mardi 9 juillet 2013

Things that surprise me about Denmark - The pastries and other desserts

I never knew that Denmark had a pastry tradition. Maybe that's because my in-laws lived in Denmark in the early 90s before the "food revolution" and had nothing good to say about the desserts (or anything else, for that matter). So I had no idea the pastries and desserts were so good. But I am here to tell you that they are awesome! For me, this is the best thing about the local cuisine; the Danes really know how to make good pastries. That includes croissants - my Frenchie actually admitted that the croissants are actually quite good!

I've tasted pastries in Norway and Sweden, but I must say that Denmark is the winner in my books for the best pastries of the three countries.

"The Danish" in Canada is more bready and has less cinnamon and often has jam in the middle. "The Danish" in Denmark is more flaky and is usually topped with a dallop of chocolate or icing. The cinnamon is the key ingredient. I really enjoy Denmark's danish because I love cinnamon and I am crazy about its French-style pastry which is loaded with butter and slightly crunchy.

The Danes are amused that foreigners use "the Danish" as the name of this pastry. The Danes themselves call it the Snegle, or Snail. All pastries are called wienerbrød, or Vienna bread, because these type of pastries originated from Vienna. That's why they are called viennoiseries in French as well.

A selection of Danish pastries. Author of photo: Den Nation.
In the above photo "the Danish" is at the top. It is actually quite a flat pastry. To the right is the Tebirkes, which is an airy pastry covered in poppy seeds and filled with a thin layer of marzipan inside. It is quite simple, but you can really taste its buttery flakiness. And the poppy seed taste is so pronounced! Then finally there is the Træstamme, which is not a pastry but totally deserves its place next to the pastries. The filling consists of ground-up old pastries, chocolate, sugar, butter and rum. It is covered with a layer of marzipan. I think it may originate from Sweden, but it is everywhere here in Denmark.

Pastries in a shop window. Author of photo: Den Nation. 

I believe that the pastries on the left in the above picture are variations of the French croissant. I have tried Danish croissants and I guarantee you that they are pretty close to the real thing, confirmed by my own resident frog. Now that I never expected! On the right are pieces of brioche-like bread covered in icing, nuts and cinnamon. There is also some cinnamon baked into the brioche.

Drømmekage. Author of photo: Den Nation. 



I think Drømmekage may come from Sweden as well, but again, it is pretty popular here in Denmark. The cake itself is pretty ordinary - it is the brown suger/coconut topping that takes the biscuit. I was afraid that the coconut taste would be overpowering, but there was a perfect balance between the coconut and the rest of the ingredients.


Then there are flødeboller of course. I believe that flødeboller actually originate from Denmark. Flødeboller and different variations are found in several countries. It is in Denmark, however, that you find the best flødeboller in my opinion. Fløde means cream and boller means balls. The filling consists of whipped egg whites and is mousse-like in appearance. It is very light and airy and not dense and spongy like a marshmallow (some variations around the world are more marshmallow-like). They are covered in chocolate and often sprinkled with coconut flakes or other toppings. 

Flødebolle. Author of photo: Den Nation.

Bon appétit !

10 commentaires:

  1. That's funny - in the UK a "Danish" or "Danish pastry" usually has a fruit filling and icing. I would call your Danish a cinnamon roll (and it's one of my favourites!). It's funny how different cultures import different things from abroad.

    I love your food posts. They always make me hungry!

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    1. I think I am getting terms mixed up. My family calls the cinnamon roll a "Danish". I don't think that other Canadians called cinnamon rolls Danishes.

      I love working on my food posts!

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  2. There you go with the delectable food photos again!! Sigh. I need to come to Denmark to eat.

    And growing up in Canada, Danish pastries (or "danishes" as we called them) were some of my favourite sweet treats. I loved the lemon ones with lots of powdered sugar icing!

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    1. I was just wondering, do you call a cinnamon roll a Danish as well? My family always uses the term cinnamon roll and Danish for the bready brioche covered in icing and cinnamon.

      Yeah, I love the one with the lemon centre as well!

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  3. he he, what a sweet tooth you are. I've just realized that 18 krones for a croissant is really expensive. 3$CAD. I have a craving for danishes all of a sudden.

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    1. Yup, everything is so expensive in Denmark. Well, not for everyone - Swedes and Norwegians come here to drink on the cheap!

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  4. How is is I had always thought of pastries as French and had never connected the Danish with Denmark? Feel remarkably silly now! I like the look of the brioche. Wonder if I could find a recipe for that anywhere!

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    1. Well, I never knew that pastries were such a big thing here either so don't beat yourself up over it. I like the look of all of them, to tell you the truth, and I even stop my bike sometimes just to look into a bakery shop window! I am so hopelessly sweet-toothed!

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  5. You are killing me with all these pictures of incredibly delicious looking food! Your blog always makes me hungry. That flødebolle looks and sounds amazing!

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    1. I love, love, love flødebolle. I have even managed to convert a couple of French people!

      There are so many pastries that I will miss when I leave. To tell you the honest truth, I haven't missed French food all that much. I never expected that. Even the croissants are good here and we can find good wine, cheese and bread so it's actually not that different. I just cut out all the excess eating and drinking.

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