Drømmekage - Danish Dream Cake
Happy November!
Do you ever find yourself daydreaming about a recipe you made a while ago and wish you had the time to make it again? Well I do all the time. Lately, the same Danish recipe kept popping up into my head that I discovered years ago while attending a congress in Denmark. I, of course, followed a Danish baking class while I was there and we learnt to make this dreamy Danish cake... a drømmekage. The literal translation for "dreamcake".
It's a dense, basic vanilla cake topped with a sweet coconut / brown sugar topping. The combination of the two is so fabulous. Even if you're not a coconut-lover like I was for years, you'll probably like this cake. The coconut isn't a overwhelming taste, just a sweet addition to the cake. I might be a bit biased because lately I've turned into a coconut-lover! Just add some coconut flavor to, well, anything please?!
Normally I bake this cake in a sheet pan. I thought it would look prettier in a round cake form, but you need to double the baking time. Also I must admit I prefer the cake/topping ratio better in a sheet pan. So while it looks tastier as a round cake, a sheet pan is probably the best baking tool for this cake. Enjoy!
Ingredients for Cake:
- 2 ¼ cup (250g) all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ cup (50g) unsalted butter, softened
- 7 oz. (200ml) milk
- 4 eggs
- 1 ⅓ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients for Topping:
- ½ cup (125g) unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup (50ml) milk
- 1 ⅓ cups (100g) dessicated coconut
- 1 to 1 ¼ cups (200-250g) light brown sugar
Instructions:
- For the Topping: In a mixing bowl, combine all topping ingredients. Set aside until ready to spread over cake.
- For the Cake: Preheat oven to 200 degrees C/400 degrees F. Grease an 8 or 9-inch (20-22cm) square or round baking pan. If desired, line baking pan with parchment paper, then grease paper.
- Sift the flour with the baking powder. Melt the 50g butter and mix with the 200ml milk. Beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy, then fold in the flour mixture. Lastly, fold in the butter and milk mixture.
- Pour into prepared baking pan and bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center of cake comes out clean (leave oven on and set to 225 degrees C/425 degrees F). Remove cake from oven and immediately spread the topping over cake and bake cake for an additional 5-10 minutes at 225 degrees C/425 degrees F. Cool cake completely on wire cooling rack before serving. Cut cake into squares (or wedges, if baking cake in a round pan).
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