One thing I discovered on a recent trip to Denmark is that they have a strong pastry/bakery culture. I’ve had Danishes in the past in North America, but have not had one for years. I can’t even remember the last time I had one. I wanted to try a real Danish one morning in Copenhagen and I found a highly rated bakery named Rug near our hotel. They had a nice display of various pastries:
I decided to try a cookie, cinnamon bun, brioche with ham and cheese, and of course, a Danish.
The brioche with a prosciutto like ham and strong cheese was delicious.
The cookie was perfectly chewy and the cinnamon bun was nothing like the soggy sugar bomb glaze that most places in North America serve. This one had just a slight amount of sweetness and the perfect amount of cinnamon. In Denmark, the cinnamon bun is called KANELSNEGL (cinnamon snail); I also tried a cardamom one.
For the main event, the Danish. The “real” version did not resemble anything I had in the past. To me, Danish is a soggy pastry, coated in some sort of sugary icing, and then a super sweet jam in the middle (usually colored yellow). In contrast, this one had a piece of real fruit in the center! These are actually called Spandauer in Denmark.
When you go to Denmark, I recommend you find a good pastry shop and taste the Danish, the way is is supposed to be!