Hi everyone! Emma here. I thought it was time for another one of these fun non-recipe blog posts so we can share some more of our baking thoughts and knowledge. Feel free to leave a comment sharing your thoughts on anything or any recipe requests you may have! Today’s post is about Danish pastries – yum!
Morgenbrød and Wienerbrød
If you’ve ever been to Denmark, you’ll understand how big of a role “morgenbrød” plays in the lives of Danes. It’s not something we eat every day, that’s true, but it’s a delicious treat to have every once in a while. “Morgenbrød” in Danish (in Norwegian, the meaning is very different lol) means “morning bread,” and it refers to a variety of different breads and pastries. Usually, someone in the family heads over to the local baker and picks up a selection of morgenbrød for breakfast. Then, everyone enjoys these together over breakfast and coffee!
You may also have heard Danish pastries referred to as “wienerbrød” or Vienna bread. These are pastries that are made with a yeasted dough that is then laminated with layers of butter, resulting in a super flaky pastry. They are referred to as wienerbrød because Austrian bakers were actually the first to introduce these baking methods to Danish bakers. However, now many of these pastries are called “Danishes” in other countries, while they are still known as Vienna bread in Denmark. Interesting!
Our Favorites
Now, let’s get into some more detail about some of our favorite pastries. Below, I’ve chosen three of the most standard pastries to tell you about!
1. Kanelsnegle
These are the most basic, standard Danish pastry, at least in Denmark. What you may know as “Danishes” are perhaps more similar to spandauer. But kanelsnegle, which translates to “cinnamon snails,” are just a perfect example of how sometimes, simplicity is best. That being said, the best kanelsnegle are made with Danish pastry dough, which is certainly not simple to make. Swirled with cinnamon, sugar, and butter, these pastries are absolutely unreal. You can find our recipes linked here for kanelsnegle made with Danish pastry dough or with a more simple yeasted dough.
2. Spandauer
As mentioned above, these are probably the closest to American or British “Danishes.” They are filled with a marzipan filling, then topped with kagecreme (pastry cream/custard) or jam. Biting into a perfect spandauer is unmatched – the sweetness of the marzipan and vanilla kagecreme combined with the flakiness of the dough…just a match made in heaven! However, this is definitely one of those recipes we can’t claim is “super simple.” But the process is undoubtedly worth it – check out our recipe here!
3. Tebirkes
It’s hard to pick a favorite Danish pastry – they’re genuinely all so delicious! But I’d have to say that tebirkes is probably my favorite. It’s what I crave first when I go back to Denmark and what I will always choose out of a selection of morgenbrød. However, there are different types of tebirkes or birkes in Denmark. For example, there is another version of this that is simply a bread roll with poppy seeds on top. Although that’s also delicious, I definitely prefer the tebirkes made with laminated, buttery Danish pastry dough and filled with marzipan. The texture and flavor combination is unique and just makes for the perfect treat. Here is our recipe for tebirkes – if you’re interested, please check it out!
Other Less “Standard” Pastries
Now, we’ve shared with you some of our favorite pastries that fit into the morgenbrød and wienerbrød category. There are also plenty of other pastries that are just as delicious but maybe don’t belong on the breakfast table. Medaljer are pastry cream cakes that consist of yummy shortbread cookies with a layer of vanilla custard sandwiched between them. Hindbærsnitter are basically like lattice shortbread and jam cookies, and are actually very simple to make. If any of these sound good to you, check out the recipes at the links provided! And in general, check out our pastries recipe page for more. Thanks for reading!
