Danes have Birthday cakes like everyone else, and it’s called a lagkage or layer cake. It is made up of layers of sponge cake with some kind of filling between the layers. Most common is a vanilla or chocolate custard ans some kind of jam or fruit, a thin layer of icing and whipped cream on top. But pretty much anything goes. Growing up I always had a strawberry layer cake. My birthday correlated with the first local strawberries of the year, so my birthday cakes were very simple, 2 layers of sponge cake with smashed strawberries folded into whipped cream between and on the top. Not a picture perfect cake, but extremely delicious. My brothers birthday was during the winter months, so his birthday cakes were more classic with vanilla custard and jam., making it a pretty cake with a nice cut.

Some of my fiends had more interesting birthday cakes filled with chocolate custard, banana and even crushed chocolate meringue. A proof that anything goes in homemade birthday cakes.

I like that this cake have some texture, while being light. But if you want it lighter, use half all-purpose flour and half potato starch.

Makes 1 large sponge cake, to be divided.

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs, room temperature
180 g sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or the seeds (caviar) from 1 vanilla pod
160 g all-purpose flour (or use half all-purpose flour and half potato starch)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).

Spray a 9-inch (22 cm) springform. Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom and spray this too. Set aside.

Whisk the eggs light and foamy with sugar and vanilla bean paste for 10 minutes in a stand mixer, this part is important, you want to incorporate as much air into the eggs, as this is where the most rise will come from.

Mix and sift flour and baking powder together, and set aside.

Very gently fold the flour into the foamy eggs. Be very careful not to deflate the egg mixture too much.

Pour the batter in the prepared springform

Bake the large cake for about 40 minutes, until light brown.

Cool the cake upside down in the spring form on a wire rack. This will prevent the deflation of the cake.

When cooled completely, place the cake on a sturdy work surface. Using a long serrated knife and using sawing motion, cut the layer horizontally to make 2 or 3 layers. Don't worry if the layers are not perfectly even. The filling and frosting will mask that.

Use this sponge cake for the traditional danish birthday cake or for any cake or trifle.

Enjoy!