Cake has always been a part of my celebrations and hard times for as long as I can remember. Congratulating family, celebrating finally being me, and burying friends — it's all been accompanied by cake. It's food that signals celebration. And, to be quite honest, who can say no to a decent sugar rush every now and then?
In Sweden we have a savory cake for all occasions, the Traditional Swedish Smörgåstårta:
I started requesting that my cake would be a Smörgåstårta not only for its awesome versatility but also for its wonderful properties. Here follows the definitive account of the properties of the most awesome of all cakes. The one cake to rule them all.
1. It is actually mostly considered a form of light food so you can get away with eating in in lieu of dinner, lunch, brunch or why not the tea time snack. You can eat this cake ALL THE TIME. Or in the case of a wedding it can be appetizers, main course, dessert AND the actual cake! (For my birthdays I normally make three large cakes and eat them piece by piece for a full week.)
2. It's prefect for all diets. So you are a vegetarian? No problem: Veggie Smörgåstårta. Vegan? Here have some awesome Vegan Smörgåstårta! In it for the meat? Roast beef goes on top if you want. How about some fish? Whatever you really like — just throw it on top of the thing and call it a Smörgåstårta — chances are it has been done and it was awesome. (Personal favorite of mine is the brie and grapes with smoked salmon Smörgåstårta… yes I think I'll have two of those for the wedding come to think about it.)
3. Smörgåstårta can be really decorative. Toppings on many cakes requires a true artisan of cake to create. Not so with Smörgåstårta. With the vast font of building materials for your cake, even somebody as artistically impaired as me can make a cake that looks very nice. And making a cake that is just one big bundle of awesome taste sensations that will leave your taste buds aching for more cake for weeks to come is quite often a colorful piece of food that can hold its own as the centerpiece of most tables.
