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Danish Dream Cake (Drømmekage)

4.2

(9)

Yellow cake with shredded coconut topping Danish Dream Cake on a cake stand.
Photo by Peter Cassidy

This Danish Dream Cake (or ‘Drømmekage fra Brovst’) originates from Brovst, a village in Jutland. In 1965 a young girl baked her grandmother’s secret family recipe in a competition and won, and the cake has been a favorite of Danes ever since. No wonder: This cake is remarkably light and fluffy, with a delicious coconut topping.

You can buy vanilla sugar in Scandinavian food shops, but it’s also easy to make at home. Add 1 cup powdered sugar to a small food processor with a dried-out vanilla bean. Pulse until completely pulverized, then sift out any large pieces of the vanilla bean.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    1 hour and 5 minutes

  • Yield

    Serves 10–12

Ingredients

3 eggs
1 cup (225 g) granulated sugar
1⁄2 tsp. vanilla sugar (see note at top)
1¾ cups (225 g) all-purpose flour or cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2⁄3 cup (150 ml) whole milk
3⁄4 stick (75 g) butter, melted

For the topping

1 stick (100 g) butter
1½ cups (150 g) dried shredded coconut
1¼ cups (250 g) dark brown sugar
1⁄3 cup (75 ml) whole milk
Pinch salt

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 375°F. Prepare a 9-inch springform or round cake pan, greased and lined with baking parchment.

    Step 2

    In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar and vanilla sugar on a high speed for a few minutes, until white and light. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together.

    Step 3

    Carefully fold the flour into the egg mixture. Mix the milk with the melted butter in a jug/pitcher and carefully pour into the batter, folding it in until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.

    Step 4

    Bake in the preheated oven for 35–40 minutes, or until almost done (try not to open the oven door for the first 20 minutes of the total baking time).

    Step 5

    To make the topping, put all the ingredients in a saucepan and gently melt together.

    Step 6

    Remove the cake from the oven and carefully spread the topping all over the cake. Return to the oven. Turn up the heat to 400°F and bake for a further 5 minutes.

    Step 7

    Leave cake to cool before eating, if you can (we are well aware it’s hard to do that).

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From ScandiKitchen by Brontë Aurell. Photography by Peter Cassidy © Ryland Peters & Small 2015. Buy the full book from Ryland Peters & Small or Amazon.
TagsCakeDessertDanishScandinavianEuropeanCake FlourFlourCoconutFruitBrunchNut FreeVegetarianEasyBakingStand MixerCookbooks

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