Best 6 Swedish Pepparkakor Cake Recipes

facebook share image   twitter share image   pinterest share image   E-Mail share image

Pepparkakor cake is a traditional Swedish Christmas cake that is made with a combination of spices, such as ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, giving it a warm and festive flavor. It is typically made with a soft and moist sponge cake base, layered with a spiced frosting or jam, and topped with a sprinkling of crushed pepparkakor cookies. Pepparkakor cake can be enjoyed as a sweet treat on its own or served with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a decadent dessert.

Check out the recipes below so you can choose the best recipe for yourself!

TRADITIONAL SWEDISH PEPPARKAKOR



Traditional Swedish Pepparkakor image

These thin, crispy spice cookies are a Christmas tradition in Sweden. They're usually cut into heart, flower or star shapes. Dusting your cookie cutters with flour will make it easier to cut the dough.

Provided by Eal

Categories     World Cuisine Recipes     European     Scandinavian

Time 1h35m

Yield 100

Number Of Ingredients 11

3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons dark corn syrup

Steps:

  • Sift the flour together with the baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and cardamom in a mixing bowl.
  • Beat the butter together with the white and brown sugars in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and corn syrup until smooth. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until evenly blended. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and wrap tightly each with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, or overnight.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.
  • Using 1 portion at a time, work on a floured surface and roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutter, and place 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.
  • Bake in preheated oven until set, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered tins.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 47.4 calories, Carbohydrate 7 g, Cholesterol 6.7 mg, Fat 1.9 g, Fiber 0.2 g, Protein 0.9 g, SaturatedFat 1.2 g, Sodium 39.9 mg, Sugar 3.2 g

PEPPARKAKOR



Pepparkakor image

Pepparkakor, the Swedish version of gingerbread, are crisp and spiced cookies, also known as peparkake, and pepperkake in Norway, or piparkakku in Finland.

Provided by Vera Abitbol

Categories     Dessert     Snack

Time 51m

Number Of Ingredients 20

6 cups flour (, sifted)
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup light sugar syrup
½ cup water
½ cup butter (, cut into pieces)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups icing sugar
1 egg white
2 teaspoons white vinegar (or squeezed lemon)
Stand mixer
Rolling pin
Cookie cutters
Baking sheet
Parchment paper
Cooling rack
Pastry bag

Steps:

  • Add the brown sugar, syrup and water into a saucepan.
  • Bring to a boil and immediately remove the pot from the heat.
  • Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and add the spices.
  • Pour the hot sweet mixture over it and stir until the butter melts. Let cool for 15 minutes at room temperature.
  • Combine the sifted flour and baking soda and add over the mixture in the bowl of the stand mixer.
  • Using the flat beater, mix everything very quickly until a soft dough forms.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator between 24 and 48 hours.
  • Preheat the convection oven to 400 F (200°C).
  • Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces.
  • Start by working a piece of dough and place the other two in the refrigerator during this time.
  • On a floured work surface, roll out the dough thinly and form the pepparkakor using cutters in the shape of a heart, star, tree, snowman, or others.
  • Place cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, bake for 4 to 6 minutes or until light brown.
  • Watch the baking closely because pepparkakor tend to burn quickly.
  • Repeat the operation until all the dough set aside in the refrigerator is used up.
  • Place the pepparkakor on a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
  • Beat the egg white in a bowl.
  • Add the icing sugar and vinegar and beat until the mixture is neither too runny nor too thick.
  • Add a little vinegar or lemon juice if the mixture is too thick or on the contrary, add a little icing sugar if the mixture is too liquid.
  • Pour the icing into a piping bag fitted with a tip and decorate the cookies.
  • Carefully place each cookie on a cooling rack and allow the frosting to set in the open air for at least 2 hours.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 58 kcal, Carbohydrate 12 g, Protein 1 g, Fat 1 g, SaturatedFat 1 g, Cholesterol 2 mg, Sodium 21 mg, Fiber 1 g, Sugar 6 g, ServingSize 1 serving

SWEDISH PEPPARKAKOR COOKIES



Swedish Pepparkakor Cookies image

This traditional Swedish Pepparkakor Recipe makes deliciously crisp spice cookies with ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and clove. They're a Scandinavian Christmas tradition and they're absolutely fabulous!

Provided by Sue Moran

Categories     Dessert

Number Of Ingredients 15

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup honey, scant (100 ml)
1/2 cup milk, scant (100 ml)
9 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp salt
1.5 tsp ground clove
1.5 tsp ground cardamom
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1.5 tsp ground ginger
4 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1.5 tsp baking soda
3-4 cups powdered sugar, or more if planning to cover the whole cookie.
water, to thin
a few drops food coloring (optional)
pearl sprinkles (optional)

Steps:

  • Add the sugar, honey, and milk to a small saucepan. When measuring a "scant" cup of the honey and the milk, you want to it to be just under 1/2 cup, but not closer to 1/3 cup. If you can measure in milliliters, its exactly 100 milliliters.
  • Bring to a boil then turn off the heat and let cool slightly.
  • Add the butter and the spices to a mixing bowl, and pour the warm syrup mixture over them. Mix until the butter is melted and everything is combined.
  • Sift the baking soda, salt, and flour together, and then add to the butter and the syrup mixture. Mix until everything is evenly incorporated.
  • Shape the dough into a flat disk, and chill in the fridge overnight or up to 48 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 350F. Roll out dough to about 3/8" thick and cut out using cookie cutters.
  • Arrange cookies on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until slightly puffed and golden.
  • Allow to cool completely before icing.
  • Mix the powdered sugar with just enough water to make a smooth but thick glaze. Divide the icing into smaller batches if you want to make different colors. You can also flavor the icing with a little vanilla extract or almond extract if you'd like. For pipping lines and small designs, keep your icing pretty thick so that it won't spread, there should be a little resistance when mixing it with a whisk. For covering the entire cookie like the green and blue reindeer, add a bit more water to the icing so that it goes on smoothly and is easier to cover the whole cookie before it starts to dry and crack. Try some icing on a test cookie if you're not sure about the texture!
  • For the light blue color I used, add 2-3 drops of food coloring to 1 cup or so of glaze.
  • For the darker green/blue color, add a couple drops of green and blue, and a tiny touch of red to tone the color down a bit.
  • Place the icing in ziplock bags or a piping bag fitted with a very small tip. Cut a tiny corner off of the ziplock bags if using. Decorate, and allow to harden completely before moving or stacking.

SWEDISH PEPPARKAKOR CAKE



Swedish Pepparkakor Cake image

This traditional Swedish spice cake is perfect to have on hand for the Christmas holiday season. This is an incredibly easy recipe and perfect for your children to help make and bake.

Provided by claudia in ny

Categories     World Cuisine Recipes     European     Scandinavian

Time 55m

Yield 16

Number Of Ingredients 8

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a bread pan.
  • Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and cloves in a large bowl.
  • Beat egg and milk together in a separate bowl; add to flour mixture and stir to moisten dry ingredients evenly. Pour mixture into a bread pan.
  • Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 166.4 calories, Carbohydrate 37.9 g, Cholesterol 12.8 mg, Fat 0.8 g, Fiber 0.5 g, Protein 2.5 g, SaturatedFat 0.3 g, Sodium 65.7 mg, Sugar 25.8 g

TRADITIONAL PEPPARKAKOR (SWEDISH SPICE COOKIES)



Traditional Pepparkakor (Swedish Spice Cookies) image

Traditional Swedish spice cookie; traditionally served on St. Lucia Day (Dec. 13). These are my sisters favorite cookie.:) (Note: you need to mix up the dough a day in advance, cover and let rest overnight). Cardamom & finely chopped candied ginger would make nice additions to these Pepparkakor. The molasses is an essential ingredient in this recipe, you get crispy yet chewy cookies with a lovely rich subtle depth of flavor. Don't skip!

Provided by BecR2400

Categories     Dessert

Time 55m

Yield 3 1/2 dozen cookies, 42 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 10

3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter (do NOT use margarine) or 1 cup shortening (do NOT use margarine)
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses (I use "Grandma's Original" unsulphured molasses)

Steps:

  • Sift together dry ingredients; set aside.
  • Cream sugar and butter.
  • Add egg and molasses.
  • Blend in dry ingredients thoroughly. Let dough stand overnight for easy rolling.
  • On a well-floured board, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness.
  • Cut into shapes (we usually make gingerbread people) and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
  • NOTE: Prep time does not include time to let dough rest overnight.

SWEDISH SPICE CAKE (MJUK PEPPARKAKA)



Swedish Spice Cake (Mjuk Pepparkaka) image

The smell of all the spices brings back childhood memories. In Sweden there are lots of recipes for this cake. I have translated this one from Swedish and then baked it using the English measurements to be sure everything was OK. A piece of this cake with a cup of tea.......heavenly!

Provided by Chef Dudo

Categories     Breads

Time 1h10m

Yield 1 cake, 12 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 11

1/4 lb butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup cranberry jam
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
2 teaspoons baking powder or 1 teaspoon baking soda (I use baking powder)

Steps:

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Grease and flour a 8x4x3 inch loaf pan or an 8 cup round baking pan.
  • Sieve flour with baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and cardamom.
  • Set aside.
  • Cream butter and sugar.
  • Add the eggs, one by one, keep whipping.
  • Add buttermilk and jam, mix.
  • Add flour mixture and mix gently.
  • Pour the batter in the prepared pan.
  • Bake on lowest rack in the oven for about 50-60 minutes.
  • Test with a skewer that the cake is done.

Tips:

  • Mise en place: Before you start baking, make sure you have all the ingredients and equipment you need. This will help you stay organized and avoid any mishaps.
  • Use fresh ginger: Fresh ginger will give your cake a more intense flavor than ground ginger.
  • Chill the dough: Chilling the dough before baking will help it hold its shape better.
  • Don't overmix the batter: Overmixing the batter can make the cake tough.
  • Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean: This is the best way to ensure that the cake is cooked through.
  • Let the cake cool completely before frosting it: This will help prevent the frosting from melting.

Conclusion:

Pepparkakor cake is a delicious and festive treat that is perfect for any occasion. With its unique flavor and beautiful presentation, this cake is sure to impress your friends and family. So next time you're looking for a special dessert, give Pepparkakor cake a try.

Related Topics