheese together with the crème fraîche and spread the mixture evenly across the rectangle of bread slices. Top with shrimp and arugula. Add six more slices of bread on top, pressing down slightly.
Topping
- Mix the cream cheese and crème fraîche together and spread the mixture in an even layer over the top and sides of the cake. Add some toothpicks on top and cover in plastic wrap. Let the cake set in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Slice the boiled egg, cucumber, radishes, and lemon. Decorate the top of the cake with the egg, smoked salmon, shrimp, cucumber, radishes, and fresh dill. You can add some dill or arugula to the sides of the cake as well.