Danish Dream Cake: the dreamy-flavor cake recipe

This cake is much-loved in Denmark, where it is called drommekage. This translates literally as ‘dream cake’ – perhaps because it tastes so dreamy! It consists of a light, moist vanilla sponge cake, topped off with a chewy layer of caramelized coconut.

The history of this cake comes from the Danish town of Hjallerup, in Jutland. In 1960, a woman called Jytte Andersen entered a cake-baking contest held by a Danish food company. She made the drommekage, which won the contest. It was such a hit that it quickly became one of the most famous cakes in Denmark. If you try it, you’ll see why!

Instructions:

Whisk eggs and sugar until light and fluffy in bowl

Melt the butter using a pan or in the microwave. Add the milk to the pan and stir it. Add the mix to the bowl with the eggs and sugar.

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Step 1

Whisk eggs and sugar until light and fluffy in bowl

In another bowl mix the flour, vanilla sugar and baking powder. Add to the bowl with the milk and egg mix and combine into a smooth batter.

Line a cake pan with baking paper and pour the batter in.

Bake at 400F/ 180 C fan/ gas mark 6 for around 20-25 minutes. While this is cooking, start making the coconut topping.

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Step 4

Melt the butter using a pan or in the microwave. Add the milk to the pan and stir it. Add the mix to the bowl with the eggs and sugar.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the milk and brown sugar and let it boil for around a minute.

Add the coconut flakes and stir them in until all are coated.

Remove the cake from the oven after 20-25 minutes.

Pour the coconut mixture over the top and spread the topping evenly.

Bake the cake in the oven for another 10 minutes or so. Let cool completely before cutting into slices to serve.

Notes:

Take care when handling the boiling sugar and coconut mix. If you do get splashed on your skin, don’t try to wipe it off – this can remove your skin. Instead, run cold water over the burned area, and then remove the cooled caramel.

If you want a deeper coconut layer, make a double amount of the topping, and use a deeper cake pan.