The holidays are upon us, and there’s no better way to warm up than with some tasty Christmas desserts! These recipes aren’t limited to just the winter season.
Anytime is the right time to enjoy any of these delectable Norwegian Christmas desserts that are easy enough to make in your kitchen.
And with names like Julekake (Christmas cake), Juleribbe (Christmas rib), and Piskesmørbrød (whipped cream sandwich), who wouldn’t want to make them? Now let’s see the various Norwegian Christmas desserts we gathered for you!
1. Krumkake
One of my favorite Norwegian Christmas desserts is krumkake. This is a thin cookie that is rolled, shaped into a cone, and decorated.
Its name translates to curved cake in English, so it should be no surprise that the cookies are served straight from the oven.
The word krumkake also refers to a specific cookie shape and an entire class of sweet, crisp cookies. These cookies are often flavored with cardamom or other spices like nutmeg or ginger.
Their ingredients are:
- Active dry yeast
- Sugar
- Water (or milk)
- Egg yolk
- All-purpose flour
- Unsalted butter softened
- Salt
To make: Mix yeast and sugar until dissolved in a small bowl. Add water or milk and whisk in egg yolk. Then, add the flour and salt to the bowl, and stir until the dough comes together.
On a floured surface, knead the dough for 5 minutes until elastic. Next, shape the dough into a ball, put back into a bowl, and cover it with plastic wrap. Finally, let it rise for 45 minutes to one hour or until doubled in size.
2. Kransekake
Kransekake is one of the traditional Norwegian Christmas desserts enjoyed yearly at Christmastime. The word krans mean wreath, and the word kake means cake in Norwegian. This delicious cake is made by baking bread dough into a large round shape.
Further, you cover it with a sweet layer of whipped egg whites, sugar, and butter before dipping it in granulated sugar.
One of the most exciting parts of making kransekake is that you can add whatever toppings you want. Examples are slivered almonds, glacé cherries, or even chocolate chips if you’re feeling adventurous!\
The tradition of eating kransekake may have come from Europe, where some believe these cakes were used to decorate doorways during Advent.
3. Gomme
Gomme is a traditional Norwegian dessert made from oats, sugar, and milk. This delicious dish was traditionally served on Christmas day and would often be the first course at the Christmas meal. Today, gomme is still served on special occasions or as a treat for children.
Meanwhile, Gomme consists of a layer of cooked oatmeal, sugar, and milk that has been poured into individual cups or bowls.
The mixture is then allowed to cool to set before it’s topped with whipped cream or custard cream. The cooling time can be increased by putting the pudding in the fridge for an hour before topping it with whipped cream or custard cream. This is not left from the list of Norwegian Christmas desserts.
4. Smultring
Smultring is a traditional Norwegian Christmas dessert that consists of a thin strip of fried dough. The dough is often flavored with cardamom or cinnamon, and the dish is traditionally served warm.
The name smultring comes from the word smuldre, which means to crumble or break into pieces. This is about frying it into little pieces before it’s served.
In contrast to other types of donuts, such as Berliner doughnuts and American-style old-fashioned cake donuts, smultring dough does not contain leavening agents or eggs, so it remains dense and chewy.
Smultring became popular in Norway after German bakeries were closed during World War II. They became especially common when rye flour was unavailable because most Norwegian farms at the time only grew wheat crops. As said earlier, it is one of the delicious Norwegian Christmas desserts.
5. Kvæfjordkake
As one of the delectable Norwegian Christmas desserts, Kvæfjordkake is served in the area of Kvæfjord, Norway.
It’s also known as kveldskåke or kvettkaker. It gets its name from the type of flour used to make it, ground oats.
Moving on, Kvæfjordkakes are made by mixing oatmeal with butter and egg yolks, whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract before baking it in a pan.
Kvæfjordkakes are traditionally served at Christmas and often topped with whipped cream or lingonberries.
6. Norwegian Sand Cookies
The sand cookie is a traditional Norwegian Christmas dessert. This sweet bread is baked in the shape of a log and is traditionally served with coffee at the end of the day.
Sand cookies are typically decorated with almonds, hazelnuts, chocolate bits, and confectioners sugar.
Ingredients to make these Norwegian Christmas desserts are butter or margarine, softened brown sugar, egg, all-purpose flour, baking soda, milk, and vanilla extract.
Recipe for Norwegian Sand Cookies (Sandkaker) as Norwegian Christmas Dessert: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Next, grease an 8-inch square pan. Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy in a large bowl. Beat in egg.
In another bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, salt, and almond extract; gradually beat into creamed mixture until well combined.
7. Tilslørte Bondepiker
The dessert Tilslørte Bondepiker is a traditional Norwegian Christmas dessert. This recipe includes ingredients such as eggs, sugar, and flour.
The unique part of this dish is the inclusion of cardamom. Cardamom is an aromatic spice that has been used in Norway since the Viking era.
Plus, it has a slightly sweet taste that helps to mellow out the other flavors in the dish. One of the best parts about Tilslørte Bondepike is that it can be served warm or cold and will still taste great either way. If you want one of the delicious Norwegian Christmas desserts, you should try this one.
8. Fyrstekake
Fyrstekake is a delicious Norwegian dessert that can be served as either a cake or pie. It’s made of an almond paste crust, filled with raspberry jam and whipped cream, then topped with whipped cream and flaked almonds. It also has a light sugar glaze on top.
Often, Fyrstekake is served as the main dessert at Christmas dinner in Norway. However, it can also be enjoyed throughout the winter months.
Whether or not you are in Norway if your appetite calls for Norwegian Christmas desserts, reply with Fyrstekake!
9. Sirupsnipper
Next to be discussed on this list of Norwegian Christmas desserts is the Sirupsnipper. This dessert is made by soaking rye bread in buttermilk, baking it, and then dipping the baked bread in syrup.
It can also be served with whipped cream, strawberry jam, or chocolate sauce. The word sirupsnipper literally means syrup-snatcher.
Going back in time, Syrup snatching was a popular game child played in Scandinavia during the 1800s. One would put some kind of sticky substance on their forehead while they were lying down on their stomach.
They’ll have someone else try to swipe it off using only their mouth. Some people believe that the name of this dish came from an accidental ‘syrup snatch’ incident when making them for Christmas dinner!
10. Julekake
Not leaving out Julekake from our list of Norwegian Christmas desserts, this is a dessert that is served at every celebration during the Christmas season.
Julekake is a sponge cake made from flour, sugar, eggs, and butter that has been flavored with cinnamon, cardamom, and lemon peel.
Furthermore, the most common way to serve it is by slicing it into thin slices and then spreading it on an almond paste cream called mandelmassa. It can also be served with whipped cream or raspberry jam.
11. Trollkrem
Talking about the different Norwegian Christmas desserts, Trollkrem is made from cream and lingonberries.
The berries are boiled and then strained before being mixed with whipped cream. The concoction is refrigerated for a few hours before it’s ready to eat.
Moreover, this dish is best served cold, but sometimes it can be warmed slightly before serving. One of the more popular varieties of trollkrem is the one made by Grandiosa, which comes in chocolate and vanilla flavors.
12. Trollhugga
Like French toast, this Swedish recipe involves dipping bread into an egg mixture before frying it until golden brown. Talk more about how satisfying they’ll be; you shouldn’t deprive your taste buds of these amazing Norwegian Christmas desserts!
13. Multekrem
It’s not too late to celebrate the holidays in Norway, even if you’re far away from the country. For a taste of Norwegian winter dessert, try one of these Norwegian Christmas desserts, the Multekrem (Cloudberry Cream). The first recipe is called Multekrem, and it’s a cloudberry cream.
Moving on, Cloudberries are small berries that grow in the Scandinavian summer and are very expensive. They have a sweet and tart flavor that tastes like raspberries.
Plus, this recipe is quick because it only has three ingredients- heavy whipping cream, egg yolks, and sugar. To make it extra special, you can add vanilla extract, cinnamon, or even fresh orange juice.
14. Semulepudding
We are still on our list of Norwegian Christmas desserts, and Semulepudding is included. It’s typically made of semolina, milk, eggs, butter, and raisins.
The pudding is cooked in the oven on low heat for about one hour until it becomes thick and golden brown on top.
Then, it’s mixed vigorously while still hot to give it its creamy consistency. The semulepudding can be eaten warm or cold as an afternoon snack or dessert after dinner. For those who prefer a sweeter taste, you can sprinkle cinnamon sugar over it before serving.
15. Karamellpudding
Looking for one of the amazing Norwegian Christmas desserts? Karamellpudding is one! It is a delicious, traditional Norwegian dessert. It is made by boiling milk and sugar together until the mixture becomes a caramel color.
Once it reaches the desired color, it is mixed with egg yolks and cornstarch. The mixture is then set in a baking dish and allowed to cool.
Karamellpudding can be served hot or cold, topped with whipped cream or ice cream, or eaten on its own. It’s perfect for any time of the year!
16. Bløtkake
Norwegians are known for their love of cream and sugar, and not just adults enjoy these flavors. One dessert that’s traditionally eaten at Christmastime is Bløtkake, a sweet cream cake.
In Norway, this cake is typically cut into squares or rectangles and served with coffee or tea to conclude a festive meal.
Norwegian traditional bløtkake recipe:
- Egg yolks
- Sugar
- Butter (melted)
- Flour (sifted)
- Baking powder
- Whole milk
- Vanilla extract
- Sour cream
- Salt.
To make: Just bake all these in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F (175 C) for 40 minutes or until done.
17. Suksessterte
My favorite Norwegian dessert is a suksessterte. It’s an almond cake that has egg cream poured over the top. This dessert, one of the Norwegian Christmas desserts, is so light and moist and doesn’t take long to make.
Proceeding my recipe is based on my mother’s recipe, and it usually takes about thirty minutes to bake (plus five minutes for cooling).
The ingredients are as follows: flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, butter or margarine, eggs, milk, or buttermilk (or a mixture). Vanilla extract or almond extract (optional) and chopped almonds are included too.
18. Eplekake
Eplekake is a traditional Norwegian cake that is usually served during the holidays. It’s not hard to make, and it can be baked for two hours in a slow oven or less than an hour in a regular oven.
As the cake bakes, it will puff up and create its crust from the sugar syrup that soaks into the apple slices. The result is a moist, spongy cake with a deliciously sweet flavor.
Serve warm with whipped cream, powdered sugar, and cinnamon sprinkles on top. Take my word; out of all the Norwegian Christmas desserts, you will love this particular one.
19. Dronning Maud-fromasj
Dronning Maud-fromasj is one of the very popular Norwegian Christmas desserts. This recipe is adapted from Eplekake og Andre norske julekaker, which translates to Apple Cake and Other Norwegian Desserts.
Meanwhile, the translation of the name is Queen Maud’s Eclair, but I’m not sure who Queen Maud was or why she had an eclair.
Anyways, here’s the recipe:
- Heavy cream
- Port wine
- Egg yolks
- Vanilla extract
- Sugar
- Flour
The procedure to make this: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Next, slowly add the milk while stirring constantly.
Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, remove from heat and add eggs one at a time, whisking quickly after each addition. Add the vanilla extract.
After, pour into serving dishes and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving with whipped cream on top (optional).
20. Riskrem
The name riskrem derives from the word ris, meaning rice, a staple in many Norwegian dishes. It might also be related to the word kringle, a type of sweet pastry that can be found throughout Scandinavia.
Additionally, this dessert is traditionally made on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and served as a light meal. It may also be enjoyed as an after-dinner treat with coffee or tea.
In Norway, riskrem is often served with whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon. If you don’t mind having the time of your life with these Norwegian Christmas desserts, then you can try the Riskrem!
21. Sveler
Sveler is a traditional Norwegian Christmas dessert made from grated potatoes, flour, salt, and butter. The dough is then shaped into small patties and fried in butter before being topped with powdered sugar.
Sveler is traditionally served at Christmas but is also popular during Easter celebrations.
Further, Sveler can be eaten either hot or cold, making them a great addition to any meal on those cold winter evenings.
Sveler was originally served only for special occasions in Norway. But now, they have since become more widely used as a staple food in many households.
This is mostly because they are cheap to make and easy to prepare, especially when you’re short on time or don’t feel like cooking anything too complicated.
Conclusion
These Norwegian Christmas desserts will help you kick off the holiday season in an oh-so-fantastic way! If you’re looking to enjoy some delicious pastries and cakes but want to add something different to your culinary collection, look no further than the following Norwegian Christmas desserts.
You’ll be blown away by how delicious and easy they are to prepare! These treats aren’t ones you should miss out on, so make sure you try them this holiday season!
