Couldn’t resist posting a fun savoury cake to share with you for Halloweeeen!  Yes, it’s that classic Swedish party cake which is basically sandwiches with any filling you like, shaped into a cake!  I had leftovers from a roast traybake of chicken thighs, chestnut cranberry stuffing and pigs in blankets, aka sausages wrapped in bacon.  So that’s a perfect sandwich filling, isn’t it?  Chopped up, with mayo and cranberry sauce stirred in, the mixture was all yumminess between slices of soft French brioche.  And I’ll tell you below how the decorations were achieved.  This is going to be a short post because there’s a laid-back Halloween mood going on nowadays and I need to get back to lying on my sofa asap 🙂  But do make a smorgastarta one day if you can, and if you can have fun making a Halloween one, even better! 

It’s impressive that leftovers can be put to such good use, right?  And yes, the cake is a bit …um… messy ‘artistic’ but it’s fun and very very yummy.

RECIPE – for a mini sandwich cake (6 to 8 portions), using a 12-cm diametre cake ring (6cm high)

This recipe gives you a rough idea of ingredients and quantities – adapt as you wish.  You can make this cake gluten-free by simply using glutenfree bread.

It’s a make-ahead cake, so assemble the layers on Day One.  Refrigerate, then cover with the cream cheese frosting and decorate on Day Two.  Eat.

This is my original Smorgastarta recipe (full recipe here).

Halloween version

DAY ONE – layer up

• 3 to 4 cups or so of chopped roast chicken, stuffing and sausages/bacon (cut to roughly the same size small chunks)
• 2-5 teaspoons mayonnaise, to taste
• 2-3 teaspoons cranberry sauce, to taste

It’s flexible, so increase, decrease, add or leave out according to your very own whims and fancies.

• 6 to 7 slices of soft brioche (or sandwich bread), buttered and with the crusts cut off (I buttered this time, for extra decadence!)

Method

Combine all the ingredients (except for the brioche).  Line your 12-cm diametre ring with plastic film.  Set out first layer of brioche (or bread) at the bottom.  Spread half the chicken mixture to an even layer on top.  Cover with another single layer of brioche.  Spread other half of chicken mixture on brioche.  Cover with final layer of brioche.  Wrap plastic film over the top to cover completely.  Done!  Store in the fridge overnight.

Here’s some photos of the process (but with ham and egg), so you can visualise.

DAY TWO – decorate and eat

Sides – charcoal black/grey (2/3 of usual cream cheese quantity)

• 66g/2.3oz cream cheese
• 34g/ml kefir or sour cream
• 1/2 tsp charcoal powder (or a few dots black gel colouring), or more

Top – matcha green (1/3 of usual cream cheese quantity)

• 33g/1.2oz cream cheese
• 17g/ml kefir or sour cream
• 1/2 to 1 tsp matcha tea powder (or green gel colouring/maybe spinach juice?) – you might prefer just 1/4 tsp and a very light green colour as the matcha can add a pretty earthy taste to the cream cheese.

Decorative elements

• a little white cream cheese in a plastic bag with a fine hole, or piping bag with fine nozzle tip
• a few black olives, cut into smaller pieces for the ghost eyes and mouths
• Fresh coriander leaves
• 2 digestive biscuits or crackers and a little red icing tube to draw RIP on the gravestone
• optionally:  peas, pomegranate seeds, chopped spring onions, rosemary sprigs, scary eyes

Method

Mix ingredients for top and sides in separate bowls, until smooth.  Cover sides first, then top.  Pipe thin layer of white cream cheese/kefir for ghost shapes and spread a little smoother with offset spatula or small knife.  Add olive pieces to ghost faces.

Add all other decorations.  The biscuits or crackers are crumbled for graves.

Anyway, I’m sure you can come up with a lovely Halloween scene of your own with stuff you have in your kitchen and in your imagination.

It’s Halloweeeeen …. on a cake!

Eating and storing

After decorating, place in fridge another hour or more to settle before eating.  This cake keeps well in airtight tupperware up to 3 days depending on the ingredients.

Wouldn’t you like your very own spooky Halloween smorgastarta? 😉

Have a lovely weekend and autumn dear reader.  And if you celebrate, have a great scary halloweeeeeen!!! With lots of happy baking, no-baking and yummy treats! 🙂 Lili x