It's our Swedish Midsummer staple, but a few small tweaks and additions can take your jordgubbstårta strawberry cake to the next level this year – Vogue Scandinavia shares the ultimate recipe below
A Swedish strawberry cake or jordgubbstårta is an essential centrepiece to any Midsummer table. The original is made with sponge, but this version incorporates fragrant orange zest and skyr to create a moist and light finale to your summer feast.
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The cake can be made the day before, saving you any last-minute baking rush. Decorate just before serving with seasonal berries (mostly strawberries of course) and fresh elderflowers if available. Smaklig måltid!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 180g sugar
- 150g butter (room temperature) +20g for greasing the cake tin
- 3 large eggs (room temperature)
- 150g skyr (replace with Greek yoghurt if need be)
- 1 large orange, zested and juiced (approx 80ml)
- 250g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
For the filling and decoration:
- 500ml cream (38% fat)
- 1.5 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 vanilla pod)
- 300g strawberries
- 200g raspberries
Photo: Sophie Kitchen
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170° degrees (fan-forced). Grease a 20cm cake tin with a little butter. Add the sugar and softened butter to a large mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer and beat together for 2-3 minutes or until pale and fluffy.
- Gradually mix in the eggs, one at a time. Add the skyr, orange juice and zest and continue to mix. TIP: The mixture may start to look curdled at this stage, but don’t worry, it will come together again once the flour is added.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder. Using a spatula, gently fold the mixture together until it resembles a thick cake batter. Be careful not to over mix when adding the flour, as this can cause the cake to become dense.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden and the top springs back when lightly pressed. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Remove from the tin and set aside to cool completely.
- Whilst the cake is cooling, whisk the cream and vanilla bean paste in a large bowl until it starts to form stiff peaks. Fold in the maple syrup. In a separate bowl, roughly mash 200g of strawberries with a fork.
- Once the cake has cooled, use a bread knife to slice in half horizontally. Gently remove the top layer and set aside. Spread the base of the cake with mashed strawberries and top with a thick layer of the cream. Return the top layer of the cake and lightly press to secure. Dollop over the remaining cream, using a spatula to swirl and spread the cream. Decorate with the remaining fruit and serve.