Christmas Brunch Smorgastarta

 

Wondering what to serve for a festive Holiday brunch?

I had that same dilemma this week until I remembered the smorgastarta!

You are wondering what a smorgastarta is, aren't you?

Well, in case you haven't heard about this fancy schmancy idea you can click HERE.

I will give you the short version....

It's a sandwich cake.

Cool, right?

You can make your favorite fillings and decorate as you like. The possibilities are endless. I thought I'd go the colorful route and use peppers and a teeny tiny cookie cutter to make Christmas lights.

 

 

If you want my recipe for the bread I used to make this then click HERE, it is the first time I blogged about making a smorgastarta.

The only difference is, I added about 1/2 cup aged, shredded cheddar to the dough before I baked it.

For the filling I used one layer of devilled ham filling (as per previous recipe) and then for the second layer I used devilled eggs. I think I used about 6 eggs to make the filling. (Eggs, a bit of onion, a little salt and pepper, mayo)

Here is the play-by-play:

 

 

After you have made your bread and it has cooled. Slice a very thin layer of crust off of the top AND bottom of each loaf. This will make it more tender and easier to cut through all the layers.

Place your bottom layer on a serving platter.

 

 

Spread your filling evenly over the bread.

I used very moist fillings. If your filling is going to be dry, ie: turkey, then you will want to spread either butter, mayo, mustard, or the like on the bread.

 

 

Top with second layer of bread. (Note - I find if you freeze the bread after you have sliced the crust off it makes spreading the filling and "frosting" easier and less crumb-y)

 

 

Spread second filling over bread.You can make the layers fairly thick as they will squish down a little as they sit.

 

 

Top with third layer of bread.

Prepare your savory cream cheese "frosting" as per RECIPE. You could also just use 2 X 8oz packages of savory flavored cream cheese.

Frost sides and top of cake.

Decorate however you please. I used a red, green, and yellow pepper and cut them with a little light bulb shaped cookie cutter. The string is the skin of a cucumber cut into very, very thin strips.

 

 

To round out our Christmas brunch I also made a festive veggie tray:

 

 

Aaaaand... Sue and I made a Gingerbread Eggnog Loaf. (Update - Click HERE for the recipe.)

This looks soooooo cute and was waaaaaay easy.

 

 

Of course, we also had some cookies to put out.

 

 

Traditional Whipped Shortbread aaaaaaaaaaaaand

 

 

a new favorite, Fruitcake Cookies (Click HERE for that recipe!).

All-in-all a pretty festive looking Christmas brunch.

 

Check out Hungry Little Girl and Jam Hands and The Mandatory Mooch and My Turn (for us) for some great links!