Sweden’s Sandwich Cake - Smörgåstårta

When you think of a cake, what comes to mind? Chocolate icing? Cream, jam or sprinkles?
Now, Google “Smörgåstårta” and tell us what you think it is. Is it a cake? Is it a sandwich? Well, technically - it’s a sandwich cake. Everyone’s favorite face on Great Big Story, Beryl, spoke to pastry chef Johan Sandelin-Järnåsen who spills the beans (or should we say, spreads the mayo?) on what makes this unique and wonderful dish so popular. With Johan’s guidance, Beryl then makes her own version and puts this cake to the test.
Would you eat this dish?
0:00 Intro
00:25 Google smörgåstårta
00:51 Cake or a sandwich?
01:30 Finding this dish in NYC
01:49 How to make smörgåstårta
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#Food #Sweden #Smörgåstårta
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[@kombinatsiya6000]

Smörgåstårta is one of those things that's crazy expensive to eat at a restaurant but actually quite reasonable to make yourself.

[@jocelynwilliams2059]

How much for a that delicate food cost per serving ??

[@per-olamjomark7452]

@@jocelynwilliams2059 Kinda ballparking it here but I would say around 10 EUR / 11 USD for a serving perhaps, especially in Stockholm at a more fancy café. At the Vetekatten Café in Stockholm you pay roughly 90 EUR / 100 USD for a whole cake (ten pieces).

[@edbertkhovey]

​@@per-olamjomark7452holy that's expensive for a sandwich I guess it's because of the amount of seafood in it

[@deathbycheese850]

​@@edbertkhoveyI live in Australia, and this is on the cheaper side for sandwiches. Subway (not that I eat Subway, after working there years ago) is around AU$10 for a 6 inch/$15 for a footlong. Depending on fillings, deli counter sandwiches or rolls can go from $8 to $18.

[@LukasInTaiwan]

As a Swede, there literally isn’t anything better than Smörgåstårta!❤

[@AntonGermanReal]

håller med ✋

[@EngineerAbbe]

Don't take this the wrong way but even as a swede i'm semi-sensitive to this Smörgåstårta. I enjoy the tast just have a hard time with the texture

[@GreatBigStory]

🫶🇸🇪❤

[@traphimawari7760]

Im sorry but it can't top Ikea meatballs

[@MrZarewna]

We also eat smörgåstårta or voileipäkakku in Finland, but it is rarely made the same way as the Swedish one is. We don't use that shrimp mayo type of mixture. Usually it's made out of cream cheese, ham/salmon and pickled relish.

[@emeliesolli5773]

It’s fun as a Swede see foreigner try it, both as some may see the concept for the first time, or describing similar regional dishes! Smörgåstårta is a great option for when you want to have guests, and you want to have an informal reception, where guests can trickle in and leave or you just don’t want to have a sit down meal with table settings. It’s severed cold so you just take it out of the fridge, and it’s easy to eat even with disposable plates and plastic cutleries. So it’s gooey in that way that a flimsy paper or plastic fork will do to eat it. And it feels a little festive as it’s topped with delicious stuff. You can make or order whole plates of the cakes and guests and serve themself so you get to mingle and interact with everyone. You can make it a bit ahead of time. Like a ready make cake can sit in fridge for 24h with it not getting bad. Also you could prepare parts, like if you are serving many you can make everything but the topping/decoration until hours before serving if you worry shellfish would go bad or fresh veggies to look sad if it’s sat waiting a couple of days. When I tried working at a cafe as school kid, they did just that, had the bread and filling made ahead of time delivered from the central bakery the day before and in the morning just added the outer layer mayo and the fresh salad, veggies, eggs and shellfish on it.

[@jernulf268]

That smörgåstårta you made looks amazing. It would absolutely impress a Swedish friend if you have one!

[@moaahlgren5193]

Such a classic! And only the sky is the limit for fillings realy... tunasallad, chickensallad, creamy liverpate filling or variants with cheese... anything goes realy.

[@lndtbs]

I'm Swedish and you pretty much nailed it, making it the day before is essential as the bread really needs to soak up all those juices and flavors. Otherwise it'll just be dry and flavorless. You can serve this to any Swede and they'll instantly accept you as one of their own. The best part about smörgåstårta is that there are no hard rules on how to make it. Anything savory goes! The traditional way to make it is with seafood (and lots of shrimp in particular) for sure but if you don't like seafood you can make one with roast beef or whatever - it's your smörgåstårta! You'll find infinite varieties here in Sweden and they're all great. I definitely encourage people to try it, it's not even that hard to make.

[@user-sc8mt5ff4c]

HELLO?? TUNASALAD AS FILLING!! Or is that just a Skåne thing?

[@SimonBertilsson]

Perfect pronunciation of Skål Smörgåstårta is the best 🙂

[@GreatBigStory]

What unique food combinations do you love? 😊 Tell us your favorite frankenfood! 🍽 👇

[@rodeotcd]

Mac and Cheese 🔥

[@emaarredondo-librarian]

Fernet tirado al dulce. Fernet is an Italian/Argentinean herb liqueur, very strong and very, very bitter. Tastes to bad medicine. Argentineans drink it with Coca-Cola. If you mix it with Dulce de leche until it has a texture like Bailey's, it becomes quite palatable 😁 (I concocted it. And I didn't die, so, you are pretty safe if you decide to try it.)

[@fluidize8532]

I love farfalle pasta with mustard, mayo, and sliced pickles. It is "Delicious?"

[@zlxkks]

Ripped up toast and tomato sauce with sardines

[@fluidize8532]

@@zlxkks Delicious?

[@flemess]

Here in Brazil we have Torta Salgada ("savory pie"), which is the same idea: use bread as dough, but with shredded chicken as filling, covered with mashed potato and decorated with fresh herbs and vegetables. It was very common when I was a kid, not so much today. Seafood, huh? Maybe I will go on a trip down memory lane, and to the grocery shop. 😋

[@DiegoManoel]

Pensei justamente nisso, antigamente era mais comum, mas algumas delicatessen ainda vendem. Já vi como uma torta de salpicão tbm.

[@ElinaBenado]

My dad is Brazilian, so now I want to ask him about Torta Salgada. Maybe he can make it for me one day. It sounds muito gostoso!

[@izuela7677]

Since you mentioned a sandwich with mashed potatoes, check out Swedish Tunbrödsrulle. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nIGmqqecrbOIbbs Basically mashed potatoes+meat wrapped in flatbread. A big tortilla will do if wheat flatbread is not available locally. The most common version is with hotdogs, served with shrimp salad, pickles, onions and ketchup+mustard. But there is also other versions, like meatballs and a bit of brown gravy with the lingonberry yam. Or super thin cut beef steak. Or Grilled chicken. Just butter your flatbread, add mashed potatoes and then add what you like from there!

[@victorcast2467]

We have it in Brazil and it's delicious! We call it Bolo salgado de pão de forma e frango (Loaf Bread Salty Cake) or Bolo Salgado for shorts. We also use seafood, but it's possible to find it with mozzarela cheese, tuna, chicken, ham, and different vegetables. A staple on kids house parties from the 80's that is slowly dying unfortunately, but I personaly still love it.

[@110341]

Swede here, totally approve! It looked absolutely delicious 🤤

[@per-olamjomark7452]

Swede here. I love to make a good smörgåstårta from time to time. It even has its own day (Nov 13th). First time I see edamame beans on one though, creative touch there Beryl! A similar dish from eastern Europe that I really enjoy is dressed herring, colloquially known as herring under a fur coat. It is a layered salad composed of diced pickled herring covered with layers of grated boiled eggs, vegetables (potatoes, carrots, beetroots), chopped onions, and mayonnaise.

[@beneckersley17]

I've never wanted to eat Swedish food more in my life than right now

[@laka0013]

I always requested having smörgåstårta as oppose to a traditional cake on my birthdays growing up as a child. These days I make it on my own in celebration of midsummer or whenever I crave it. If I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life I would without a doubt choose smörgåstårta :)

[@poromise]

I make one that has white bread, whole grain bread and black rye bread, and contains a bunch of smoked salmon, eggs, pickles, a ton of cream cheese, sour cream, and a bunch of other things as well. It's quite a weird combo of flavors but it might be my favorite food ever. I can demolish a 1.5 kg cake in a day, easy.

[@tetepeb]

Im so glad you highlighted the pure seafood Smörgåstårta because there is often a godawful version that is common in Sweden where you have, sliced ham, sliced cheese, cured salmon(lax/lux), fruit (often grapes) and even sometimes crushed Cheese Doodels (Like Cheetos) on the sides and the filling is mostly mayo and it´s an abomination but people buy that crap and i have no idea why because it´s not good. The best Smörgåstårta you do yourself and you keep it pure, either it´s only seafood or only meat/cheese. We have two holy dishes in my family and one of them are my Mothers Smörgåstårta and i can go toe to toe with anybody in saying that it´s one of the best you will ever taste!

[@ricoismydaddy2232]

I love this channel so much!! Been here since you guys left and I’m glad you are back

[@UnlimitedFlyers]

GREAT BIG STORY IS *BAAAAAAAAAAACK* !!!! And Beryl is making food documentaries for it again! DOUBLE AWESOME!!!!!!

[@jonathankarlsson1766]

A Swede living in Argentina. Here they have the perfect bread for it and nobody knows. Sandwich de miga-torta!

[@markusolofzon]

Smörgåstårta is probably the best invention us Swedes have come up with!

[@noka283]

I'm in love 💕 this looks delicious

[@christopherx7428]

Smörgåstårta is a great "reception food", e.g. after a baptism, funeral or whatever when you might have a lot of guest mingling. It would be interesting to see you try out how to eat a proper "smörgåsbord", the full Swedish Christmas table. It is a ritual, you need a guide the first time! 🙂

[@resh..]

That actually looked Amazing ! 😋 I'd love you to try - " Dholl Puri " - from Mauritius... It's our staple snack / food... it's SO GOOD!

[@poppomatic]

Not just in Sweden it's popular, even in the rest of the Nordic countries. We do often serve smörgåstårta here in Finland on birthday and exams parties, sometimes as a weekend treat. It's really expensive to make but the end result is worth it

[@hej100]

I'm not so sure that it is popular in all nordic countries. For example, I've asked some norweigan friends of mine, and they had never even heard of smörgåstårta.

[@giriumground]

I'm just happy that GBS is back

[@chiaradamore-klaiman8692]

I love everything about this video.

[@speedywiz]

thanks Beryl, looks yummy! 😋

[@CloeteHenri]

Please try Bunny Chow from South Africa!

[@tastyneck]

That looks really good. I'd totally try it.

[@aprilzbrozek2694]

I'm so glad you're back on GBS, Beryl!

[@Rachelle660]

Essentially it’s just a savoury cake. Great video! I love Vete-Katten 🥰

[@LORDOFDORKNESS42]

You can also make a meat based version, with stuff like roast beef and liver pate. Equally delicious, but many prefer the salmon & fish stuff since it tends to be lighter & fluffier stuff.

[@Tintelinus]

Also liver pate is less universally liked (I love the stuff tho)

[@DonJuanMarco1994]

It must be a smorgasbord of wonderful taste.

[@emdegn1904]

YAY!! As a Scandi myself this makes me so happy that you made! I make with rye to represent my Danish side but it's so good any way!

[@marna_li]

Both Sweden and Denmark has this tradition of eating sandwiches. I don't say we eat it a lot of it, but we also have Räkmacka (Shrimp sandwich) which is like the little brother of Smörgåstårta. In most cases the type of bread varies. If it is soft bread or rye bread. In Denmark, they have "smørrebrød" which takes lunching with sandwiches to another level. It is small pieces of rye bread with butter and various stuff on top. Either meats or fish. My favorite is roast beef and remoulade. It does get cheaper making them yourself.

[@SpicyCurryWurst519]

Im going to make this soon. Thanks!

[@GreatBigStory]

You're welcome 🙌 Let us know how your homemade smörgåstårta goes! 😁

[@AVI.D]

Her pronunciation of skål is spot on

[@jameslozano6913]

Love seeing Beryl on this channel!

[@BerylShereshewsky]

Awww yayyyyy❤❤❤❤

[@maiqueemidio6372]

Its look delicious!!!

[@bar111a.5]

Both the chef and the girl who made the sandwich cake are so sweet! Thanks for this video, super interesting ❤

[@jennifer1329]

Beryl Shereshewsky has her own channel, too...

[@bar111a.5]

@@jennifer1329 oh, I didn't know that, thanks for the info!

[@johanoskarsson8209]

I'm so happy to see this this crazy invention of ours getting some proper representation. It's insane, but it's delicious. Also DAMN, that "skål" at the end couldn't have been more on the money. You sounded like a native speaker.

[@mooncake8254]

That look so tasty! Honestly it's high class dish .

[@rasmus9311]

The way she said "Skål" at the end was perfect, sounded suspiciously 100% swedish

[@alycon4x]

Aquavit or the Red Rooster restaurants in NYC might have been able to make make one for Beryl. But it's also fun to see a homemade version.

[@CyclingChefDiane]

Surprised & happy that Beryl is back to GBS.

[@kurtisburtis]

your interpretation was very pretty and looked tasty! (Darn, now I may have to make one … 😊)

[@djockom]

I love it

[@John-Is-My-Name]

Man every swede here has their own way of doing their smörgåstårta, buying one is really expensive and never is really right I think. But that is because everyone does them different, there is really no wrong way :) Yours looked good

[@thihal123]

Delicious!!!

[@lbednaz]

No stopping Beryl! I'm only surprised she tried to buy one!

[@HoneyLavenderMacchiato]

Soft bread and seafood are two things I always avoid, but you really did make it look so pretty!

[@Amaling]

From outside looking in, this just looks like an overwhelming amount of Mayo and Seafood. Definitely gonna try it when in Sweden though, so cool recommendation!

[@BerylShereshewsky]

I used a mix of cream cheese and Mayo!

[@MaddieFishblob]

Dang-couldn’t find a single one in New York! Even cooler that they’re making this vid then-it certainly taught me about a delicious looking dish I never knew existed 🔥

[@superdestrier9160]

This is just like Russian shuba! It's a cake with layers of herring and root vegetables topped with beets.

[@izuela7677]

The meatball version of this cake usually comes with red beet salad. Made from pickled red beets mixed with sour cream, I think? Never made it myself. Basically looks like dark pink potato salad.

[@annasahlstrom6109]

I love Sweden!

[@taraoakes6674]

It might have been a bit softer if you had chilled it overnight. My grandma would make this, but she made the meat version because too many people in the family can’t eat shellfish.

[@BerylShereshewsky]

I did!

[@jennifer1329]

She did!

[@stdew07]

This can be an unique substitute for a wedding cake 😋

[@goodvideos.113]

This is a great share.

[@khawlahazwar7475]

I'm not swedish and I just heard about this cake sandwich for the first time and I know I will love it since I love seafood 😋

[@bjornakebergqvist]

Swede here, that's it. Great vid!

[@IKARNIFEX]

Great big story always delivering

[@SeaOfMany]

This looks great When I’m in Sweden I’m eating dis

[@danielledetlie6882]

Oh my gosh my mom grew up in Sweden and I remember the first time I had this as a kid. I was so confused by the concept of it lolllll

[@0tid]

I love the smörgåstårta!

[@op4000exe]

I may be Danish, but god do I love Smörgårstårta, and yet it's basically never served here.

[@Dlt814]

I had something similar years ago at a fancy “Victorian” tea. It didn’t have shrimp. I can’t remember if it had salmon or just veggies. It was frosted in cream cheese and decorated with pansies. It was like nothing I had eaten before and absolutely delicious.

[@BigboiiTone]

As a swede i love the way she says "truly!"

[@TillerMicroSkiffs]

Where has this been my whole life?!?! My family is Swedish and never heard of this... The queen of sandwiches!

[@vincentgandee8485]

Hur har ni kunnat missat det.? Hur svensk är din familj?

[@TillerMicroSkiffs]

@vincentgandee8485 too many years in America I guess...

[@TheMiccru]

I would love you to try the Cuban Fufu. It's a bit different then your Fufu that is serve in West Africa. It's made of plantain and has a interesting story as well the other Spanish Caribbean have their own version but in a different twist.

[@Wabuu-zoo]

Sick, glad to see us represented

[@GreatBigStory]

🇸🇪❤

[@elsalaiho1699]

If you're so inclined, I'd love for you to do a vide on Karelian pies! They're pretty simple to make - a rye flour crust and a rice porridge or mashed potato filling, and eat them with a mixture of butter and boiled egg mashed into pieces on top, but freshly baked ones are so delicious, and it'd be amazing to see you do a video on it!

[@nocturne7371]

It's the perfect food to serve at gatherings that is not important enough to have a real cake because it's so easy to make and it's extremely easy to scale up. Like end of the schoolyear celebration, gathering after a funeral, special club meetings etc.

[@Whalebay]

You should do a story about Norwegian brown cheese. It's unlike anything else!

[@jennifer1329]

Gjetost?

[@duskcat]

Suggestion: Scallion pancakes are delicious!

[@AndreeMon8]

In México 🇲🇽 we have something similar called Pastel de Atún, it is made exactly like she made her Smörgåstårta by layering pieces of sandwich bread like a lasagna but topping each layer with a mixture of tuna, mayonnaise, crema, jalapeño, mixed veggies and other different ingredients, and a layer of American cheese. When finishing stacking the bread you cover it all up again with the mixture of tuna and chipotle chile, which adds a little delicious spice. Then, it’s better served freezed, as you do with the smörgåstårta. So yeah, that’s our version of that cake-sandwich and is delicious! 😋

[@user-ic4ce8xb5v]

I don't eat one ingredient in that except cucumbers, so I'm never trying that, but it's still fun to learn about another culture

[@dadcelo]

We have something similar in Brazil!

[@BigboiiTone]

I loved Alyson Hannigan in HIMYM its nice to see her doing other things now

[@98olober]

Smörgåstårta is my favorite food! But it's expensive. I only eat it on birthdays and after funerals

[@deeelle6744]

As you're adventuring into Scandinavian delicacies, please try Norwegian Lutefisk. It was the dish we enjoyed (endured) on Christmas eve. My mom was Norwegian yet my English father, who was a cook, learned and mastered this dish in honor of his love for her.

[@Eaglebrace]

The only type of cake i eat, I am not much of a sweet-toothy guy so this is perfect for me. You can make your very own the way you want it which is great.

[@Rakadis]

As a Norwegian I am intrigued and disgusted at the same time. I know all the ingredients and eat them regularly as a _sandwich_. But you have to be that special kind of insane to make a cake out of it. And this instantly makes the list of why we Norwegians like to lovingly pick on our great Swedish neighbours.

[@elsalaiho1699]

Meanwhile over in Finland it's not... it's less common than the video gives an impression of it being in Sweden, but it's not unheard of, I've definitely been to several different social functions where it's been served

[@ZyXxOmAn]

It's not really a cake though, and it doesn't taste like a pastery cake lol

[@leonbrander90]

It's not a sweet cake. Chill.

[@SirSquigglemarz]

You're one to speak... haven't you seen your own cuisine? At least the Swedes aren't boring 😂

[@_loss_]

It's a multilayered sandwich. What are you trying to pick on?

[@ArgaAnders]

Smörgåstårta ftw!!!

[@petkamoravcikova]

There's a storybook in my country about a cat and a dog (those are their names as well). One of the most memorable stories is where they make a cake, putting literally everything they like in it. In the end, it tastes and looks weird because the flavours clash. For some reason, this video reminded me of that. God knows why.

[@allanovelha1969]

Hey, we call that cake as salt cake in my country, we do just one simple recipe with carrots, maionese and bread, mechpotato i guess (don't really know the recipe), but there is no variation as far as I know. I don't know who brought this to my country, but it has a pleasant taste I must say

[@ElinaBenado]

It would be amazing if you could research and try cooking Pancit Bihon (a Filipino noodle dish). My Filipino mom cooks it for me and I'd love to see you try it! It's incredibly delicious 🇵🇭

[@li53cz3k]

That's so cool! I want to eat it! ❤ (NOT with american bread...)

[@lavanyadeshmukh2467]

good to see beryl back

[@nabra97]

I have never heard about it, but it kinda makes sense.

[@nickyges]

As a chilean, I want try this creamy sandwich cake called the Smörgåstårta

[@heyayay]

In northern Mexico and deep south Texas we have something similar called Sandwichon

[@ammaranuar2544]

The healthiest cake ever

[@QueenOfTriad]

i've seen sandwich cake in japanese manga when i was kid and i still dream of it from time to time.... i want this as my birthday cake please

[@trba_biko]

Yoo this channel is active again? 🥺 Great to see Beryl again!

[@nottherealRohaNNNN]

yayy beryl is backk !!!

[@GreatBigStory]

Our resident foodie! She's amazing ☺

[@tessml]

Usually served at parties and sometimes a sweet cake is served afterwards as well. I will tell you one thing , a sweet cake after is not necessary, you are FULL after taking one slice of smörgåstårta..

[@BannersglareTheDreamWriter]

You could say the smörgåstårta is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

[@white_clover767]

Great presenter!!

[@princetandukar9290]

THEY'RE BACK!! GBS is BACK!! RESSURECTED FROM THE DEAD!!!

[@hencytjoe]

Smörgåstårta is the fastest way into the heart of the Swedish.