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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Copenhagen
Sweet yeast pastries with layers of butter, shaped as a snail, bow, braid or envelope, filled with custard, remonce or fruit. The first Viennese bakery in Denmark opened in Copenhagen in the 1840s, and the city became associated with the pastry the world calls Danish pastry.
Traditional sweet from Copenhagen, Região da Capital
Also known as: Danish pastry, Kopenhagener, kanelsnegl, spandauer, kringle
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Wienerbrød — Copenhagen, Denmark
Wienerbrød, literally “Viennese bread,” is the Danish name for a family of sweet pastries made from the same base: a yeast dough folded and rolled multiple times with butter until thin layers form. The shape, filling and topping give each piece its name: the snegl, a cinnamon-rolled snail; the spandauer, an envelope with custard in the center; the kringle, in the shape of a bow; and the stænger and borgmesterstang braids, filled with a mixture of almond paste, sugar and butter.
In the 1840s the confectioner Niels Christian Albeck, who had worked in Austria, opened the country’s first Viennese bakery on Købmagergade with the help of staff from the Vienna region. The novelty became popular and reached the breakfast table of King Christian VIII. One widely told version attributes the arrival of the technique to Viennese bakers hired during a bakers’ strike in 1850.
Around the same time, iron stoves with ovens became common in homes, and families began baking their own bread. To avoid losing customers, bakeries focused on pastries, and wienerbrød spread. One of the earliest classic recipes appears in an 1852 cookbook, calling for yeast dough and butter folded several times.
The name shows the round trip: in Denmark the pastry is from Vienna; in Vienna it’s called Kopenhagener or Dänischer Plunder; and elsewhere in the world it became simply Danish. In Copenhagen there is a tradition of the onsdagssnegl, the Wednesday cinnamon snail.
Wienerbrød is sold in every Danish bakery early in the morning, and for a long time it was the centerpiece of Sunday breakfast. Part of that custom comes from when bakeries put a free piece in the bag of rolls as a bonus.
Copenhagen , Região da Capital
The city of the country’s pioneering Viennese bakery, opened on Købmagergade.
Dough of wheat flour, yeast, milk, sugar and egg, with butter layered in; fillings of remonce (butter, sugar and cinnamon), pastry cream, almond paste or jam; toppings of icing, sugar or almonds.
By hand, with coffee, for breakfast or as a snack. Many bakeries sell large pieces by the slice.
Year-round, especially at breakfast; a tradition for Sunday family breakfast.
Your questions
Because the technique came from Vienna: the country’s first Viennese bakery opened in Copenhagen in the 1840s with staff from the Vienna region. In Vienna the same pastry is called Kopenhagener.
The snegl, a cinnamon snail; the spandauer, with custard in the center; the kringle; and the borgmesterstang, a braid filled with almond paste.
Mostly at breakfast, and traditionally at the Sunday family coffee/breakfast.
Flavors of Denmark
Soft little dough balls fried in a cast-iron pan with round cavities and served with powdered sugar and jam. Despite the name, which means apple slices, they generally do not contain apple: they are the Danish Advent and Christmas sweet.
Nordic spirit flavored with caraway and, sometimes, dill, served chilled in small glasses at Danish celebratory lunches, alongside herring and beer. In Denmark, the drink’s industrial history is linked to Aalborg.
Flattened meat patties made from ground meat, typically half pork and half veal, fried in butter until a crust forms. They are homestyle food across Denmark, served with potatoes, a dark gravy and pickles or cabbage.
Hot sausages served in a bun from the pølsevogne, the hot‑dog carts that have operated in Danish cities since 1921, with mustard, ketchup, remoulade, fried onion and pickled cucumber slices. The first carts appeared in Copenhagen.
Cold rice pudding with whipped cream, chopped almonds and vanilla, served with warm cherry sauce at the end of the Christmas dinner. A whole almond is hidden in the serving dish, and whoever finds it receives a gift.
Thickened compote of red fruits such as strawberry, raspberry, currant and cherry, served cold with cream or milk. It’s the classic Danish summer dessert, and the name is famously hard to pronounce.
A slice of rye bread with butter and a generous, carefully arranged topping, eaten with fork and knife. It’s Denmark’s traditional lunch, and the tall, decorated version became famous in Copenhagen restaurants in the late 19th century.
Slices of pork belly fried until crispy, served with boiled potatoes and a white parsley sauce. It was chosen as Denmark’s national dish in a vote held by the Ministry of Food in 2014.
Honey and spice cakes made from a dough that rests for months before baking, often coated in chocolate. They have been produced in Christiansfeld, the Moravian Church town, since 1783, with recipes kept secret.
Rye bread with smoked herring, raw egg yolk, radish, chives and onion: the smokehouses’ dish from Bornholm. The name means sun over Gudhjem, and the yolk plays the role of the sun over the village where the island’s first smokehouse opened.
Soft yeast cake topped with a layer of melted butter and brown sugar that forms syrupy pools on the surface. It is regarded as the cake of Fyn, and the earliest records are from Odense, in 1830.
