Hygge is in the zeitgeist, but what is it, how do we bring hygge into our lives and why are we so captivated with this Danish word?

According to Brontë, it is really not complicated and doesn’t involve spending vast amounts of money on candles or blankets… in its purest form it is simply about appreciating life.

Explained in 12 entertaining chapters interspersed with recipes, you will learn first about the origins of the word hygge and then how to embrace it.

Essays include: Hygge and Happiness; Hygge and Baking; Hygge and Time; Hygge and Stress; Hygge and Soul; Hygge and Nature; and Hygge and Your Home. Hygge is a completely psychological and emotional state of being.

Whether it’s going for a walk or sharing a cake with friends, when you carve a pocket of time in your day to appreciate and experience the moment, hygge can be found.

ScandiKitchen: The Essence of Hygge is available at Amazon.com and Indigo.ca.  

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Danish Dream Cake

This Danish Dream Cake originates from Brovst, in Jutland. In 1965, a young girl baked her
secret family recipe in a competition and won, and the cake has been a favourite of all Danes
ever since. No wonder: it’s light and fluffy with a delicious coconut topping.

SERVES 10–12

3 eggs
225 g/1 cup caster/granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla sugar
225 g/1 ¾ cups plain/all-purpose flour or cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
150 ml/2/3 cup whole milk
75 g/¾ stick butter, melted

TOPPING:
100 g/1 stick butter
150 g/1 ½ cups desiccated/dried shredded coconut
250 g/1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar
75 ml/1/3 cup whole milk
a pinch of salt
a 23-cm/9-in. springform or round cake pan, greased and lined with baking parchment

Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F) Gas 5.

In the bowl of a food mixer, whisk the eggs, caster/granulated sugar and vanilla sugar on a high
speed for a few minutes, until white and light. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, sift the flour and
baking powder together.

Carefully fold the flour into the egg mixture. Mix the milk with the melted butter in a jug/
pitcher and carefully pour into the batter, folding it in until incorporated. Pour the batter into
the prepared cake pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35–40 minutes, or until almost done (try not to open the oven
door for the first 20 minutes of the total baking time).

To make the topping, put all the ingredients in a saucepan and gently melt together. Remove the cake from the oven and carefully spread the topping all over the cake. Return to the oven. Turn up the heat to 200°C (400°F) Gas 6 and bake for a further 5 minutes.

Leave cake to cool before eating, if you can (we are well aware it’s hard to do that).

Recipe reprinted with permission from Ryland Peters & Small.