Finnish Sandwich Cake (Voileipäkakku)
Less a cake and more an enormous sandwich, this Sandwich Cake is perfect to feed a crowd, and can be made exactly to your tastes. Choose your fillings and garnishes accordingly!
Ingredients
- For the "frosting" not really frosting. It's a creamy savory spread
- 1 1/2 cups 12 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream- or full fat plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- Generous pinch of kosher salt
- 1.5 Tbsp of your favorite mustard
- For the "cake":
- Two small/medium loaves or one very large loaf of good quality sandwich bread of your choice. You will want at least 16-20 bread slices.
- Your choice of fillings- up to three different fillings
- suggestions: egg salad ham salad, chicken salad, sliced turkey or ham, smoked salmon, tuna salad, liver pate
- For deli meats start with 1/4 lb per layer
- For cold salads start with at least one cup per layer- adjust to your desired thickness.
- For garnish:
- Lemon slices
- Fresh dill or other fresh herbs
- Cucumbers
- Radishes
- Cherry tomatoes
- Capers
- If you're very artistic you can try your hand at salmon roses or cucumber roses.
Instructions
- Add your cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, salt and mustard to a large bowl. Use a handheld mixer to beat until thoroughly mixed. Set aside (or place in the fridge, covered, if not using immediately).
- Trim the crusts off of your loaf of bread- this helps with even edges and even bread layers.
- For your first layer, place four slices of bread on your plate, two by two, so that they form a rectangle. (You can arrange these differently if you are trying to achieve a different shape with your cake).
- Spread a very thin layer of your cream cheese mixture "frosting" over the layer of bread. Alternatively, you can spread a thin layer of butter on the layers, and only frost the outside of the cake, if you prefer.
- Carefully layer your first filling over the bread, being careful to avoid moving the bread slices. Even out the filling with an offset spatula if needed.
- Cover your filling with another layer of trimmed bread slices and repeat with the next filling.
- Repeat once again with another layer of bread and a third filling.
- You can continue for as many layers as you see fit, especially if you are using very thin slices of bread- Note that you may need to double the "frosting" recipe if you are making a very large cake. When you have placed your top layer of bread slices on your cake, use the rest of the "frosting" to cover the entire cake.I tend to prefer a thin layer of the spread, so the bread will probably show through in a couple spots- that's okay, that's what your garnishes are for.
- Slice your garnish vegetables to your desired sizes and shapes, and place them on the top and sides of the sandwich cake in a way that appeals to you!
Notes
- I highly recommend throwing a layer of cucumbers or pickles in one of your sandwich layers for a little crunch.
- For a vegetarian version, try using egg salad, cheddar cheese, and olive tapenade in your layers!
-If you really want this cake to be round, use a round cake tin as a guide to trim your bread slices to the correct size and shape, then arrange them on a cake plate.
-white bread, rye bread, or whole wheat bread are all good options for your bread layers.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!