Drømmekage

Ingredients

Sponge

• 300 gplain flour
• 300 gcaster sugar
• 3eggs
• 3 teaspoonsbaking powder
• 1/2 teaspoonsalt
• 200 mlmilk
• 100 gbutter, melted
• 2 teaspoonsvanilla

Coconut topping

• 200 gbutter
• 250 gdark brown sugar
• 150 gdesiccated coconut
• 100 mlmilk
• a pinch of salt

Equipment

• a deep rectangular tin
• baking paper
• a heavy pan

Directions

1. Butter, brown sugar and milk are melted together. It should be spreadable but not runny. Beat the eggs and sugar together. Beat them until pale and thick. Give it a good five full minutes. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt. Fold it into the egg mixture now. Warm the milk gently and add the vanilla.
2. Stir in the melted butter and the milk. Fold rather than beat at this stage. Stop as soon as no flour shows. Heat the oven to 200C before baking. Line a deep rectangular tin with paper. Pour the batter in and level the top.
3. Bake it for about twenty minutes. Making the topping is done while it bakes. Melt the butter in a heavy pan. Add the brown sugar and the milk. Add the pinch of salt as well.
4. Stir it over a low heat until dissolved. Do not let it boil hard at any point. Stir in the desiccated coconut. It should be thick and spreadable.
5. Take it off the heat and keep it warm. Adding the topping takes a careful hand. Take the cake out after twenty minutes. Check that the surface is set. Spoon the warm topping over it gently.
6. Spread it out carefully to the edges. Use a light hand so you do not tear the sponge. Work from the middle outwards. Return it to the oven immediately. Bake it for another twelve minutes. The topping should bubble across the surface.
7. Let it cool in the tin completely. The topping sets firm as it cools. Lift the whole slab out using the paper. Cut it into squares with a long knife. It keeps three days in an airtight tin.

Technique

• The cake is known as drommekage fra Brovst after a Jutland village, where the recipe is said to have won a baking competition, an attribution repeated on nearly every Danish package and recipe.
• The sponge is baked about two thirds of the way before the hot coconut topping goes on, so it is set enough to hold it but still bonds with it.
• The topping is a coconut caramel of butter, brown sugar and milk that bubbles and darkens during the second bake.

Substitutions

• Dark brown sugar gives the best colour and flavour in the topping.
• Any plain sponge recipe works as the base under the coconut topping.

Variations

• Some bakers use more coconut for a thicker topping.
• A version baked in a round tin is also made.
• Similar coconut-topped cakes are baked across the Nordic countries.

History

Known as drømmekage fra Brovst after the Jutland village whose recipe won a baking competition.

Frequently asked questions

What is Drømmekage?

Drømmekage is a dessert from Denmark: vanilla sponge under a baked coconut and brown sugar topping. Known as drømmekage fra Brovst after the Jutland village whose recipe won a baking competition.

How long does Drømmekage take to make?

Drømmekage takes 25 minutes of preparation and 35 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes one tray, 16 pieces. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Drømmekage?

Yes, within limits. Dark brown sugar gives the best colour and flavour in the topping. Any plain sponge recipe works as the base under the coconut topping.

What is the most important thing to get right in Drømmekage?

Stir in the melted butter and the milk. Fold rather than beat at this stage. Stop as soon as no flour shows. Heat the oven to 200C before baking. Line a deep rectangular tin with paper. Pour the batter in and level the top.