Sandwich Cake “Smörgåstårta”

Picture from Alltommat.se

Today i am doing a guest post over at Designing Dna on Sandwich Cake “Smörgåstårta” in a Swedish Kitchen.  Colleen asked me to write a guest post with a Swedish recipe and also a little about Swedish kitchens.  I am so excited to write about this, my two favorite topics–kitchens and food.  To me Swedish kitchens are simple, sleek and usually light.  There are so many styles and versions out there.  But on the guest post are some of my favorites and you can read all about it on Designing Dna.    

Then for my Swedish recipes i decided to share a classic since the 1960’s, it is very uncommon in the US: Sandwich Cake “Smörgåstårta.” Basically, it’s a very large sandwich with lots of different sandwich ingredients and fillings–so many that it looks like a cake! 

Sandwich cake is usually built with several layers of bread with filings in between and then mayonnaise with other goodies on top.  Some of the most common fillings are: shrimp, smoked salmon, egg, tomatoes, cumber, and ham.  The Sandwich cake is served cold and cut up just like cake. There are many variations to filling and decorations, but here is one of my favorite sandwich cake recipes. 

Sandwich Cake “Smörgåstårta”

Yields: 10-15 people 

Prep Time:  About 60 minutes | Chill Time: About 2 hours 

Ingredients:
2 loafs of two kinds of bread. You will need two kinds of bread. I usually use one light and one dark type.  French bread and something whole wheat.
1/2 cup roe (caviar)
3-4 tbsp chopped dill
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup soft cheese, Philadelphia or alike
1/2 cup smoked ham, chopped
3/4 cup liverwurst/paté (soft spread)
4 tbsp cucumber pickles, chopped
butter
1 cup of mayoonaise    

For decoration:
Lemon slices
Shrimp
Dill
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Cheese
Ham
Salmon    

Directions
Mix 1:
About 1/2 cup roe (caviar)
3-4 tbsp chopped dill
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped    

Mix 2:
1 cup soft cheese, Philadelphia or alike
1/2 cup smoked ham, chopped    

Mix 3:
3/4 cup liverwurst/paté (soft spread)
4 tbsp cucumber pickles, chopped    

Mix each of the mixes together well, in separate bowls.    

Cut the bread in 1/2 inch slices and cut off the crust (the crust destroys the smörgåstårta). You need two slices of light and two slices of dark bread.    

Spread a thin layer of butter on both sides of the bread except the bottom and the top sides. Start with a light piece of bread and spread an evenly layer of the first mix on it. Put a dark piece on it and cover it with mix 2, then a light piece of bread and cover it with mix 3. Then you put a dark piece of bread on that.    

Cover the cake with plastic foil and press it together a little. Put it in the fridge for a couple of hours, but preferably the day before you’ll serve it. (You can also store it in the freezer for a couple of weeks, before you take it out to decorate it and serve it).    

Take out the cake and spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on it. Decorate it with the following: Lemon slices, shrimp, dill, tomatoes, cucumber, cheese, ham or salmon. You can also cut the corners to make it look more like a tort.    

Serve the smörgåstårta with tossed salad. Smörgåstårta is perfect to serve at birthday parties, garden parties or as lunch, brunch or night snack. It works well with coffee, tea, cider, wine or champagne.    

Now if you haven’t yet go over to Designing Dna and read my guest post.