Thinly sliced radish, ribbons of cucumber and fresh herbs can be used to decorate the sandwich-turned cake.Julie Van Rosendaal/The Globe and Mail
Two culinary categories are always at the top of my most-wanted list: sandwiches and cake. The glorious smorgastarta, a sandwich-cake or (sandwich-torte) that originated in Sweden, brings them together. Yes, it is exactly as it sounds: a savoury stacked sandwich made to look like a cake.
If IKEA offered smorgastarta (which is also much loved in Finland, Iceland and Estonia), the focus would be on assembly: The ingredients it contains isn’t as important.
As with all cakes, smorgastarta can be round, square or rectangular. It can be a loaf you cut into slices or a tiered round you serve in wedges. And you can assemble it freestyle; no need for a pan.
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Sliced dark rye, pumpernickel and seeded breads are commonly used, in part because they’re popular in Nordic countries but also because they tend to be sturdier. If you like, source unsliced round loaves to slice crosswise for a circular smorgastarta.
To fill the layers, mayo-based sandwich salads are typical; they spread evenly and slice through with less resistance than deli meats. When a sandwich is stacked high, it can’t be a challenge to slice, or it can easily get squished.
Cream cheese is typically used to frost the cake and often used between layers. Mascarpone would also work well, ditto a soft cheese (such as chèvre or Boursin) or a spreadable nut-based cheese. And as in most Nordic cuisine, seafood often plays a role: tiny shrimp, curls of smoked salmon and caviar are popular as fillings and decoration.
Sliced dark rye, pumpernickel and seeded breads are used between layers of a soft, spreadable cheese to make this sandwich cake.Julie Van Rosendaal/The Globe and Mail
Decorating is the fun part: thinly sliced radish and ribbons of cucumber, hard-boiled eggs, freshly shelled peas, and fresh herbs, microgreens and vegetable fronds look wonderful.
Texturally, smorgastarta is similar to those icebox cakes made with layered crisp cookies and whipped cream that over time softens the biscuits, making the whole thing uniformly sliceable. Indeed, freezing the bread first can make it easier to stack, spread and frost, and slices will thaw quickly as the cake stands in wait to be eaten.
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Smorgastarta feels like a springtime concoction, and would be gorgeous when asparagus is in season, but it’s the perfect fun thing to make ahead to feed a crowd any time of year – an entire smorgasbord in one dish.
How to make a smorgastarta
Quantities can be determined by your taste and the number of people you’d like to feed. Ensure any mayo-based fillings aren’t spread too thick, so that they don’t squish out as you slice.
Cake:
- Sliced white, grainy, pumpernickel or rye sandwich bread, crusts removed
- Tuna and/or salmon and/or shrimp salad
- Egg salad
- Soft avocado
- Any other soft fillings you can think of
Filling and/or frosting:
- Cream cheese, chèvre or Boursin, or a soft, spreadable nut-based cheese, at room temperature
- Sour cream, mayonnaise, plain yogurt or cream
- Lemon juice and/or horseradish (optional)
Decoration (any or all, plus anything else you can think of):
- Thinly sliced radishes
- Cucumber and/or carrot ribbons
- Cured salmon
- Tiny cooked shrimp
- Freshly shelled peas
- Microgreens
- Fresh herbs and vegetable fronds (such as carrot tops and fennel fronds)
- Pickles or capers
To assemble, start with a layer of bread on a serving plate or cake stand. To make a round smorgastarta, place the slices in the bottom of a cake ring or the ring of a springform pan, which can be removed after.
Place a layer of bread, then spread with your choice of filling. Repeat with another layer of bread, another one of filling and so on, stacking as high as feels comfortable. (Most smorgastarta have three or four layers.) Finish with sliced bread.
To make the frosting, whip your choice of cheese with enough sour cream, mayonnaise, yogurt or cream to loosen it to a spreadable consistency, adding a squeeze of lemon juice or spoonful of horseradish if you like, for extra flavour. Remove the cake ring, if you used one, and spread the mixture all over the cake. Refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight.
When you’re ready to serve, decorate your smorgastarta with veggies, eggs, seafood, herbs and microgreens.
