Ostkaka (Swedish Cheesecake) Day in Sweden Date in the current year: November 14, 2024

Ostkaka, also known as Swedish curd cake or Swedish cheesecake, is a Swedish dessert made with cottage cheese. Although the dessert’s Swedish name literally translates into English as “cheese cake”, it should not be confused with cheesecake. Unlike cheesecake, ostkaka does not have a crust. Swedes usually refer to ostkaka by Swedish name and to cheesecake by its English name, occasionally calling the latter “American cheesecake”.

The first mention of ostkaka is from 1538, but the dish has been around for longer, probably since the Middle Ages. At that time, ostkaka was made by mixing warm milk with flour and adding rennet. Once the casein in the milk had curdled, the mixture was baked in an oven. Today, most people simply use cottage cheese instead of waiting for the milk to curdle.

Ostkaka has its roots in two different regions, Hälsingland in central Sweden and Småland in southern Sweden, with each region having a slightly different version of the dessert. Hälsinge cheese cake (Hälsingeostkaka) is traditionally made with only the basic ingredients: flour, milk and rennet (or flour and cottage cheese), although some recipes use sugar as a sweetener. The curd is strained, pressed into a baking dish, and baked slowly at medium heat. The resulting cake has a smooth texture similar to that of halloumi cheese.

Småland cheese cake (Smålandsostkaka) is richer than Hälsingeostkaka because it is made with additional ingredients such as sugar, cream, eggs, and chopped almonds. The ingredients are mixed into a batter that is poured into a baking dish and baked until it has the consistency of scrambled eggs. Unlike the smooth Hälsingeostkaka, Smålandsostkaka has a soft, grainy texture.

Smålandsostkaka is a popular dessert at large gatherings. According to local tradition, the cake is always served to the guests first, starting from the middle. There are at least two explanations for this. One is that the cake was traditionally made in a copper pot with a tin coating. If there were cracks in the coating, copper could seep into the cake, and the center was less likely to have traces of copper. The other explanation is simpler: the dish is creamiest in the center and drier at the edges, so guests were served the best portions from the middle, while children and servants got the leftovers.

Today, ostkaka is typically served warm (but not hot!) with berry jam or sauce (such as cloudberry, cherry, strawberry, raspberry, or lingonberry), a dollop of whipped cream, and occasionally a scoop of ice cream. Hälsingeostkaka is usually cooled after baking, cut into slices, and reheated in the oven in a bath of cream before serving.

Ostkaka Day has been celebrated in Sweden on November 14 every year since 2004. It was established by the non-profit organization Ostkakans vänner (“Friends of Ostkaka”), which was founded in 2003 by the dairy company Frödinge Mejeri.