The Northern Schleswiger Coffee Table

The 15th of June 2020 marks the centennial of Northern Sleswig – today known as South Jutland – becoming Danish again. South Jutland had been German since the 1864 war between Denmark and Germany, but many Danes still lived in the area and were forced to keep a low profile about their Danish disposition.

The coffee table became a sanctuary – a place where the Danish South Jutlanders could meet and feel Danish despite the German oppression, both in private homes and village halls. After the First World War, the people of South Jutland voted to return to Denmark, and this is celebrated all through 2020.

Many have heard of the Northern Schleswiger Coffee Table, but only few know exactly what it is. This is the opportunity to get to know it in the best way possible – by eating your way through it.

This book collects all the recipes for the traditional coffee table cakes. Over 40 recipes – everything from buns and sugar pretzels to various cakes and biscuits with names like Good Advice, Crunch Biscuits and Nothing – and as a bonus you get all the original names, so you can present your cakes and pastries in South Jutlandic.

You may already know some of the cakes – others are unique to South Jutland, and still others are inspired by German cakes. Three of the original cakes are even gluten free. All of the recipes have been modified, so they are suitable for supermarket produce, baking paper and modern kitchens and ovens.

On the traditional Northern Schleswiger coffee table a minimum of seven kinds of “soft cakes” and seven kinds of “hard cakes” must be served – and preferably many more. Soft cake encompasses everything from buns to various types of cakes like layer cake – they satisfy the initial hunger, so when you get to the hard cakes – the biscuits – you won’t eat too many of them. Preferably, there should be several cakes on the plate at the same time, and all of the cakes on the table must be tasted, so you don’t insult the hostess.

The Danish actress Bodil Jørgensen who is from Southern Jutland and Inge Adriansen, the previous museum inspector of Sønderbog Castle, have both written a preface for the book.

About the author
Morten Skærved has a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Health and has hosted and cooked in the Danish version of the American tv-show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. He has worked for both manufacturers and retailers, including developing recipes and products. Morten has written about Danish regional dishes in the Danish State Railways’ magazine Ud & Se, produced different teaching materials, and written several cooking and baking books.
The ebook is made in fixed format