Brunsviger

Brunsviger is a Funen speciality that has spread across Denmark: a flat yeast-raised cake, pressed with the fingers to make dimples across the surface, then filled with a mixture of brown sugar and butter that melts down into the holes in the oven and sets into a dark sticky topping while the base stays soft and bready. It is a birthday cake in Funen, particularly for children, where it is often baked in the shape of a figure and decorated with sweets, and it is eaten at afternoon coffee more generally. The name is usually connected with Brunswick, though the derivation is disputed. Every Funen bakery makes it, and versions vary in how wet and dark the topping is, which is the thing people argue about.

Highlights

• The dimpled surface - holes pressed by hand for the topping to sink into.
• Brown sugar and butter topping - melted in the oven into a dark sticky layer.
• Birthday figures - the cake baked as a shape for children's parties.
• Bakery variation - how wet and dark the topping is, argued about locally.

When to go

Year round; it is an everyday bakery item. Best in the morning when it comes out of the oven, since it is much better fresh. One hour to find a good bakery and sit with a coffee.

Practical notes

It is very sweet and heavy, and a whole slice defeats many people. Day-old brunsviger goes dry and dull. Supermarket versions are poor. It is a cake rather than a dish and there is nothing to see beyond a bakery counter.

Nearby

Odense is the centre of Funen baking; Faaborg and Svendborg have their own bakeries.