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.
Any time is the right time to enjoy these delectable Norwegian Christmas desserts, which 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 Norwegian Christmas desserts we gathered for you!
1. Krumkake
One of my favorite Norwegian Christmas desserts is krumkake. This thin cookie 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.
Krumkake refers to a specific cookie shape and an entire class of sweet, crisp cookies.
These cookies are often flavored with cardamom or 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: In a small bowl, mix yeast and sugar until dissolved. 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.
Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes until elastic. Next, shape the dough into a ball, put it 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 a traditional Norwegian Christmas dessert enjoyed yearly at Christmastime.
In Norwegian, krans means wreath, and kake means cake. 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 feel 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 poured into individual cups or bowls.
The mixture is then allowed to cool to set before it’s topped with whipped or custard cream.
The cooling time can be increased by putting the pudding in the fridge for an hour before topping it with whipped or custard cream.
This is not left from the list of Norwegian Christmas desserts.
4. Smultring
Smultring is a traditional Norwegian Christmas dessert with 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, meaning 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 Kvæfjord, Norway.
It’s also known as kveldskåke or kvettkaker. It gets its name from the flour it uses: ground oats.
Moving on, Kvæfjordkakes are made by mixing oatmeal with butter, egg yolks, whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract before baking them 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 confectioner 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.
Here’s the recipe for Norwegian Sand Cookies (Sandkaker), a traditional Norwegian Christmas Dessert: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Next, grease an 8-inch square pan. In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg.
In another bowl, stir flour, baking soda, salt, and almond extract; gradually beat into creamed mixture until well combined.
7. Tilslørte Bondepiker
Tilslørte Bondepiker is a traditional Norwegian Christmas dessert. Its recipe includes eggs, sugar, and flour.
The unique part of this dish is the inclusion of cardamom. Cardamom is an aromatic spice 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 a cake or pie.
It’s made of an almond paste crust, filled with raspberry jam and whipped cream, and then topped with whipped cream and flaked almonds. The top is also glazed with a light sugar glaze.
Often, Fyrstekake is served as the main dessert at Christmas dinner in Norway. However, it can also be enjoyed throughout the winter months.
Whether you are in Norway or not, 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 means syrup-snatcher.
Going back, Syrup snatching was a popular game children played in Scandinavia during the 1800s.
One would put some sticky substance on their forehead while lying down on their stomach.
They’ll have someone else try to swipe it off using only their mouth. Some people believe this dish’s name came from an accidental ‘syrup snatch’ incident when they made it for Christmas dinner!
10. Julekake
We should not leave Julekake off our list of Norwegian Christmas desserts. This dessert is served at every Christmas celebration.
Julekake is a sponge cake made from flour, sugar, eggs, and butter, and it is 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, expensive berries that grow in the Scandinavian summer.
They have a sweet and tart flavor that tastes like raspberries.
This recipe is also quick because it only has three ingredients: heavy whipping cream, egg yolks, and sugar.
You can add vanilla extract, cinnamon, or even fresh orange juice to make it extra special.
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, 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 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 independently. 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 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: 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 with egg cream poured over the top.
This dessert, one of the Norwegian Christmas desserts, is light and moist and doesn’t take long to make.
My recipe is based on my mother’s, 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 or almond extract (optional) and chopped almonds are also included.
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 puffs up and creates 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; you will love this particular one out of all the Norwegian Christmas desserts.
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.
Anyway, here’s the recipe:
- Heavy cream
- Port wine
- Egg yolks
- Vanilla extract
- Sugar
- Flour
The procedure for making this is as follows: 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 found throughout Scandinavia.
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’re willing to have the time of your life with these Norwegian Christmas desserts, 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 on special occasions in Norway. However, they have since become more widely used as a staple food in many households.
This is mostly because they are cheap and easy to prepare, especially when you’re short on time or don’t feel like cooking anything too complicated.
