Brunsviger Cake

In our family this Danish Brunsviger Cake is a treat we make for every birthday – OR if we are celebrating something fantastic!

If we use it for a birthday cake we often shape it as a boy or a girl and decorate it with flags and candy! (we also make birthday cake-men/-women out of sweet rolls or a sweet kind of puff pastry).

Brunsviger is a classic Danish coffee cake.

The cake is originally from Fyn (Funen) in Denmark, the island where Hans Christian Andersen was born.

It is a soft yeast dough topped with a generous serving of butter and brown sugar.

Brunsviger is traditionally served warm in the morning or with afternoon coffee or tea and it’s always best the same day it is made.

However, if you have some left-over cake you can heat it up a little and it’s still delicious.

This Brunsviger cake is actually not a “real” cake, but more like a bread-kinda-cake made out of a dough with yeast, and topped with a lovely, brown sugar-mass!

This cake is all about the filling, otherwise it’s just some brioche bread.

A true Danish treat!

Danish Brunsviger Cake

How to make the Brunsviger cake:

Add butter and brown sugar in a small pan and heat it up until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. The remove from heat.

Add the heavy whipping cream. (The whipping cream makes sure that the sugar mass doesn’t get hard-/dries up when baked.)

Add the dry yeast in a large bowl.

Activate the dry yeast in luke warm milk by adding the sugar and stir.

When it starts to bubble (after a few minutes), the yeast is ready.

Now, you can add the rest of the ingredients; melted butter, flour, egg and salt and knead the dough well.

Let the dough rise, covered, for about half an hour.

While the dough is rising its time to make the filling.

Just take a small pot and add the the butter, brown sugar and heavy whipping cream. Melt it slowly while stirring in the mass.

Roll out the dough until about 1 inch thick. It needs to fit a baking tray (about 18 in x 10 in) covered with parchment paper.

Use your fingers to make small holes in the dough.

Add the brown sugar mass over the dough and let it raise again for about 45-60 minutes.

Bake the cake for about 20 minutes in a 400 degree fahrenheit warm oven.

Enjoy the Brunsviger cake fresh baked while it’s still warm.

However, if you use it for a birthday cake it’s a tradition to decorate it with sprinkled candy and small flags. If the cake is too hot, the candy will melt and ruin the experience a bit. Its best to decorate it when its cooled down. Brunsviger cake taste best the same day.

The brunsviger cake can easily be made in advance. (I do that very often!)

You can make it the evening before (dough with filling) and keep it in the refrigerator. Next morning you take it out and leave it on the counter to warm up a bit ad let it rise before you bake it (about an hour).

The brunsviger freezes very well too (with the filling).

When you need it, you just take it out of the freezer, defrost it on the counter and let it rise before you bake it.

Brunsviger Cake

• Author: Oh Happy Dane
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 20 min
• Total Time: 1 hour and 20 mins
• Yield: 10 persons 1x
• Category: Cake
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: Danish

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Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 stick of butter (4 0z/100 g)
• 3 1/4 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Brown sugar filling:

• 1 1/2 stick of butter (6 oz/150 g)
• 1 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1–2 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream

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Instructions

1. Add butter and brown sugar in a small pan and heat it up until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. The remove from heat.
2. Add the heavy whipping cream. (The whipping cream makes sure that the sugar mass doesn’t get hard-/dries up when baked.)
3. Add the dry yeast in a large bowl.
4. Activate the dry yeast in luke warm milk by adding the sugar and stir.
5. When it starts to bubble (after a few minutes), the yeast is ready.
6. Now, you can add the rest of the ingredients; melted butter, flour, egg and salt and knead the dough well.
7. Let the dough rise, covered, for about half an hour.
8. While the dough is rising its time to make the filling.
9. Just take a small pot and add the the butter, brown sugar and heavy whipping cream. Melt it slowly while stirring in the mass.
10. Roll out the dough until about 1 inch thick. It needs to fit a baking tray (about 18 in x 10 in) covered with parchment paper.
11. Use your fingers to make small holes in the dough.
12. Add the brown sugar mass over the dough and let it raise again for about 45-60 minutes.
13. Bake the cake for about 20 minutes in a 400 degree fahrenheit warm oven.
14. Enjoy the Brunsviger cake fresh baked while it’s still warm.
15. However, if you use it for a birthday cake it’s a tradition to decorate it with sprinkled candy and small flags. If the cake is too hot, the candy will melt and ruin the experience a bit. Its best to decorate it when its cooled down. Brunsviger cake taste best the same day.
16. The brunsviger cake can easily be made in advance. (I do that very often!)
17. You can make it the evening before (dough with filling) and keep it in the refrigerator. Next morning you take it out and leave it on the counter to warm up a bit ad let it rise before you bake it (about an hour).
18. The brunsviger freezes very well too (with the filling).
19. When you need it, you just take it out of the freezer, defrost it on the counter and let it rise before you bake it.

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Notes

If you use this Brunsviger cake for a birthday cake it’s a tradition to decorate it with sprinkled candy and small flags.

If the cake is too hot, the candy will melt and ruin the experience a bit.

Its best to decorate it when its cooled down. Brunsviger cake taste best the same day.

The brunsviger cake can easily be made in advance. (I do that very often!)

You can make it the evening before (dough with filling) and keep it in the refrigerator. Next morning you take it out and leave it on the counter to warm up a bit ad let it rise before you bake it (about an hour).

The brunsviger freezes very well too (with the filling).

When you need it, you just take it out of the freezer, defrost it on the counter and let it rise before you bake it.

Keywords: brunsviger, brunsviger cake, cake, danish brunsviger cake,