No products in the cart.
The loved child has many names
If this heading has confused you straight off the bat, that’s fair enough. It’s a rough translation of a classic Danish idiom: “kært barn har mange navne.” And it’s very applicable to today’s recipe! Why? Well, this type of cake or pastry goes by a variety of names, and it isn’t easy to figure out what each version specifically means. It’s known as Dagmartærte in some parts of Denmark, and smørkage in others. Some people will argue that the distinction is that Dagmartærte uses Danish pastry dough, whereas smørkage uses a yeasted dough, but that doesn’t always seem to hold true.
You’ll also find that the fillings differ, from an almond or simple butter-sugar paste to a cinnamon sugar filling (like ours), and there doesn’t really seem to be a specific way that’s the right way. Feel free to drop your opinion in the comments if you disagree! The Swedish version is called butterkaka and is similar, but often the vanilla custard is added on top instead of being added into the swirls. Long story short, the loved child (this pastry) has many names (2-3).
What exactly is a smørkage?
But while I’ve told you that it goes by many names, you may be wondering what a smørkage is. Our version is basically like a cake made of cinnamon rolls, but with a few extra tweaks that turn it into a cake. First of all, there’s a pastry layer on the bottom and sides, which helps the rolls all stick together. It also means you can slice it up like a cake instead of tearing apart the rolls. Also, there’s an additional filling that makes smørkage even richer – vanilla custard! We add it onto the dough along with the cinnamon sugar butter filling, and it makes the pastry extra moist and adds delicious flavor.
Perfect for your brunch table
This is a recipe that is absolutely perfect to serve for brunch, because it’s impressive and shareable, but not that much more complicated to make than cinnamon rolls. It does need to bake for a while because there’s a lot of moisture in it, so keep that in mind, but the flavors and textures will make it such a hit with your friends and family. I know that whenever I’ve made this, it has disappeared on the same day because it’s just so good. Serve alongside some fruit and savory food of your choice, and you have a perfect brunch table all ready to go!
A deceptively impressive pastry!
There’s no doubt that this looks super impressive on a breakfast or brunch table – but it’s deceptively easy to make! The base consists of a simple yeasted dough, not Danish pastry dough, which means there’s no lamination required. The filling is a cinnamon sugar butter paste, as well as vanilla custard. But the vanilla custard is easy to make ahead of time and leave in the fridge to cool before using it. Otherwise, all you really need is a springform pan and the ability to roll out and assemble the cake. We like to add an icing because it makes it look even more enticing, but you can leave that out if you prefer. Some people like their pastries less sweet, and if that’s the case, you might prefer this cake without icing.
A custard-filled pastry is a perfect pastry
There’s something about a custard-filled pastry that we love. And maybe it’s just because we love vanilla custard! But it really adds such a great smooth and creamy texture, along with that clean vanilla flavor that freshens up any pastry. If you also love custard, here are a few other recipes you should check out here on Skandibaking:
- Cremestang (Vanilla Cream Danish Pastry): A long pastry with a custard filling, so each slice has the perfect ratio of dough to custard.
- Lagkagesnegle (Raspberry Swirls with Custard): Pastry swirls based on a Danish lagkage, or birthday cake, with raspberry jam and vanilla custard as the primary flavors.
- Cremehorn (Crescent Pastries): Crescent-shaped pastries filled with vanilla custard – perfectly portable and a delicious snack!
- Cremelinser (Mini Custard Pies): These pies are made with a super tender shortcrust pastry encasing lots of custard. This is pretty much the perfect dessert for anyone who loves custard!
- Spandauer (Danish Pastry with Custard or Jam): A Danish classic, made with flaky and buttery Danish pastry dough and traditionally filled with either custard or jam.
- Skoleboller (Norwegian Custard Buns): If you’re a fan of custard, cardamom, and coconut, these are a must-try!
Ingredients you’ll need and possible substitutions
For this recipe, you’ll need ingredients for four different components: the dough, the custard or cream filling, the cinnamon filling, and the topping. The dough is a yeasted dough, made with yeast, milk, eggs, sugar, cardamom, vanilla extract, salt, all-purpose flour, and unsalted butter. You can omit the cardamom if you don’t like it – we just love it, so we always add it, and it makes the dough so delicious. The custard filling is made with egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, milk, lots of vanilla, and butter. For the cinnamon filling, you’ll need brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and salt. Finally, for the topping, you’ll first need an egg for an egg wash, and once it’s baked, powdered sugar and water to make an icing to drizzle on top.
How to make Danish smørkage
The first thing you should prep is the vanilla custard, so it has time to cool down and set in the fridge. Then, make the dough by combining the ingredients and kneading until you have a super smooth and elastic dough. Let this rise for about 45 minutes to an hour, and in the meantime, you can prep the cinnamon filling. This just means combining the softened butter with the other ingredients until you have a smooth paste.
Once the dough has risen, roll one-third of it out into a large circle and place this into a buttered/oiled springform pan. It should cover the bottom of the pan and come up the sides a little bit. Add some cinnamon filling on top and spread it out, then add some of the custard. Next, roll the rest of the dough out into a large rectangle and spread the cinnamon filling, then the custard, on top. Roll this up into a log and cut out 8 rolls. Arrange these in the springform pan and let them rise again. Egg wash and bake, then drizzle with a simple powdered sugar icing before serving. Enjoy!
Smørkage (Danish “Butter” Cake)
A showstopping and impressive cinnamon and vanilla pastry cake, perfect for your brunch table!
Ingredients
CREAM FILLING
- 1 portion kagecreme (danish pastry cream)
DOUGH
- 150 ml milk
- 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active dry yeast, 17.5g fresh yeast)
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 50 grams sugar
- ½ tsp ground cardamom (optional)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- 375 grams all-purpose flour
- 57 grams unsalted butter, softened
CINNAMON FILLING
- 150 grams brown sugar
- 1½ tbsp ground cinnamon
- 113 grams unsalted butter
- Pinch of salt
TOPPING
- 1 egg (for egg wash)
- Powdered sugar
- A few tablespoons of water
Instructions
- Prepare Danish pastry cream (kagecreme) at least one hour in advance of preparing the dough; you can also make this the day before!
- To prepare the dough: Heat up the milk, either in the microwave or in a saucepan, until it is "fingervarm" (finger warm), meaning it should feel warm to the touch but not hot. Measure out the sugar you will need for the dough in this recipe. If you're using active dry or fresh yeast, add the yeast along with a few teaspoons of the sugar you measured out into the warm milk and stir to dissolve. Let it rest 5-10 minutes until it begins to froth and bubble a little bit. If your yeast doesn't do anything, it may be expired. Check the expiration date on the package and start over with new yeast!If you're using instant yeast, you do not usually need to bloom it ahead of time and can add it right into a mixing bowl with all your other ingredients. If in doubt, check the package directions of the yeast you are using!
- Combine the egg, egg yolk, rest of the sugar, cardamom, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix well.
- Add the milk and yeast mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine.
- Add the flour, stirring with a spoon or running the mixer for about 30 seconds. Once the dough starts to come together, you can start kneading.
- After the flour has been added, add the softened butter and knead until smooth and elastic, probably around 10 minutes. Add a bit of flour if the dough sticks to your hands or the surface. If you're using a stand mixer and notice the dough sticking to the sides, be sure to add a little bit more flour as well. The texture of your dough before its first rise should be soft and smooth, not sticky and not too dry. If the dough is feeling greasy in any way from the butter, it has likely not been kneaded enough – keep kneading and adding flour if you think it needs it!
- Cover and let your dough rise for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size. You can also use the "poke test" to determine whether the dough is ready (when you poke the dough, it should create an indentation and slowly spring back – if it springs back immediately, it needs more time).
- While the dough is rising, make your cinnamon butter filling by combining softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt in a bowl and mixing until you have a smooth and spreadable paste.
- Prepare a springform pan (a 9-inch or 10-inch pan will work for this recipe) by oiling or buttering the sides and lining the bottom with parchment paper.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a clean work surface.
- Take approximately one-third of the dough and roll it out into a circle shape. It should be slightly larger than the bottom of your springform pan.
- Transfer the dough circle to your pan, pressing it into the corners and making sure it goes up the sides by at least ½" or about 1¼ cm.
- Add about 3 tbsp of the cinnamon filling on top of the circle and spread to the edges. If you do need to add a little bit more filling, feel free to do so!
- Add a few dollops of the cooled pastry cream and spread all the way to the edges of the circle – we are not the most precise with this amount, but an even thin layer covering all of the cinnamon filling should suffice!
- With the remaining two-thirds of the dough, roll it out into a rectangle that is about 10" x 14" (~25cm x 35cm)
- Spread the remaining cinnamon filling in an even layer over the top, all the way to the edges.
- Spread the remaining cooled pastry cream over the top of the cinnamon filling, in an even layer and all the way to the edges.
- It's time to roll up the dough – this might get a bit messy!
- Roll from the shorter edge of the rectangle to create rolls with more swirls. Roll as tightly as you can without squishing out the filling.
- Divide the dough log into 8 equal pieces; measure by marking the halfway point, then the halfway point of both halves, and then the halfway mark of the quarters.
- Slice the dough log into rolls with a sharp knife – some filling may come out, which is okay!
- Transfer the rolls to the springform pan, arranging them as evenly as possible. There will be space between them – they will not tightly fill the space – but this is because there needs to be room for the dough to rise!
- Let rise for another 45 minutes. The dough should have filled a lot of the extra space and become puffy and airy.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Once the dough is done rising, brush the top with an egg wash – crack an egg into a bowl, add about a tablespoon of water, and whisk together, then use a pastry brush to brush this over the top of the rolls.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes. Check the internal temperature, and it should reach 88ish C (190 F) when they’re fully baked through in the middle. Cover with foil if they get too dark on the top but are still underbaked in the middle.
- Once done, let cool for about 10 minutes before removing the side of the springform pan.
- Create a simple icing by combining powdered sugar and a tiny bit of water in a bowl – we usually don't measure this, but make sure to add less water than you think to keep it on the thicker side!
- Spread over the top of the cake when it has cooled a little bit more. Slice and enjoy! We keep this in the fridge if not eaten immediately due to the pastry cream.
