Vegetarian Smörgåstårta (Swedish Sandwich Cake)

When I was a kid, I never liked trying new dishes instead always preferred  to eat what I already knew, that I would like. But,time has changed & so have I. It has become my passion now to try out new things whether its cooking or eating. When hubby & I go out to dine, unlike him, I always order new things which I haven’t tasted yet. 🙂

So this “Trying new things” fare resides in me all the time since I have found my love with cooking . Today is a very special day.It’s my darling hubby’s birthday, 4th  birthday after our marriage &  sadly  the 1st one when we are not together. I am in Stockholm for work and he is in India 😦

But, who cares about the distance , my wishes can sail the seven seas and bless him with all that he aspires for 🙂 . Nonetheless, a celebration was much- needed, so to treat my self on his birthday, made this Delightful Scandinavian staple Smörgåstårta  aka Swedish Sandwich Cake.

Vegetarian Smörgåstårta

Did you hear about it? No? Ok , let me explain.

Wikipedia says : Smörgåstårta (English: “sandwich-cake” or “sandwich gateau”) is a Scandinavian cuisine dish that is popular in Sweden, Estonia (as “võileivatort”) and Finland (as “voileipäkakku”). This savoury cake is compositionally similar to a sandwich, but it has such a large amount of filling that it more resembles a layered cream cake with garnished top.

The smörgåstårta is normally made up of several layers of white or light rye bread with creamy fillings in between. The fillings and toppings vary, but egg and mayonnaise are often the base, additional filling may vary greatly but often includes one or more of the following: liver pâté, olives, shrimp, ham, various cold cuts, caviar, tomato, cucumber, grapes, lemon slices, cheese and smoked salmon.

Smörgåstårta is served cold and sliced like a dessert cake. The types of sandwich cakes vary from meat, fish, combinations of cheeses and meats to vegan. The smörgåstårta top decor often reflects the ingredients used as a filling. Voileipäkakku (in Finnish) is part of family gathering dishes from birthday parties, weddings or funerals in Finland

So in simple terms, it’s a cake made of sandwich! Sounds interesting, Right?

Vegetarian Smörgåstårta

It is not exactly a cake and not a quite sandwich. Bread work as a vessel to keep all the stuffing and things together . Different ingredients are soaked in bread holes and fill you mouth with abundance of flavors 😛

The best thing about smörgåstårta is that you can make it vegetarian unlike the authentic one which has more of salmon and prawns used, but, its totally up to you, what all you want to fill in and put on as per your preference and taste .

Vegetarian Smörgåstårta (Swedish Sandwich Cake)

So are you ready for the recipe? Here you go 🙂
Ingredients:
8 to 10 slices of bread(I used Ragi fruit bread, You can use any soft bread loaf or slices, of round shape or of log shape)
Butter spread
Cream cheese

Spinach Spread
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
salt & pepper as per the taste

– Mix all the ingredients and make a thick smooth paste, if using fresh spinach, wash it and cook it in 1/2 ts of oil and mix it with other ingredients and blend.

 

 

Tomato & Basil Spread
2 cloves of garlic
1 ts olive oil
1/2 cup tomato puree
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
1 ts dry herbs(oregano, basil, dill)
salt & pepper as per taste

– Heat the sauce pan, add olive oil & crushed garlic, sauté and add tomato puree, cook for 5 minutes. Add herbs, salt & pepper and stir well. let it cool. Mix it with cream cheese and make a smooth paste.

Tomato & basil spread

 

 

 

For Frosting
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup crème fraiche or sour cream

– Mix all the ingredients and make a smooth paste.

 

 

Top Garnishing
1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
1 Cucumber, sliced or chopped
few Olives and corns
1/2 Bell pepper, cut in strips
6 Cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
1 Kiwi, cut in slices
Few pieces of pickled beets
Coriander leaves

Well, garnishing is totally up to you. You can use, onion, avocado, reddish ,onion, peppers, turnip, berries ,eggs, lemon, prawns, salmon or anything you like, limit is endless 🙂

Method

– Arrange bread slices it in a tray , If you use a bread loaf( of any shape), cut in half. I used bread slices and layered them with different spread filling so have a better taste.

 

 

 

– On bottom layer, apply the butter at the bottom side of bread and spread the cream cheese on top.

 

 

 

– Take another set of slices, thinly apply the butter on the bottom side of the bread and spread spinach spread on the top.

 

 

 

– Cover the spinach layer with another set of bread slices(thinly covered with butter from bottom side) and apple tomato & basil spread over it.

 

 

 

– Put another set of slices and apply a layer of butter on the top.

 

 

 

– Now, Cover the bread with frosting, carefully coat it from all sides.

 

 

 

– Its time to garnish the sandwich cake, use your creativity & imagination to make it bright and attractive to the eyes, I prepared the first layer with lettuce leaves.

 

 

 

& then arrange all the ingredients for garnish as per my level of expertise 😛

– It is served as cold, so its better to cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or, cool it at least two hours so that flavours are blend. It tastes awesome if used a day later.

 

Vegetarian Smörgåstårta (Swedish Sandwich Cake)

Enjoy 🙂