The dish to eat in Odense · Denmark

Brunsviger

Name: Brunsviger (Funen brown sugar cake)
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Denmark
Ingredients: For the dough: 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk, lukewarm, 2 1/4 tsp (7 g) instant yeast, 2 tbsp (25 g) sugar, 1 egg, 7 tbsp (100 g) soft butter, 1 small floury potato (about 3 oz/85 g) boiled and mashed, 3 1/2 cups (440 g) flour, 1 tsp salt; For the topping: 1 cup (225 g) butter, 1 1/2 cups packed (300 g) dark brown sugar, 2 tbsp golden syrup or light corn syrup, 1/4 tsp salt

Photo: Christian Jensen, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons · source

A soft, yeasted coffee cake from Funen, with pools of brown sugar and butter melted into the top.

Brunsviger is Funen's cake: a soft bun dough baked with butter and brown sugar poured into dimples until it bubbles into toffee. Odense's bakeries sell it by the slab, and every child's birthday has one.

Where to eat it Cook it at home

Where to eat it: the best three in Odense

Tankens Bageri
Stige, Odense
Order: A slab of brunsviger and a coffee
The Funen bakery famous for its brunsviger, often named the best on the island.
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Torvebageren
Odense
Order: Brunsviger, still warm if you're lucky
A long-running local baker known for traditional Danish cakes.
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Wienerbageriet Døckerslund
Odense
Order: Brunsviger and a spandauer
An old-fashioned Odense bakery doing the classic Funen cakes.
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All three are on Chef Amazing’s list The best brunsviger in Odense, which you can save and take with you.

Cook it at home: Brunsviger (Funen brown sugar cake)

Serves 12Time 2 hr, including rising

A soft dough with potato in it for tenderness, pressed full of holes and drowned in melted butter, brown sugar and syrup. It bakes into puddles of toffee on a cloud of bread.

Pans and tools

Stand mixer or large bowl
10x14-inch (25x35 cm) deep pan
Parchment
Small saucepan

You’ll need

For the dough: 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk, lukewarm, 2 1/4 tsp (7 g) instant yeast, 2 tbsp (25 g) sugar, 1 egg, 7 tbsp (100 g) soft butter, 1 small floury potato (about 3 oz/85 g) boiled and mashed, 3 1/2 cups (440 g) flour, 1 tsp salt
For the topping: 1 cup (225 g) butter, 1 1/2 cups packed (300 g) dark brown sugar, 2 tbsp golden syrup or light corn syrup, 1/4 tsp salt

Steps

Stir the yeast and sugar into the warm milk and leave 5 minutes until foamy.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine the milk, egg, butter, mashed potato, flour and salt. Knead 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and soft; it will be a little sticky.
Cover and let rise in a warm place 45 minutes to 1 hour, until doubled.
Line a 10x14-inch (25x35 cm) roasting pan or deep sheet pan with parchment. Press the dough into it with oiled hands, right to the corners. Cover and rise 20 minutes more.
Heat the oven to 400F (200C). Melt the topping butter, brown sugar, syrup and salt in a saucepan, stirring until it just comes together. Let it cool 5 minutes.
Press deep dimples all over the dough with your fingertips, nearly to the bottom.
Pour the topping evenly over the dough so it fills the holes.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are golden and the topping bubbles all over. Cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then cut in squares.

Chef’s tips

Don't skip the potato: it's what keeps the cake soft for a day.

Make the dimples deep, or the topping will slide off to the sides.

Best the day it's made, with strong black coffee.

Contains: Wheat (gluten), egg, milk.

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