In Utrecht, the cafe Broodnodig serves Swedish pastries and cakes as cinnamon and cardamom buns, kladdkaka, smulpaj and Scandinavian seasonal treats as semlor and saffron buns.
in 2024, during my quest to find Lussekatter, I found the Swedish-inspired cafe in the centre of Utrecht: Broodnodig .
I have returned a few times and enjoyed Swedish seasonal treats as saffron buns and a Semla among others! Besides that, Kanelbullensdag (cinnamon bun day, 4th October) is celebrated with discounted kanelbullar. last October the deal was € 2,50 for a kaneelbol.
Broodnodig has 2 locations in Utrecht: I went to Mariaplaats, 5 minutes from Utrecht centraal station, and Paardenveld. Paardenveld is bigger, but closed on weekends! There used to be a location in Reigerstraat too, which closed in 2025.
Sweet Fika
Broodnodig serves a number of typical Swedish fika treats (I liked how typical Swedish things in the counter were marked with a little flag next to the name) including:
Buns: cinnamon buns/kaneelbollen and cardamom buns/kardemombollen, since recently crème bol is also on the menu – a cardamom bun with vanilla cream).
Chokladbollar/Chocobol
Jitterbugg (shortbread snail with meringue)
Rulltårta (roll cake)
Smulpaj (crumble cake)- apple & rhabarber / pear & blackberries
Tosca (almond cake) with rhabarber
Kladdkaka (gooey chocolate cake)
smulpaj
Broodnodig used to have Oscarstårta (lemon, merengue and almond cake) in summer, which was why I passed by last time. But they have unfortunately discontinued it. So i took a Apple & rhabarber smulpaj instead – served with vanilla sauce as the tradition commands.
Lunch options
Broodnodig makes several sandwiches with polarbread and sourdough bread. I will try them one day!
As already mentioned, at Broodnodig you can find typical Swedish treats according to the season. December for a yuletide saffron bun, and january/february around Carnival for a Semla! I love both of them, and got to taste them in their Utrecht version.. They did not disappoint!
As i cannot miss them anymore, I have tried these in several Scandinavian cafes in the Netherlands.
I visited Scanshop, a supermarket for Nordic expats in Luxembourg and Belgium. It offers a wide range of Scandinavian food products, including rye bread, fish, and sweets, alongside flags and tableware.
Take a train in Scandinavia to reach a “slutstation” or see”fartkontrol” signs while driving. Kiss and killing also mean something you were not expecting!
In Utrecht, the cafe Broodnodig serves Swedish pastries and cakes as cinnamon and cardamom buns, kladdkaka, smulpaj and Scandinavian seasonal treats as semlor and saffron buns.
On a trip to Amsterdam, I decided to test Scandinavian Embassy and both of its two locations, starting with the bakery in europaplein.
The two locations are in Amsterdam zuid: Saphatipark and Europaplein: in the former, a more central location, you can sit but it has fewer items than the bakery in Europaplein. The bakery, on the contrary, barely has any places to sit.
First we got an almond bun, that was delicious!then, for the savory part, we got a mushroom & cheese danish, and apricot drinks!
Afterwards we decided to check out the cafe too, where I got a biskvi, served in a paper cup to-go 🙂
i had wanted to try their biskvi for a while, and I did at the cafe, slightly closer to the centre! so here it is
The classic cinnamon and cardamom bun were on the sweets menu as well, as the chocolate balls and an almond cake (toscakaka?)
We happened to pass by Arket later, which had special buns and tebirkes
Scandinavian Embassy also serves typical seasonal Swedish treats as semlor and lussekatter! Subscribe to see more
Fika is a cherished Swedish tradition involving a coffee and cake break. Discover various Fika treats, from classic kanelbullar (cinnamon buns), cakes and cookies to savory options.
Discover Faroese – today spoken by about 80,000 people in the North Sea archipelago- as Icelandic still has much in common with Old Norse in grammar and vocabulary
Norwegian Seamen Churches all over the world host 17th May celebrations. I attended the festivities in Rotterdam, joining the parade and eating a pølse i lompe!
Cream buns are enjoyed in Nordic and Baltic countries during shrovetide, between January and February. Sweden’s classic semla has almond paste, while other countries variations include jam, vanilla cream, and chocolate icing top.
Whipped cream-filled buns are eaten and baked in Nordic countries during shrovetide (carnival for catholics), Fastelavn in Danish/Norwegian, Laskiainen in Finnish. This period would anticipate the lent before Easter, and culminates on Fat Tuesday – Fettisdagen in Sweden, or Shrove Sunday.
Lent was abolished with the reformation, but the buns stayed! To the point that Icelanders call the day when you eat bollur, shrove Monday, bolludagur, ‘bun day’.
National Variations of Shrovetide buns
In Sweden the semla is filled with almond paste and whipped cream. It is traditional to eat it soaked in hot milk, known as hetvägg. Swedish King Adolf Frederick died from digestion problems after eating 14 hetvägg!
Mormors bageri Semla in LundAlmond paste inside Broodnodig’s Semla in Utrecht
in Finland, Laskiaispulla – or fastlagsbulle in Swedish-speaking Finland – instead of almond paste you find jam. Estonian Vastlakukkel is more simple, genereally only with whipped cream, but sometimes also contain jam, and Norwegian fastelavnsboller can be filled with vanilla cream, jam, chocolate and almond paste.
Danish fastelavnsboller, similar to bollur in Iceland and Føstulávintsbolli in the Faroe, are made from puff and choux pastry, often with chocolate icing on top and besides whipped cream filled with vanilla cream, whipped cream and jam.
Besides the traditional version named above, there are more and more variations including liquorice, pistache and so on, with curious semlor made up each year.
Mentioning Dutch culture, a Danish/Icelandic fastelavnsbolle reminds me of a Bossche Bol, although the latter are completely coated in chocolate. I believe Italian Maritozzo is very similar to a plain semla, without almond paste.
In Amsterdam, Selma’s Nordic bakery and Scandinavian Embassy make Semlor. Selma was also serving Finnish-style laskiaispulla in 2025, with a fruit compote, and a Danish fastelavnsbolle in 2026!
I also tried Broodnodig’s classic almond paste semla in 2026, a very big one!
In Den Haag semlor are also available Norvolk (in Scheveningen)
Arket made an interesting Danish-Swedish twist, with the classic wienerbrød Tebirkes cut and filled with whipped cream and almond paste like a semla!
On a trip to Amsterdam, I decided to test Scandinavian Embassy and both of its two locations, starting with the bakery in europaplein. The two locations are in Amsterdam zuid: Saphatipark and Europaplein: in the former, a more central location, you can sit but it has fewer items than the bakery in Europaplein. The bakery,…
Estonian is a Finnic language, sharing many similarities with its ‘bigger’ sister Finnish, while being unrelated to all their bigger language neighbours
Cream buns are enjoyed in Nordic and Baltic countries during shrovetide, between January and February. Sweden’s classic semla has almond paste, while other countries variations include jam, vanilla cream, and chocolate icing top.
This year, I celebrated Lucia in the Hague by eating a Lussekatt at Scandinavian bakery Norvolk, and attending a Lucia church concert.
13th December is Luciadagen in Sweden and Scandinavia, this year on a Saturday, so I could attend a Lucia concert in the Hague!
I started my day in the Hague going to Norvolk, a Scandinavian bakery in Scheveningen, which I had been to for a lussekatt last year as well.
Last year it really had the classic S shape, this year it look slightly different, but still with raisins!
In the evening I went with a friend to the Kloosterkerk in The Hague, where a Swedish choir – Svenska Högtidskören held a Lucia concert, as you see them in Scandinavia. They hold concerts elsewhere in the Netherlands too!
It began in the darkness, with all the girls in the processions holding a candle and walking in a line to where they would stand and sing.
The concert started at 19:30 and lasted one hour.
One of the highlights was Lucia’s having the candles on her crown lighted – behind the pillars, but I could see it well from where I was sitting! It felt so magical.
They sung traditional Swedish songs of course, but also Stille Nacht/ Silent night in German and English.
Then, they walked back, with Lucia in front, and stood all in a circle with her in the middle.
It was possible to give money for a charity – a food bank in Amsterdam in this case.
It was a whimsical experience and definitely among other things that makes me enjoy Christmas time!
Sámi people, indigenous people of North Scandinavia, have a distinct culture, symbolised by its unique flag and traditional clothing, and part of it are Duodji handicrafts and unique musical expression through yoik.
Fika in Nijmegen is a cafe/lunchroom with Scandinavian vibes: smørrebrød, knäckebröd, buns, cakes and books!
Some time ago I went to Fika in Nijmegen, a Scandinavian inspired Café / Lunchroom, focused on open-face sandwiches. high fika with friends. It is also possible to use your laptop at certain times for remote working! Next to the café you have the Fika Kiøsk for a treat and drink on the go.
NL: Een tijdje geleden ben ik bij Fika geweest in Nijmegen. Daar kun je lunchen met skandinavische boterhammen, een lekkere koffiepauze hebben met kardemombollen of cakejes, en zelfs een gezellige ‘high fika’ met vrienden boeken. Andere Zweedse broden als Knäckebröd en polar brood kan je hier ook eten. Fika heeft een ruime ‘smørrebrød’ selectie: boterhammen van meergranen desembrood met vis, vlees en vega opties. Borrelsnacks met wat skandinavisch gevoel zijn er ook. Je mag hier ook je laptop gebruiken, aparte flexwerk-ruimte.
Here is what you can eat at Fika:
A highlight of the café is the wide ‘smørrebrød’ selection: multigrain sourdough open-face sandwiches with fish, meat and vegan options. Shrimp salad and köttbullar (meat- or vegan balls) among others.
For a sweet break, of course you can have a fika at Fika – some classic Scandinavian treats to choose from are buns, cardamom or almond; and Kladdkaka (Swedish chocolate cake with gooey filling).
Other snacks to share I noticed on the menu are cheese and meat/vegaballs with a cranberry sauce; knäckebröd with goat cheese and veggies; mini Polar pizza – polar bread with mushroom or salmon; and dill potato chips!
Something I like was the good assortment of Naturfrisk Danish drinks they have!
If you are with friends, it is also possible to book a ‘high fika’, what they call a High Tea elsewhere here. For 26,- euros per person you will get warm drinks and:
a soup
small open face sandwiches
polarbread pizza with mushrooms
small cakes
skyr
fresh fruit
Being with someone else, I managed to try quite a few Smørrebrød, the fish versions- tuna-cheese, salmon, shrimp – and one with mixed vegan- and meatballs. They might not be on the ‘proper’ Danish rye bread, but they did look and taste good! I advised my friend to try the Elderflower Naturfrisk drink.
Before entering the backyard to sit outside, I saw a nice collection of Scandinavia-related books: novels by Nordic authors (translated or in the original version, travel guides, and more.
An old Dutch edition of Pippi Longstocking
Underneath there were some toys, and I found one featuring a dammsugare, I am a sucker for this small details. After checking out the books, it was time for dessert. I really wanted to mke my friend try cardamom buns and try an almond bun myself (Swedes would call it a Tosca), but unfortunately there were not any left, so we went for another Dessert lemon velvet, and a Matcha-mango latte. Not particularly Nordic but good.
I loved how the café has a lot of maps of Scandinavia hanging here and there as well!
And here is the journal spread for this smørrebrød fika experience in Nijmegen!
We left, with me being kind of disappointed the buns were already finished when we were there, and because of that I had and even bigger craving for a kardemummabulle…
Since you never know, we went to the Albert Heijn to Go to see if they had the more Swedish-looking cinnamon knot. They did not only have that, but CARDAMOM knot too!! Sometimes life surprises you. Not sure if this is only a temporary promotion for Wereldse Smaken – international treats together with miso cookies and pandan muffins.
Discover Greenland, home to the Inuit Kalaallit, and its most iconic aspects as its flag, language and folk costumes. The biggest island of the world has a rich history of indigenous culture intertwined with Norse colonization and later Danish rule.
Lucia brings light in the darkest night of the year and is a mix of pagan and christian traditions. It is celebrated in Scandinavia with processions, saffron buns and church concerts.
Trip to another Nordic bakery to enjoy a fika with a semla, and surprises on my way
After getting a lussekatt during the Christmas season, I was really eager to also eat a semla, the whipped cream-filled bun which is eaten in the shrovetide season instead, culminating on Fettisdagen (fat Tuesday).
So I picked Selma’s Nordic Bakery in Amsterdam! On my way I randomly saw Danish flags at the Noordermarkt and happened to discover Raw Betty (Raw_betty42 on instagram), selling Danish delicious buns, cookies and cakes at Amsterdam markets. Read the article till the end to find out what I chose…
Raw Betty stand at Noordermarkt, Betty’s son also runs a hotdog stand, maybe I’ll get a pølse once!
We then walked forward on our way to Selma’s, located in Amsterdam West, around 30 minutes walking from Amsterdam Centraal. Which I was not upset about at all, because it would mean a well-deserved fika.
Selma’s also has a to-go location closer to the station, in the Jordaan area, but this time we wanted to sit and enjoy it.
The interiors are also in a quite Nordic and pastellish style. The restroom even had moomin posters!
Rye bread loaves, cinnamon and pistachio buns and smørrebrød were among the sold products, among others classic fika treats as chokladbollar, biskvi and kladdkaka. Of course at this moment semlor had their own spotlight!
They sold 2 versions: the classic Swedish one with almond paste, and Finnish one, laskiaispulla with a fruit compote. Since I had already tried the classic one in Sweden last year, I went for the fruit compote. We had matcha latte as drink, which is not particularly Nordic but always delicious.
While at Selma’s, i also got my birthday present from my friend: liquorice Marabou (Sweden’s favourite chocolate brand)! I had actually got a salmiakki Fazer bar (Finland’s favourite chocolate brand) when I went to the Finnish seamen church for their Christmas market month before, and it was actually fun to compare! the Fazer one is slightly darker, with a bigger liquorice chunk, also a bit juicy, while Marabou has smaller, crispier pieces.
As for the Danish treat I got, that was a Napoleonshat! The name is as you can imagine a hint to its shape, a sort of butter cookie with marzipan inside, coated with chocolate, and in this case pistachio. mega lækker!
I already have plans for other Nordic trips to Amsterdam, so stay tuned to see more interesting places…!
A lovely place to have a Swedish fika or lunch in Den Haag – from bullar to Janssonsfrestelse
On my quest to find somewhere to buy a Lussekatt (Swedish Christmas time saffron bun) in the Netherlands, I found a lovely place in Den Haag: Norvolk. A Swedish / Scandinavian-inspired lunchroom and bakery, or Brödstuga, serving their freshly baked breadstuff, various cookies and cakes, and many open-face sandwiches.
Norvolk is located in a pretty building right on the harbour of Scheveningen. You recognize it quite easily for the Nordic flags flying!
NL – Op mijn zoektocht naar een plek om een Zweedse saffraanbroodje in Nederland heb ik Norvolk gevonden, een Zweeds/Scandinavisch geïnspireerde lunchroom en bakkerij. Hier kun je vinden: kaneel- en kardemombollen; Zweedse cakjes als prinsessårta en Budapest rol; koekjes voor met de koffie vinden (hallongrottor, kokosbollar); Lunch opties als de Zweedse klassiek Janssonsfrestelse ‘Janssons verleiding’ – potato quiche with ansjovis of brood met Zweedse gehktballen, vis en meer. Zie alles onderaan!
Once entered, you see some buns and cakes. Standard at Norvolk are of course cinnamon and cardamom buns – kanelbullar & kardemummabullar; lingontosca (Lingonberry jam cake topped with almonds), lemondcurd shortbread are also always there. On the corner are fika cookies: hallongrottor cookies (butter cookies with jam), kokosbollar (chocolate-coconut balls) and ginger cookies among others.
On the inside, a detail I loved was the words in Nordic languages on the wooden beams:
Noitið daginn (Icelandic) – enjoy the day
Ei pidä ennä merta edemmäs kalaan (Finnish) – “it does not pay off to go further than the sea to fish” – do not get ahead of yourself when doing something
Smi mens jernet er varmt (Norwegian/Danish) – ‘forge while the iron is hot’ -seize the day. In Danish it is (man skal) smedemens jernet er varmt
Elsker samvær mad – either Danish or Norwegian, but I cannot find this saying online..
A bit further you have the cakes and sweet or savory breadstuff: croissant, typical Danish almond pasted filled T-birkes with poppy seeds on top, egg-filled Danishes.. Among the cakes the Swedish classics Budapest rollcake and Princess cake – with green marzipan in the classic version – at Norvolk varies its look depending on the season!
On the menu there were a few Scandinavian-inspired Lunch options as:
Swedish classic Janssonsfrestelse‘Janssons temptation’ – potato quiche with anchovy
Sill o Dill – herring on rye bread with egg and pickled red onion.
Bullen – Meatballs with beetroot salad, red cabbage, fried onions
Värmland – smoked salmon on rye bread with piccalilli sauce
Skagen – shrimp salad and eggs
Laxråg – salmon and remoulade sauce and dill
I ordered Janssonsfrestelse for lunch Swedish-style, and since I was already full I saved the Lussekatt for later.
At Norvolk you can also find others products for sale, as cookies and spreads: Among these the 7 sorter (there is a Swedish/Norwegian tradition to bake 7 kinds of biscuits), fruit bread and homemade lemoncurd, Picalilly sauce, kimchi.
The owner Carla Visch made her own Swedish traditions birthday calendar, a really cute idea I would actually love to copy…
Below is the summary of Norvolk in a journal spread:
Afterwards I went to the centre, and in the library – which has a good Nordic language books collection – I stumbled upon Nordic countries-themed books, and I found a Kalevala (Finnish epic poem) in the language section…!! I hope to be back when I will have more time.
When I arrived home, I had the Lussekatt with tea in my Dala mug and a pepparkaka on my Moomin tray. Could that be more Swedish?
I definitely have reasons to go back to Norvolk someday, so expect an update and subscribe to my blog!
my trips to Nordic Christmas markets at the Finnish seamen house in Rotterdam and a Swedish Christmas market in Groningen
I had been looking for a place selling Lussekatter (Lucia post) but ended up finding about Nordic Christmas markets in the Netherlands where I live! The blog post will be in Dutch – English Below
Alle Skandinavische zeemanskerken in Rotterdam organiseren Kerstmarkten in november, en ik ontdekte ze net op tijd om alleen naar de Finse Kerstmarkt te gaan. Een week later ging ik ook naar de ‘Zweedse’ kerstmarkt in Groningen. Twee heel verschillende evenementen! Spoiler- ik vond de gezellige, authentieke Finse markt veel leuker.
Finnish Christmas Market – Finse Kerstmarkt bij de Suomen Merimieskirkko in Rotterdam
De Finse kerstmarkt werd direct georganiseerd door de Finse zeemanskerk, Suomen Merimieskirkko, twee weekenden in november, en het was gratis toegankelijk. De meeste mensen hadden wel een band met Finland en het was er niet te druk, op zondag tenminste. Ik werd ook een paar keer in het Fins aangesproken en een paar mensen waren benieuwd over waarom ik daar was. Het was dus zeker perfect om wat contact met Finland en het Finse taal te hebben! Ik heb namelijk heel erg zin gekregen om Fins weer te gaan leren.
De locatie was het Finse Huis, binnen was er een soort Finse minimarkt, met ook wat andere typisch Finse spullen zoals Marimekko en Moomin merch. Daarnaast was er een café waar je van een authentieke Finse maaltijd en gebak kon genieten. Buiten was een kraam voor gegrilde worst en zelfs een Finse sauna waar je gebruik van kon maken tegen betaling!
Ik heb gekocht Fins rond gedroogd roggebrood, kaas, Fazer chocolade met salmiakki (drop). Ik was heel onzeker over kruipbraam jam (lakka is de naam van de oranje beer in het Fins – hjortron in het Zweeds, cloudberry in het Engels). Dit alles was vrij prijzig, van € 4 voor de chocoladereep tot € 13 die de jam zou hebben gekost!!! Maar goedkoper dan reizen naar Finland…
Ik heb van alles geprobeerd in het café, waaronder Joulutorttu (typisch Fins kerstgebak), Karjalanpiirakka (pasteitje met rijst vulling, waar je een ei-botermengsel op smeert), en een cake met kruipbraam jam. écht Noords en iets zuur). Daarna een Karjalan paisti, Karelische stoofvlees met aardappelpuree en augurken, € 15 met koffie erbij. Omdat ze al het overgebleven eten voor de halve prijs weggaven, kreeg ik aan het eind ook nog een broodje kardemom…
The Finnish Christmas market at the Finnish seamen Church there was a sort of Finnish minimarket, including some typical Finnish stuff as Marimekko houseware and Moomin mugs. Next to it you could have an authentic Finnish meal and cakes at the café, and sausages at a kiosk. It was also possible to try the Finnish sauna outside!|•
I bought Finnish round dried rye bread, cheese, Fazer chocolate with salmiakki, liquoricem and almost got also cloudberry jam. All these were quite pricy, from € 4 for the chocolate bar to € 13 which the jam would have costed!! But cheaper than travelling to Finland..
I tried a bit of anything at the café, and that included Joulutorttu, Karjalanpiirakka, a cloudberry jam cake. Then a Karelian stew, Karjalan paistu, with coffee included. There was a egg and butter mix to be added to the Karelian pie, but found it out late, so guess what…I ate it twice. As they were Giving away all food left for half price, i also got a cardemom bun at the end..
Swedish Christmas market – Zweedse Kerstmarkt in Groningen, Suikerfabriek
De ‘Zweedse’ markt in Groningen was in de Suikerfabriek, een voormalige suikerfabriek, dus een vrij grote plek, en er was een kaartje voor € 8-9, dat de ochtend van het evenement op zaterdag al was uitverkocht. Het was een typische kerstmarkt waar van alles werd verkocht, ook spullen, van oorbellen tot houten dingen tot handschoenen.
Er waren niet heel veel stands die Scandinavische spullen verkochten, en eigenlijk meer souvenirs in die gevallen, met een heleboel Dala-paardjes. Prenten van Scandinavische steden waren ook bij een paar te koop.
Pas Eén kraam verkocht Moomin-spullen (je zou meer verwachten als je ziet hoe vaak Moomin spullen zijn te vinde in Zweden), en een paar hadden sokken met Zweedse motieven, ook hier te koop bij Svensk Husman, en andere Pepparkakor, snoep en Julmust flessen (specerij-cola). Het eten was een beetje teleurstellend: Kanelbullar (kaneelbroodjes), een kraampje van Noorse zalm, en ‘Zweedse’ gehaktballen met standaard sauzen voor Nederland en niets meer…
De Skandinavische Vereniging en Informatie bureau in Nederland – SVIN – en culturele associatie van vertalers voor Scandinavische talen en culturen, was erbij. Ik las hardop iets voor mijn vriend daar en kreeg complimentjes voor mijn Deense uitspraak!!!
Conclusie:om Skandinavische/Zweedse (kerst) spullen en eten te vinden kon je beter naar IKEA gaan, en zonder € 8 kaartje.
Ik heb ondanks dat wel iets gekocht: een mooie Dalahäst kop en sokken, een Moomin dienblad (ik had eigenlijk een dienblad erg nodig).
Maar ben blij dat ik daar ben geweest om een vriend en Groningen te zien.
The ‘Swedish’ market in Groningen was located at an old factory now serving as a fair location, entry with a € 8-9 ticket. It was for a great part a general Christmas Market with stands selling from earrings to wooden things to gloves.
There were only a which sold legit Nordic stuff, which was actually souvenirs and a lot of Dala horse objects. another couple prints depicting Nordic cities. One was selling Moomin stuff and a couple socks with Swedish things as motifs. The food part was kind of delusional, the only Scandinavian thing to be found was Kanelbullar, and a stand selling Norwegian salmon. And ‘Swedish’ meatballs, without typical Swedish sides as lingonsylt though. The Dutch association of translators from Nordic languages also had a stand, selling some books and verb paradigm round cheat-cheets. I read out loud for my friend something and got praised for my Danish!!
I got Dala horse stuff although there was barely anything else worth being bought (thankfully for my wallet lately): A mug and socks! I already needed a tray and happened to find a Moomin one, so I went for it..
Scandinavian Christmas findings in chain shops
Naast IKEA verkopen Tiger en Søstrene Grene, Deense winkelketens, een paar typisch Scandinavische kerst artikelen met betaalbare prijzen: Julehjerter decoraties, Yule-geiten van stro, Pepparkakor/Brunkager koekjes en zakjes met Deense pepernoten.
Other than IKEA, Tiger and Søstrene Grene, as Danish shop chains, also sell some typical Scandinavian Christmas articles at affordable prices.
