‘The Great British Baking Show’: What is Smörgåstårta?

There are few weeks in the tent as stressful as The Great British Baking Show‘s “Bread Week.” It’s when Paul Hollywood is at his most feral, lording over his reputation as a bread maestro, critiquing everything from the way bakers knead their dough to their choice of flour. And nothing about “Bread Week” on The Great British Baking Show on Netflix is as intense as the Showstopper Challenge. This year, Paul and Prue Leith asked the bakers to make smörgåstårta, a Swedish “sandwich-cake” and the results were…interesting.

Rather than task the bakers with making some gorgeous centerpiece out of bread, Paul and Prue’s smörgåstårta challenge demanded that the bakers make a savory cake out of layers of bread and fillings of meat, cheese, vegetables, and occasionally mismatched flavors. The end result baffled viewers in the UK, some of whom tweeted their disgust:

It’s not like there wasn’t also confusion in the Bake Off tent over the smörgåstårta Showstopper Challenge. No one apparently knew how to pronounce the Swedish word, resulting in hosts Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas giving up by the end.

But what exactly is smörgåstårta and where can you find a recipe for smörgåstårta online? Here’s everything you need to know about smörgåstårta on The Great British Baking Show…

WHAT IS SMÖRGÅSTÅRTA? THE SHOWSTOPPER CHALLENGE ON THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW “BREAD WEEK”?

Smörgåstårta is a Swedish dish that essentially translates to “sandwich cake.” It is made with multiple layers of sandwich bread — think white bread or rye — with creamy, savory fillings spread in between. It is designed to look like a cake, with decorative garnishes teasing the fillings inside. However, it totally tastes like a sandwich. It’s served cold and is sliced like a normal layer cake.

While some of the British bakers were flummoxed by the dish, smörgåstårta is apparently popular in Sweden, Estonia, Finland, and Iceland. The Swedish-born Maxy actually did remember having smörgåstårta as a child and used the smörgåstårta of her youth as inspiration for her bake.

WHERE TO FIND A SMÖRGÅSTÅRTA RECIPE ONLINE

Interestingly, the official British website for The Great British Baking Show did not share a recipe for smörgåstårta, so you’ll have to look outside the tent for culinary inspiration.

Food Network has its own smörgåstårta recipe, featuring avocado chicken, pimento cheese, and ham salad with a ranch dressing-inspired frosting. If that’s not appetizing to you, food blog Sugar Love Spices has a more tame bagel-themed one with cream cheese and smoked salmon.