Norway’s biggest Syttende Mai (May 17th – Norway’s Constitution Day) celebration is just around the corner and I simply cannot wait to see everyone out in their bunads enjoying what it means to be Norwegian, 200 years after the constitution was signed in Eidsvoll, Norway. Syttende Mai holds a very special place in my heart, not only because of the beautiful bunads and the cute kids marching with their school bands, but because Syttende Mai is the one day a year modesty goes out the window as it is completely ok to be proud to be Norwegian. I love Norway and the events on the 17th always give me goosebumps.
As I mentioned in one of my last posts, several varieties of cakes are served on Syttende Mai, including the classic bløtkake (a cousin to the very British victoria sponge), suksesskake (“success cake”) or verdensbeste (“The Best Cake in the World”). This year, I chose to make a bløtkake with Norwegian flag decoration for Syttende Mai. As the one undeniable symbol of Norway and Syttende Mai is the Norwegian flag, it seemed like a perfect fit. On Syttende Mai in Stavanger, one will see thousands of these red, white and blue beauties flying high in the sky and being held by tots and grandparents alike.
The keys to making a good bløtkake is good sponge cake, fresh fruit and whipped cream. My American brothers and sisters, do not, and I repeat DO NOT use Cool Whip, Fluff or any of those other white whipped “toppings”. Norwegians value this cake for its simplicity and balance – two words not associated with all of those fake whipped cream like toppings we have back home. Also, this cake shouldn’t be too sweet, or too tart or overwhelmingly creamy. Norwegians tend to like their cake like everything else in their lives – balanced. This means that the tartness from the raspberry jam balances out all the whipped cream and the sponge cake provides structure, but is softened up by the moistness of the jam. Again, balance is the name of the game here. For this cake, I’ve used raspberry jam and whipped cream between the layers of cake but you can also try using vanilla custard and fresh berries instead of jam for variation.
If you don’t have the chance to join a Syttende Mai parade, or watch any of the Grunnlovsjubileet celebrations on TV (or even if you do), make this cake and taste a little piece of Norway!
The layers of jam and cream between the layers of cake make this cake a Norwegian dream!
- For the sponge cake:
- 3 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
- 190g (1½ cup) sugar, separated into three portions
- 290g (2¼ cups) all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 50ml (⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon) vegetable oil
- 250ml (1 cup) milk
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- For the filling and assembly:
- 600ml (1 pint) whipping cream
- 30g (2 tbsp) vanilla sugar
- 100g (3/4 cup) raspberry jam
- 300g (2-3 cups) fresh fruit, sliced or kept whole if berries
- Pre-heat your oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 23cm (9-inch) round springform pan, set aside.
- In either a large bowl and using a hand mixer or in your standing mixer using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they are foamy.
- Using one of the three portions of sugar, add two tablespoons of sugar to the egg whites and continue to whisk.
- Every 30 seconds, add another two tablespoons of sugar until the entire portion has been incorporated and the whites are stiff and glossy. Set aside.
- In large bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder, then add the remaining two portions of sugar and salt to the bowl.
- Whisk in the oil and vanilla plus one half of the milk into the flour mixture.
- Add in the remaining milk plus the egg yolks and continue to whisk for another minute, until well combined.
- Then, very carefully, fold in the egg whites and spread the batter into the prepared springform pan.
- Bake the cake in the oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30-40 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the oven, and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the springform pan and allow to cool completely.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, slice it into three horizontal layers using a long serrated knife.
- Separate the layers of cake and spread jam on the bottom layer, then top the layer jam with cream. Add the second layer of cake, them spread on another layer of jam and whipped cream.
- Add the top layer of cake, then frost the rest of the cake with the remaining whipped cream.
- Decorate the cake with the berries and fresh fruit.
- Serve and enjoy!
For More on Syttende Mai, Norway’s Constitution Day, check out:
Syttende Mai – My Guide to Norway’s Constitution Day
Ingebretsens – Syttende Mai – Norway’s Constitution Day
Grunnlovsjubileet (In English)
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I am planning to make this cake to celebrate May 17th here in the USA to connect with our Norwegian roots. It looks so delicious! Does the whipped cream hold up well if you make it a day in advance?
There is a trick a lot of pastry chefs use with gelatin which stabilizes it. I have done this once and it works but let me know how you get on.
https://www.thekitchn.com/the-easy-way-to-make-fresh-whipped-cream-last-longer-132094
My understanding is that is supposed to be a custard like filling with fresh berries in it and whipped cream outside.
Thanks for the recipe, Whitney. I’m making this cake for a Syttende Mai party hosted by a Norwegian exchange student here in Carolina, and my house smells wonderful!
Awesome! Let me know how you get one with the sponge cake and the rest of the recipe 🙂