A smörgåstårta looks like a cream cake and is cut like one, but it is made of bread, savoury fillings and a topping of mayonnaise or cream cheese. The classic version is covered in shrimp, egg and salmon, which rules it out for anyone eating plant-based. Every layer has a vegan replacement on the shelves of an ordinary Swedish supermarket, and you assemble the cake the day before the party.
Smörgåstårta is a party dish, served cold instead of a hot meal
The word means sandwich cake: smörgås is an open sandwich and tårta is a layer cake. Swedes serve it chilled, cut into slices like a birthday cake, at gatherings where the host wants food that is made in advance and feeds a crowd. Typical occasions are studenten, the June celebration when students finish upper secondary school, as well as birthdays, christenings, weddings and the gathering after a funeral. It usually stands in for the hot main course, and something sweet can follow.
If you have been invited to a graduation party, it is normal to tell the host that you eat plant-based. A vegan smörgåstårta is also easy to make yourself and bring along.
A sandwich cake is built from bread, röra and garnish
The structure is the same whether the cake is classic or vegan. Slices of soft white sandwich bread with the crusts cut off form the layers. Between them goes a creamy filling, a röra. The whole cake is then covered on top and sides with a smooth spread and decorated so generously that the bread disappears. These are the Swedish words you will meet in recipes and on packaging:
| Swedish | English | Role in the cake |
|---|---|---|
| formfranska, formbröd | sandwich loaf, sliced white tin loaf | The bread layers |
| röra | creamy mixed filling | Spread between the layers |
| skagenröra | shrimp, mayonnaise and dill mix | The classic shrimp filling |
| färskost | cream cheese | Filling base or topping |
| majonnäs | mayonnaise | Binds fillings and topping |
| vispgrädde | whipping cream | Lightens the topping |
| tångkaviar, tångrom | seaweed caviar | Plant-based stand-in for fish roe |
| rökt tofu | smoked tofu | Plant-based stand-in for ham or smoked fish |
| garnityr | garnish | The decoration on top and sides |
To read the ingredient list on each product, you need a few more words, such as mjölk (milk), ägg (egg) and vegansk (vegan). They are all in our Swedish vegan glossary.
Classic smörgåstårta fillings leave almost nothing vegan
Common fillings and toppings are shrimp, crayfish tails, smoked or cured salmon, chopped hard-boiled egg, liver pâté, ham and rolled slices of cheese, all bound with mayonnaise, butter or cream cheese. Fish roe, cucumber, lemon and dill finish the top. Hardly a single layer is vegan, which is why the plant-based version replaces every filling and topping rather than one ingredient.
Who invented smörgåstårta?
Ask a Swede who invented the dish and you may hear the name Gunnar Sjödahl. In a 2015 interview with the regional newspaper Östersunds-Posten, the pastry chef said he came up with the idea in spring 1965 while working at Hallmans konditori in Härnösand. He refined it after moving to Wedemarks konditori in Östersund. In Härnösand he tried mayonnaise, liver pâté and caviar. The combination he settled on at Wedemarks had spreadable cheese mixed with butter in the bottom layer and a crab filling in the second.
The word is older than that story. The Swedish Academy’s historical dictionary, SAOB, gives as its earliest example an issue of the newspaper Lunds Dagblad from 1958, seven years before Sjödahl’s experiments. In the same 2015 interview, Sjödahl dismissed reports of earlier mentions as rumours. The dictionary’s definition describes the dish itself, buttered layers of soft bread with filling and garnish, so smörgåstårta existed by 1958 at the latest. Sjödahl is the best-known name attached to it.
Every classic layer has a vegan swap in Swedish supermarkets
None of the replacements are speciality products. Look for the words vegansk or växtbaserad (plant-based) on the pack, as explained in our guide to vegan groceries in Sweden.
- Shrimp and crab: a vegan skagen mix made from vegan mayonnaise, seaweed caviar, dill, red onion and cucumber.
- Ham and smoked salmon: smoked tofu (rökt tofu), finely diced.
- Butter and cream cheese: vegan cream cheese (vegansk färskost).
- Whipping cream: whippable soya or oat cream (vispbar on the label).
- Fish roe: red and black seaweed caviar.
- Mayonnaise: vegan mayonnaise, made without egg yolk.
Sandwich loaves are not automatically vegan, and some contain milk or butter.
Vegan smörgåstårta recipe for four
This base recipe makes one rectangular cake from 12 slices of bread in three layers. With 12 slices, the cake serves four as a full meal, and it goes further on a buffet with other dishes. Start the day before the party.
Cut the crusts off the bread the day before
Check that the sandwich loaf is vegan, then cut the crusts off 12 slices. Lay four slices close together on a flat serving dish or tray to form a rectangle.
Mix the smoked tofu filling
Dice 230 g smoked tofu into pieces of about 5 mm and mix them with 100 g vegan cream cheese. Spread the mixture over the first layer of bread and cover it with four more slices.
Stir together the vegan skagen
Finely chop 1 small red onion, a 10 cm piece of cucumber and 50 ml fresh dill. Mix them with 200 ml vegan mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons seaweed caviar and the juice of half a lemon. Season with salt and pepper. Spread it over the second layer of bread and top with the last four slices.
Press the cake and chill it overnight
Press the cake together gently, cover it with cling film and leave it in the fridge until the next day. A sandwich cake tastes best after standing for a day.
Spread the topping on the day of the party
Whip 150 ml whippable soya cream until stiff and fold it into 100 ml vegan mayonnaise. Cover the top and all four sides of the cake with the mixture.
Garnish the cake just before serving
Press thin slices or long strips of cucumber against the sides. Decorate the top with small heaps of red and black seaweed caviar, sprigs of dill and, if you like, more diced smoked tofu or a few spoonfuls of the skagen mix. Serve the cake cold and cut it with a sharp knife.
Common mistakes when making a vegan smörgåstårta
- Bread with milk in it. Check the label for mjölk, mjölkpulver (milk powder), smör (butter) and ägg before you buy.
- Watery fillings. Cucumber and red onion release liquid. Pat the chopped cucumber dry before mixing it in, or the bottom layer turns soggy overnight.
- Adding the topping too early. Add the topping and decoration on the day. Cucumber and herbs added the night before can turn limp.
- Skipping the night in the fridge. A sandwich cake tastes best after a night in the fridge, but it can be served the same day if you are short of time.
- Leaving it out of the fridge. A sandwich cake keeps for about three days in the fridge but should stay cold the whole time. Put leftovers back in the fridge rather than leaving them on the table all afternoon.
The rest of the party table can be vegan too
If you read Swedish, Vickning.se has a vegan smörgåstårta with mushroom “shrimp”. For the coffee that follows the cake, our vegan fika guide covers plant-based kanelbulle, semla and princess cake. Other everyday Swedish dishes that are easy to make vegan are collected in our guide to veganized Swedish classics.
Last fact-checked: 14 October 2026