Bløtkake – Norwegian Cream Cake

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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 mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Additional Time15 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Servings: 12

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Ingredients

 

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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.
  6 eggs, 1 cup sugar
• 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.
  1 1/4 cup flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 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.
  1 cup milk, 1 box vanilla pudding
• 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.
  16 oz. peaches
• Whip the cream with 1 Tablespoon of sugar until soft peaks form.
  1 pint whipping cream, 1 T sugar
• Crush 2/3 of the strawberries and mix with 1/3 of the whipped cream. Use this mixture to top another cake layer.
  1 quart fresh strawberries
• 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.
  1 pint blueberries
• Store in the refrigerator.

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Nutrition Information

Serving: 1g | Calories: 388kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 129mg | Sodium: 107mg | Potassium: 362mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 885IU | Vitamin C: 52mg | Calcium: 104mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition facts are estimates.

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