Tuna and egg sandwich cake (Smörgåstårta aka võileivatort)

Although it's Sweden that is most famous for its sandwich cake - smörgåstårta - sandwich cakes aka  võileivatordid have been popular in Estonia for a few decades now. We celebrated our older kids birthday parties last weekend - our daughter turned 4 and our son 2 in January, and I made three sandwich cakes for the occasion. One with ham and egg filling, using dark rye bread and decorated with small cheese-filled ham rolls. The other was with tuna and egg filling, using light wholegrain bread and garnished with strips of cucumber and egg.

Here's the recipe for the latter. It's incredibly easy to make, and tastes like one big nice tuna sandwich. As with all sandwich cakes, it's best made a day before, but garnished just before serving. I've made it with dark rye bread previously, but prefer making it with sliced wholegrain bread these days.

You're welcome to follow my Sandwich cake Pinterest board (there are some great ideas for decorating sandwich cakes) or check out the relevant topic on my Estonian site (võileivatordid ja nende kaunistamine).

Tuna and Egg Sandwich Cake
(Maitsev ja mahlane tuunikalatort)
Serves 12 to 18
Original idea: Pereköök, November 2000 (adapted over the years)


24 square slices of (wholemeal) toast bread

Filling:
2 canned tuna chunks in brine or oil, drained
1 medium-sized leek, white and pale green parts only
2 hard-boiled eggs
200 g good-quality mayonnaise (I use Jaani)
150 g sour cream, smetana or creme fraiche
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To cover:
about 150 g mayonnaise or a mix of mayonnaise and sour cream

To decorate:
2 hard-boiled eggs
1 green cucumber
salad leaves or finely chopped fresh parsley

Cut the leek half lengthwise, rinse, if necessary, to get rid of any dirt. Cut into thin slices. Crush the tuna with a fork, chop the egg finely or use the coarse grater. Mix the eggs, leeks and tuna.
Add the mayonnaise and sour cream, season with salt and pepper to taste. You're aiming for a well-seasoned and moist sandwich filling here - add more sour cream or mayonnaise, if your filling seems to dry.

(You can remove the crusts from your bread slices for a neater finish. I almost never do.)

Place 6 bread slices on your serving tray, neatly next to each other. Spoon half of the tuna and egg filling on top. Then cover with another 6 bread slices, the rest of the tuna and egg filling and the final six bread slices.

That's how easy it is :)

Now cover the sandwich cake with cling film and place into the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

When ready to serve, spread some mayonnaise on top and on the sides of the cake. Cover the sides with finely chopped parsley or some salad leaves.

For the topping, I prefer thin strips of coarsely grated cucumbers, egg whites and egg yolks, but it's really up to you.