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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Troms
Sponge cake covered with meringue and almonds, sliced in half and filled with vanilla cream. It originated in the 1930s at a café in Harstad, Troms, and was voted Norway’s national cake; it is also called verdens beste, “the best in the world.”
Traditional sweet from Troms
Also known as: verdens beste, verdas beste, Kvæfjord-kake
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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Kvæfjordkake — Troms, Norway
Kvæfjordkake has two identical layers: a sponge cake topped with beaten egg white mixed with sugar and chopped almonds, baked until the meringue becomes crisp. Once cooled, the cake is cut in half and filled with vanilla cream. It is served in rectangular pieces.
Local history places its origin at Café Alliance in Harstad, run by two sisters from Kvæfjord, the neighboring municipality. In the mid-1930s one of them bought from a Danish café the recipe for a king cake. In Harstad and Kvæfjord the recipe was simplified, with fewer almonds and easier preparation, and that version survived the café’s closing.
Handwritten recipes circulated through Kvæfjord and then throughout Northern Norway. Outside Kvæfjord, the cake came to be known by the municipality’s name. In the early 1970s a food columnist published the recipe in a nationally circulated weekly magazine, and the cake spread across the country.
It acquired nicknames such as verdens beste, “the best in the world,” and drømmen, “the dream.” In 2002 listeners of the radio program Nitimen voted it Norway’s national cake. It appears in bakeries, cafés and even on ferries in the North, and is commonly served at birthdays, confirmations and on May 17, Norway’s national day.
Troms
Created in Harstad by sisters from Kvæfjord, both in Troms.
Butter, sugar, egg yolks, wheat flour and baking powder in the cake; beaten egg whites with sugar and chopped almonds in the meringue; vanilla cream (milk, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and whipped cream) in the filling.
In rectangular pieces, at room temperature or slightly cool, with coffee. Sometimes served with fresh berries.
Birthdays, confirmations, May 17 and other celebrations; all year round in cafés in Northern Norway.
Your questions
It’s a popular nickname, “the best in the world,” given because of the cake’s success; in 2002 it was voted Norway’s national cake in a radio poll.
At Café Alliance in Harstad, run by two sisters from Kvæfjord, in the 1930s. The name comes from the sisters’ municipality.
Sponge cake topped with meringue and almonds, sliced in half and filled with vanilla cream.
Flavors of Norway
Norwegian potato-based spirit flavored with spices, especially caraway and dill, and aged in oak barrels. It has European geographical indication as Norsk Akevitt; linjeakevitt barrels cross the equator by ship before bottling.
Stew of bone-in lamb and cabbage, layered with whole black peppercorns, slowly cooked and served with potatoes. It was chosen as Norway’s national dish in a popular vote in the 1970s and reaffirmed in 2014.
Creamy fish soup from Bergen, made with a fish-bone broth, vegetables cut into thin strips, fish meatballs and cream. A touch of vinegar and sugar gives it a slightly sweet-and-sour flavor that sets it apart from other Norwegian fish soups.
Large roll of sweet fermented dough with butter, cinnamon and sugar, topped with more sugar after baking. It’s a specialty tied to Bergen’s Hanseatic history.
Sámi stew of reindeer meat with potato, carrot and onion, slowly cooked in broth. It is the Sámi people’s celebratory dish, served at weddings, confirmations and other celebrations; the name comes from Northern Sámi.
Stew of klippfisk, the air-dried, salted cod, with tomato, potato, onion, pepper and olive oil. The recipe reached the coast of Møre og Romsdal through the cod trade with Spain and Portugal, and it is a festive dish in Kristiansund and Ålesund.
Clear broth of lamb and beef with cubes of meat and meatballs, seasoned with ginger and nutmeg, served with potato and carrot. It is a festive dish of Trøndelag; the version Festsodd fra Trøndelag has a Norwegian geographical indication.
Sheep’s head salted, smoked and dried, steamed and served with potato and rutabaga puree. It’s a tradition of Voss and Hardanger, in Vestland, eaten mainly in the weeks before Christmas.
