I am inspired by the stories and traditions passed down from generation to generation. Norwegian cooking at its simplest and most elaborate. That’s what you will find here. Seasonal cooking, local ingredients, local artisans, and simple gatherings.  READ MORE...

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May 2017

May 10, 2017

Bløtkake (Norwegian Cream Cake)

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Recipes

Bløtkake (Norwegian Cream Cake)Bløtkake (Norwegian Cream Cake)Yay for May! And layer cakes!

With 17 May (syttende mai) soon approaching, there is always a heightened sense of enthusiasm and anticipation in the air. The National Day of Norway – with parades, national costumes, flags, drummers, sausages, games, family and friends – is one of the most special days in Norway. And the cake table is no exception.

When thinking of a dessert to share on this day, it’s simply impossible for me to pick a favorite. Between scrumptious pavlova, fruit adorned layer cakes, towers of kransekake, fluffy sheet cakes, creamy cheesecakes, simple trifles and the famous kvæfjordkake, how can anyone stick to only one? Desserts of all shapes, sizes, tastes textures and stories – a good analogy for the people that make up any great nation.

Bløtkake (Norwegian Cream Cake)Bløtkake (Norwegian Cream Cake)But alas, the bløtkake has won out. Mainly because it’s one of those cakes that always makes an appearance at any celebration. But also because it tastes amazing and just so happens to be my husband’s favorite.

Bløtkake has a long history. The sponge cake itself is referred to as ‘sukkerbrød’ or sugar bread. The name sukkerbrød, according to the classic, German book Deautshes Wörterbuch, refers to the general term of an old fashioned baked good as well as a bread topped with sugar. It was first introduced in a cookbook written by Helle Schrøders in Denmark in 1692. Here is a link to the earliest recipe to be found in Norwegian/Danish tradition.

Bløtkake (Norwegian Cream Cake)Bløtkake (Norwegian Cream Cake)This is a classic favorite. Light and fresh with a generous portion of fresh fruits. The great thing about bløtkake is that you can use what you have lying around the house. Pick your favorite berries, slather it with your favorite jam and go with or without custard. And, of course, if serving it on 17 May make sure it has all the colors of the Norwegian flag!

Bløtkake (Norwegian Cream Cake)

(Makes 1 cake)

Ingredients:

Sponge Cake/Sukkerbrød

  • 5 eggs
  • 175g (3/4 cup) sugar
  • 175g (1 1/4 cups) flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Custard

  • 2 egg yolks
  • 55g (1/4 cup) sugar
  • 2 Tb corn starch
  • 5 dl (2 cups) whole milk
  • ½ vanilla pod or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Whipped Cream

  • 650g (3 cups) heavy whipping cream
  • 2 1/2 Tb powdered sugar

Other

  • Mix of blueberries, strawberries & raspberries (or other fruits/berries of your choice)
  • Strawberry Jam
  • Milk or juice

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 165°C/325°F. Place a parchment sheet in the bottom of a spring form cake pan so that it fits just right (cutting it into a circular shape and greasing the bottom so it sticks) and grease the sides of the pan and top of the parchment sheet. For this cake, I used a 22cm/9inch pan.

Blend the eggs and sugar together in a kitchen mixer on medium/high speed for 6-8 minutes, until it becomes stiff and light in color. This is really important because you want the sponge cake to rise when it bakes and become airy and light.

Sift the flour and baking powder over the batter and mix gently with a spatula.

Pour the batter into the prepared spring form cake pan and place on top of a cookie sheet. Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes.

When the cake is done, allow to cool. You can also freeze the cake for future use.


Begin making the custard by whisking together the sugar and egg yolks in a bowl. Add the cornstarch and blend until the mixture is pale yellow and thick.

Place the whole milk in a saucepan and add the vanilla beans by scraping them from the pod and discarding the pod afterwards. Warm the milk just before it begins to boil, without letting it boil. Take it off the heat.

Steadily and slowly, add the milk to the bowl with the sugar mixture, whisking constantly to avoid any curdling of the eggs. When you have mixed everything together, pour it back into the saucepan and return to the stove. Over medium heat, cook the mixture until it has thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely. If you wish, you can transfer the custard to a strainer and push gently through to remove any bits of curdled egg. 


To make the whipped cream, place the cream and the powdered sugar in a kitchen mixer and whip on medium/high for a couple of minutes until the cream is stiff.


To assemble the cake, take your sponge cake and cut it into 3 even and separate (horizontal) layers. On the bottom layer, spoon over some milk or juice (this will help soften the cake) then spread a layer of jam on top. Top the jam with a good amount of the custard, followed by the whipped cream and spread it out to the edges of the cake. Place the second layer of sponge on top and repeat with the milk, jam and custard and some more of the whipped cream (reserving enough to cover the cake). Place the final layer of cake on top and cover completely with the rest of the whipped cream, sides and all. Decorate the top with the berries.

Bløtkake is one of those cakes that actually tastes better the next day because the custard and whipped cream has had some time to soak into the sponge cake. You can, of course, serve this cake immediately and it’s still delightful, but seconds on the day after will be even better. Enjoy!


Bløtkake (Norwegian Cream Cake)

Nevada Berg

Nevada is a utah native and norwegian by heart. When not crafting culinary delights she enjoys her family time and tending to her animals. You most certainly can find her perusing her property for wild berries.

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  1. Jessica says:

    Yum, this is so beautiful! I wish I could eat a bite thru the screen…

  2. Jenna says:

    Wow! This looks so good! I’ll for sure have to try this one out. Thanks for all the pictures, too! That’ll really help.

  3. Kari Li says:

    Hi from America! I just made this for the 4th of July and it was amazing! The custard was especially good (even though I’d undercooked it being worried about it boiling but it turns out it was nowhere close) because it wasn’t too sweet like many other recipes I’d tried in the past! I think my only other mistakes were drizzling too much milk over the cake layers—which weren’t as pretty as yours—so that as I spread out the strawberry jam, some of the crumbs got caught up as well, as well as whipping the cream too stiff (it was super hard getting it to spread out nice in the layers because it was so thick and the custard was too liquidy). But enough about my amateur mistakes, this was amazing!! Definitely would make this again for another special occasion, thanks so much for this recipe!

    • nevada says:

      Hi Kari, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! It’s definitely a great cake for the 4th and any other special occasion. And don’t worry about minor mistakes, that’s what makes it interesting in the kitchen 🙂 Enjoy the rest of your summer!

  4. Randi Millman-Brown says:

    This is my favorite cake of all time. I have to have it every year for my birthday – my husband and I even had it made for our wedding. My mother is from Drammen, Norway.

  5. Colleen says:

    Does Bløtekake need to refrigerated overnight? Thank you so much.

    • nevada says:

      Not unless you eat it all up on the day 😉 But, yes, I would refrigerate what you have leftover – it tastes even better when the flavors have come together overnight.

  6. […] or at least indulge in the dessert conversation. There are traditional cakes, like kvæfjordkake, bløtkake, marzipan cake, kransekake. There are also newer favorites such as pavlova and brownies. One thing […]

  7. Joanie says:

    This looks so good! I’m going to make it tomorrow as we have raspberries and strawberries in the garden. I really enjoy your messages and recipes. My husband is all Norwegian and I am German and English. I like to try recipes from all of these regions.

  8. Lawrence (Lars) Pederson (Bosaen) says:

    Love your site. My Norwegian cousin Egil forwarded it to me because he knew I wanted to make the cream cake his mother baked for us some years ago when we visited them in Vinstra. And I’m sure he would like me to cook him some of our native food when he visits us here. Thanks for a wonderful site. Larry. Mesquite Nevada.

  9. Rachel Hest says:

    So delicious! I made it for my birthday and loved it, plus I agree that the leftovers are wonderful. I don’t know if you remember, but we met at the Norway House in Minneapolis a few years ago at your cookbook signing. I grew up near Rollag, MN. If I can ever help you do research on who may have lived on your farm, I am happy to do that. Also, if/when COVID is under control I hope to visit Norway.

    • nevada says:

      Hi Rachel! So good to hear from you again! I’m really happy you enjoyed the cake…happy belated birthday 🙂 I love that you do research on the comings and goings of farms in Rollag. We have the Rollag Bygdebok that lists our farm with its residents since the 1600s. I wonder if this is a resource you also use??…

  10. Joren Larson says:

    Great recipe. Turned out perfect! Both girls loved it and a Norwegian flag of strawberries and blueberries on top was even easy to make with a 5 yr old helper!

  11. Simone says:

    This is a recipe I have been looking for, few ingredients and hopefully as delicious as it looks I can’t wait to try! A great way to use our chickens eggs!

  12. Sabrina says:

    Made this today for my mother’s 92nd birthday. Subbed the bananas for strawberries, used fresh squeezed orange juice, no custard. My mother is Norwegian and said it was perfect, thought she would have kept the bananas! It’s been years since she’s personally made it, but I’ll remember for next time. She loved your berry decoration which I did follow to a tee. Thank you!

    • nevada says:

      I’m so happy she approved! What a wonderful way to celebrate her big day. Wishing her many more years to come!

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