Vegan Smörgåstårta (Savory Swedish Sandwich Cake)

This pretty little Vegan Smörgåstårta is creamy, flavorful, colorful, and soooo much fun to make. Layers of bread are stacked with a fresh green pea and dill spread, a chickpea and caper filling, and a fluffy vegan cream cheese frosting. Then comes the best part: decorating it with all sorts of vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers.

Despite its fancy appearance, Smörgåstårta is actually very forgiving. There is no baking involved, the fillings can be prepared ahead of time, and decorating is basically all about having fun (and not about being perfect). In fact, the more colorful and over-the-top it looks, the better.

Smörgåstårta is a popular Swedish sandwich cake made from layers of bread and savory fillings. The cake is usually covered with a creamy frosting and decorated with veggies, herbs, and many more. It’s often served at celebrations and gatherings, especially during the summer months and around Midsommar, and it’s known for being just as beautiful as it is delicious.

When I first discovered Smörgåstårta a couple of years ago, I didn’t want to believe my eyes. What a genius idea! A beautifully decorated SAVORY cake, that’s so much fun to make and eat. Finally I can play around with decorating my food like it was a sweet cake. But instead of sugar and chocolate, it’s all savory cheese, veggies, and herbs. GENIUS!

I’ve been making a Smörgåstårta every summer, and it’s always a joy to share with people. And yes, you must share it, because it’s only fun if you make a huge cake to share with friends. Most people haven’t heard about this recipe before, so they usually feel the same way as I do: love the idea of a beautifully decorated savory cake. I’ve recently made a cake like this for a vegan cake sale, and a lot of people asked for the recipe, so I couldn’t postpone it anymore and had to share a recipe today. I hope you’ll try it and enjoy it!

Vegan Smörgåstårta is…

• vegan and fully plant-based
• optionally gluten-free (just use a GF bread)
• creamy and flavorful
• a beautiful centrepiece
• perfect for parties and celebrations
• fun to decorate
• great for making ahead
• colorful and impressive
• surprisingly easy to make
• customizable with endless fillings and toppings

How to make Vegan Smörgåstårta

I know this Swedish sandwich cake looks fancy and probably even complicated to make, but it’s actually a lot easier to make, than you would think.

The cake itself is simply layers of bread stacked with different savory fillings. In this version, one filling is made with green peas, dill, avocado, tofu, and lemon, and the second is a chickpea-caper spread with a little nori for a subtle seafood-y flavor. Both can be prepared in just a few minutes.

For the green pea layer, blend together the peas, tofu, avocado, tahini, dill, lemon, and garlic until mostly smooth. You want it creamy, but a little texture is nice. For the chickpea layer, roughly mash the chickpeas with a fork, then mix them with shallot, capers, lemon juice, vegan mayo, and crumbled nori.

Next, whip together the vegan cream cheese frosting until light and fluffy. Then simply layer the bread slices with the fillings, stacking everything into a large rectangle or another shape of your choice. Cover the entire cake with the cream cheese frosting and refrigerate for a couple of hours so the layers can soften and hold together.

Right before serving comes the best part: decorating. Arrange sliced veggies, fresh herbs, edible flowers, greens, or any other toppings you like on top of the cake.

This cake serves 10–16 people as part of a buffet, or makes 8 generous slices as a main meal.

What bread to use for Smörgåstårta

You can use almost any bread you like here. The only bread I wouldn’t suggest is one with lots of air and holes, since the spreads can fall out from the holes (so no fluffy sourdough, sorry).

American Bread/Toast Bread

A soft, American style white bread works really well here. It’ll soak up the spreads and will become almost doughy, like a proper cake. It’s also very easy to work with, whether you want to keep it rectangular or cut it into a round cake.

Whole Wheat or Multigrain Bread

You can also use wholewheat, wholegrain or multigrain bread slices. They will give you a little more extra texture and flavor compare to white bread, while still being soft and pillowy.

Rye or Pumpernickel

Rye and pumpernickel style breads work also well for this recipe. They will have a nice, chewy texture, a tons of extra flavor, and a beautiful, dark color.

Crisp bread

Crisp bread works best here, if you plan to make the cake ahead of time, so the bread can soak up the spreads and can become soft and sliceable. If using crisp bread, keep in mind that you can’t cut your cake into a circle, but have to work with the bread’s original shape (though round crisp breads are also available, if that’s the look you want to go for).

What to put in your Smörgåstårta

In this recipe I went for two of my favorite spreads for these kind of cakes. A light and refreshing green pea and dill spread, and an extra flavorful chickpea “tuna” spread. But you can try a lot of other fun spreads as well:

• Mashed avocado or guacamole
• Hummus (beet or pumpkin hummus are especially pretty here)
• Roasted Carrot Dip
• White Bean & Almond Dip
• Sun-dried tomato pesto
• Chopped Carrot Lox mixed with vegan cream cheese
• Spiced Lentil Spread
• Broccoli Pesto
• Vegan Ricotta

How to decorate your Smörgåstårta

Honestly, the possibilities are endless here. It might seem intimidating at first to start, but once you gather your veggies and herbs, you won’t be able to stop anymore. You can add as much or as less of the things you like, and honestly, don’t be afraid to get kitschy and over-the-top.

Some of my favorite things to use here are:

• carrot
• cucumber
• radish
• spring onion, shallot or garlic scape
• lettuce and mixed greens
• edible flowers
• avocado slices or roses
• zucchini
• green peas
• edamame
• carrot lox
• asparagus
• broccoli
• herbs (dill, basil, parsley, chive)
• vegan caviar

More vegan recipes to try this summer:

• Crispy Rice Salad w/ Edamame & Cucumber
• Vegan Quiche w/ Summer Vegetables
• Quinoa Tabbouleh Stuffed Avocados
• Vegan Tomato Flatbread with Tahini
• Quick and Easy Gazpacho with Jalapeño
• Vegan Salad Niçoise
• Cold Tahini & Cucumber Soup
• Raw Vegan Lasagne

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