Bløtkake – Norwegian Cream Cake

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Make this traditional Norwegian Cream Cake – Bløtkake – a delicious sponge layer cake filled with pudding and peaches and cream, topped with whipped cream, blueberries and strawberries.

May 17th is Nasjonaldagen, Norwegian Constitution Day and a huge national holiday in Norway.  And what better way to celebrate than with a traditional Norwegian Bløtkake , also called Norwegian Cream Cake.  This cake is delicious, versatile and not too complicated to make.

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This cake is basically a sponge cake topped with fruit and whipped cream, which makes it a delicious spring time dessert. You can vary the type of fruit that you use in the cake based on the season and your family’s preferences. I’ve made this cake multiple times and I make it a little differently each time – but it is always tasty.

Pieces of blotkake with 3 layers topped with berries

Bløtkake

I first had Bløtkake when my son was invited to a birthday party at the home of a friend with Norwegian heritage. It was so tasty I knew I had to get the recipe and make it for my family.  It is the traditional cake used as a birthday cake in Norway. This recipe is the recipe that my friend Sabine gave me, prepared the way she prepares it.

Top view of Norwegian cream cake frosted with whipped cream and topped with strawberries and blueberries

I like the fact this recipe is not overly sweet, and has lots and lots of fruit.  Of course it is called Norwegian Cream Cake, so it also has lots and lots of whipped cream!  All the fruit makes it taste light and fresh and makes it a perfect spring or summertime dessert recipe. 

Making the Norwegian Cream Cake

The cake part of Bløtkake is a sponge cake, which is made with just eggs, sugar, flour and baking soda. Sponge cake is light and airy because of the air beaten into the cake by whipping the eggs. To get this airy sponge cake texture you need to beat the eggs with the sugar a lot, until they become light colored and a little frothy and bubbly. 

Then combine the flour with the baking soda and sift the ingredients over the egg mixture about 1/3 at a time, folding gently with a spatula until just combined. If you don’t have an actual flour sifter you can sift the flour using a wire strainer or even a colander. It is easy to over mix the flour, so fold the batter just until no streaks of flour remain.

Springform pan with sponge cake batter for blotkake

My recipe calls for baking the cake in a springform pan and then slicing it carefully into thirds. I have found that without a cake leveler it is difficult to cut the cake into three layers. So sometimes I make this cake with three layers and sometimes with only two, depending on whether or not I can find my cake leveler. 

Filling the Bløtkake

Traditionally this cake is covered in whipped cream and filled and topped with all kinds of fruit – strawberries, raspberries, bananas, peaches, mangoes and blueberries are all commonly used. Every family has their favorite fruits for Bløtkake.

Ingredients for assembling the blotkake

The first step in filling the cake is to sprinkle the cake layers with peach juice to soften them up and add flavor. Then for the first layer I combine vanilla pudding with about 2/3 of a can of peaches. I use a fork to mash the peaches into the pudding and spread it on the first layer of cake. It is fine if it is a little chunky, it is supposed to be.

Layer of sponge cake topped with pudding and peach mixture

For the second layer of cake I make whipped cream and combine it with about 1 cup of strawberries. Again I mash them up with a fork for tasty layer of strawberry whipped cream. Then I stack the cake layers up and frost the entire thing with the rest of the whipped cream.

frosting the blotkake with whipped cream - norwegian cream cake

Decorating the Norwegian Cream Cake

You can put whatever fruit you want on top of the cake. But for celebrating Norway’s national day it is traditional to decorate it to match the colors of the Norwegian flag, which are blue, red and white. So I usually top my Bløtkake with blueberries and strawberries, which of course also makes it perfect for American holidays like Memorial Day and 4th of July.

Norwegian blotkake on a cake stand

Tips for Making Bløtkake

You could also divide the batter into three cake pans and bake it, instead of trying to cut three layers out of one springform cake. 

However it is also easy to just leave off the strawberry whipped cream filling and make it a two layer cake. In that case you can just add extra strawberries and whipped cream on top. Since I have made this multiple times I have made it both ways, and some of the pictures in this post show a three layer cake and some show a two layer cake. Either way tasted amazing though!

Slice of blotkake with two layers

This cake tastes even better after it sits for a few hours or overnight. The filling and peaches soaks into the cake and enhances the flavor. So if you can it is nice to assemble it the night before you serve it, as long as you have room for it in the refrigerator.

I made this for my daughter’s birthday a few weeks ago, and it was a big hit with everyone! It is always fun to try foods from other cultures, especially yummy desserts!

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4.84 from 42 votes

Bløtkake – Norwegian Cream Cake

Published By Anne
Traditional Norwegian Cream Cake – Bløtkake – a delicious sponge layer cake filled with pudding and peaches and cream, topped with whipped cream, blueberries and strawberries.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Additional Time15 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Servings: 12
Print Save Rate Pin

Ingredients
 

Cake

  • 6 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Filling

  • 1 box vanilla pudding
  • 1 cup milk
  • 16 oz. peaches canned
  • 1 pint whipping cream
  • 1 T sugar
  • 1 quart fresh strawberries
  • 1 pint blueberries

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 325 F and grease and flour a spring form pan.
  • Beat the eggs and the sugar on high speed until light and frothy. They should be light yellow and a little bubbly.
  • Mix the flour and baking soda together. Sift the mixture about 1/3 at a time over the egg mixture and fold together with a spatula. Don’t over mix! Fold until the batter is no longer streaked with flour.
  • Pour the mixture into the spring form pan and bake for about 35 minutes, until the center is firm.
  • Cool completely before removing the sides of the spring form pan.
  • While it is cooling make the pudding with only 1 cup of milk, instead of the two called for on the box. It will be very thick! Let the pudding cool.
  • Once the cake is cool cut it into 3 more or less equal layers. A wire cake lever is very useful for this, without a leveler I usually just make it a two layer cake.
  • Put each of the three layers of the cake on separate plates. Drizzle with the juice from the peach can. Use up all the juice.
  • Mix about 2/3 of the peaches in the can with the cooled pudding, and crush with a fork. Use the mixture to top one of the layers.
  • Whip the cream with 1 Tablespoon of sugar until soft peaks form.
  • Crush 2/3 of the strawberries and mix with 1/3 of the whipped cream. Use this mixture to top another cake layer.
  • Stack the cake layers together with the peach layer on the bottom. Frost the cake with the remainder of the whipped cream, and decorate with the remaining strawberries and blueberries, or whatever fruit you prefer.
  • Store in the refrigerator.

Video

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Nutrition Information

Serving: 1g | Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 140mg | Sodium: 132mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 29g

Nutrition facts are estimates.

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Make this traditional Norwegian Dessert - Bløtkake - a delicious sponge layer cake filled with pudding & peaches & cream, topped with whipped cream, blueberries and strawberries - Norwegian Cream Cake #norwegian #cake #dessert

Make this traditional Norwegian Dessert - Bløtkake - a delicious sponge layer cake filled with pudding & peaches & cream, topped with whipped cream, blueberries and strawberries - Norwegian Cream Cake #norwegian #cake #dessert
anne

Hi, I’m Anne!

I love to cook and I want to share my recipes with you. I believe cooking should be approachable and fun, not a chore. I want to make simple recipes using everyday ingredients that you can make again and again, whether it is for a busy weeknight, a summer cookout or a special dessert. Read more...

33 thoughts on “Bløtkake – Norwegian Cream Cake”

  1. I would like to know what I did wrong. The cake portion of this recipe came out very flat. No way I could get 3 layers out of it. Barely got two and the cake was heavy, not light. I didn’t use it for fear it would be a failure. What did I do? Any help would be appreciated.

    Reply
    • Same here! Mine was completely flat and super dense. I could barely cut the cake into two slabs, much less three. I noticed that under “Ingredients”, the recipe says it uses baking powder, whereas the actual instructions say it requires baking soda. I used baking powder—perhaps this was the issue. Nonetheless, the actual cake was salvageable and still tasted pretty good!

      Reply
      • I just finished this recipe and mine came flat also. It raised up at first then sank. The ingredients say use baking powder and the instructions say baking soda. I went with the baking soda because sponge cakes are not meant to rise that much, I believe. But it is disheartening that you used baking powder and the same thing happened. I was going to try the recipe again with baking powder, I think I still will, I’m pretty sure I mixed in the flour properly so that, that would not cause it to sink.

        So my story with this cake is, my wife was Norwegian, born in Oslo, and was a very good cook and baker. She always made this cake for our daughter on her birthday. So that was my mission today. However, I could not find her recipe, I have many, many of them but not this one. I gave away her Norwegian cook book, she is deceased, because I do not read Norwegian. Wish I still had it. Sigh.

        Reply
    • My cake flopped. It sunk down to almost nothing. I beat the eggs in a Kitchenaid for 11 minutes on setting 7. Too much? Everything else was per the recipe

      Reply
  2. I know this is an old post and you may have already heard this, but the easiest way to separate a cake into layers is to use a piece of thread. You wrap the thread around the cake at the level you want to slice it, cross it over as if you’re going to tie a knot and then Paul and it will slide through the cake and slice it in half very easily. You can slice it in multiple layers this way. This way you don’t have to find your cake leveler and it’s a very simple process that everyone can do even if you don’t even own a cake leveler

    Reply
  3. I used baking powder and mine fell a bit today as well. Bummer! Celebrating Syttende Mai i Minnesota!! Kos deg alle sammen. <3

    Reply

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