4 Most Famous Latvian Cakes You Must Try

If you’re craving a cake for dessert, why not try some traditional Latvian cakes?

It doesn’t matter whether you have any baking experience, Latvian cakes are known for their simplicity that anyone can master.

All you need is some basic elements like several cups of flour, sugar, butter, eggs, baking powder, a sheet of parchment paper and a baking tray.

From there, you can already throw together something delicious like a honey cake if you have honey or an Alexander cake if you can get your hands on some jam.

Check out these amazing ideas and let me know your favorite!

4 Most Famous Latvian Cakes

Klingeris (Latvian Birthday Cake)

Klingeris is a traditional Latvian cake that is served on birthdays, holidays and other special occasions.

The dough ingredients are similar to brioche bread, including all-purpose flour, yeast, sugar, eggs, cream and butter.

This sweet bread cake can be fashioned like a pretzel or braided, and it’s scented with cardamom, saffron, crushed cinnamon, and dried fruits like currants, prunes, and raisins.

Powdered sugar or sliced almonds are good topping options.

Medus Kūka (Honey Cake)

Honey Cake, or Medus Kūka as it is known in Latvian, is a traditional Latvian dessert.

Sweet and spicy filling, typically made with sour cream or condensed milk, is sandwiched between the layers of cake made with honey, eggs, white sugar, flour, and baking soda.

A delightful, moist sweet dessert is created by letting the cake sit for some time so the flavors can blend.

Honey cake recipes are popular in many Eastern European countries, and each region has its own variation. 

For example, you can find a Romanian version on my list of the most famous Romanian cakes.

Torte “Cielaviņa”

Many people with a penchant for sugar cherish this delicious cake with nuts.

Nut meringue and perfectly whipped egg whites make a winning combination, and the rich cocoa cream is the perfect finishing touch.

Peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, or pistachios are all acceptable additions to this popular cake.

There are a lot of similarities between this recipe and Ukrainian Kyiv Cake, which is why I believe it might have been influenced by it.

You can read more about Kyiv Cake in my piece on the top Ukrainian cakes.

Latvian Alexander Cake

This delicacy, made famous by Russian czar Alexander III during his visit to Riga is called Alexandertorte or Aleksander Torte.

It consists of pastry strips stuffed with raspberry jam or preserves. The icing needs time to harden before the torte can be cut, so it’s best to make it at least a day before serving.

The cake layers actually look like a cookie sandwich with jam in the middle.

I hope you liked these beautiful Latvian cakes. Share your favorites and don’t forget to try them out for yourself!

Looking for more sweet ideas? Check these out:

11 Best Desserts from Bulgaria—and find out my favorite!

8 Ideas for Ukrainian Cookies—tried and true treats from my country!

25 Best Croatian Desserts with the Adriatic charm!