In a city known for its lingonberry related food, meatballs and herrings - the sweets were definitely the highlight for me in second-largest city in Sweden.
An average Swedish family consumes 1.2 kg of sweets PER WEEK. Most of it on Saturday, which is also know to be their "traditional" once-a-week Sweets Day. Even the convenience stores and supermarkets put up displays of gorgeously baked goods to tempt that sweet tooth of yours. An example is the heart shaped jam-filled pastry found in the supermarket that was a perfect breakfast with a cup of hot tea.
Haga with its picturesque wooden houses and candlelit cafes, is the perfect place for fika - coffee with pastries. Enormous trays are piled high with cookies and pastries, and are sure to bait you into the cosy spaces. The neighbourhood is also home to the famous larger-than-your-face cinnamon bun! Prices at Haga are pretty similar to Singapore's cafes (~S$5-9). Cheaper pastries can be found in supermarkets and convenience stores at S$2.50-5.
These are some of my favourite pastries that you can sink your sweet tooth in:
Semla
Try the Swedish variation a of a traditional sweet roll in the Nordics and Baltics. It is a cardamom flavoured puff-looking roll with almond paste and whipped cream as its filling, topped with powdered sugar. I heard that some people served it in a bowl of hot milk. Semlor can be found pretty much everywhere!
Punschrulle
Another recommendation is the Punschrulle, covered with marzipan and dipped in chocolate. The interior consists of a mix of crushed biscuits and cocoa, flavoured with Punsch liqueur. Interestingly, it is also known as dammsugare ("vacuum cleaner"), as it is said that bakers used leftover cake and biscuits for the filling.
Ostkaka
"Ost" for "cheese" and "kaka" for "cake" in Swedish, the Swedish cheesecake is less sweet relative to the typical New York cheesecake. Made with cottage cheese, it is tart and creamy, thus not leaving you feeling surfeit. It is eaten lukewarm with jams ranging from lingonberry, cloudberry, raspberry and strawberry.
Kladdkaka
For a person who isn't the biggest fan of chocolate cake, the Kladdkaka blew my mind. Dense, gooey and just plain chocolatey goodness. The best kinds are those that's rich with the chocolate flavour with a crisp, chewy top. Mmm. Gonna attempt making this one day!
Prinsesstårta
The traditional Princess Cake is THE iconic Swedish cake. The original name of this cake was grön tårta (green cake), but it changed as princesses were said to love this cake. All decked in lime green marzipan and topped with a pink marzipan rose, the layers of cream, sponge cake and jam is sure to please your sweet tooth.
Side note: So glad I didn't choose Sweden for exchange, I would have return to Singapore in the shape of a semla...
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