Gustavus Adolphus pastry ( sv, Gustav Adolfsbakelse) is a

pastry Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ma ...

traditionally eaten every 6 November in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Gustavus Adolphus Day Gustavus Adolphus Day ( sv, Gustav Adolfsdagen; fi, Kustaa Aadolfin päivä; et, Gustav Adolfi päev) is celebrated in Sweden, Finland, and Estonia on 6 November in memory of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. Observing the day became popular a ...

, the death day of King Gustavus Adolphus the Great. It is especially popular in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, a city founded by the king. The pastry was created around 1900. Candy with the image of the king was sold by a

konditorei A ''Konditorei'' is a business that typically offers a wide variety of pastries and typically also serves as a café, these are found in many different countries including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Denmark, Sweden, the Czech Repub ...

in Gothenburg since the 1850s. The earliest mention of a pastry is from the Western parts of Sweden during the 1890s, where the pastry probably was created around the festivities when a statue of the king was erected in

on a square, that since then is known as Gustaf Adolfs torg ("Gustavus Adolphus Square"). One Gothenburg bakery, Bräutigams, claims to have created it in the early 20th century, with the years 1905 or 1909 mentioned. Recipes for the pastry vary locally but most versions have a portrait of the king on the top, usually made of chocolate or

marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar, honey, and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzi ...

. In 2003, a competition arranged by

Livrustkammaren The Royal Armoury ( sv, Livrustkammaren) is a museum in the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. It contains many artifacts of Swedish military history and Swedish royalty. It is the oldest museum in Sweden, established in 1628 by King Gustavus Ad ...

and Gastronomiska akademien ("Gastronomic Academy of Sweden") elected a winner without the king's portrait. The Swedish bakeries and

s however preferred their old versions, so the attempt to establish a standard Gustavus Adolphus pastry failed. Exactly how many Gustav Adolphus pastries are sold in November each year is not known. The newspaper ''

Göteborgs-Tidningen ''Expressen'' (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden, the other being ''Aftonbladet''. ''Expressen'' was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or "''Expressen'' to your rescue". ...

'' in 2009 approximated the total Swedish sales and consumption to more than 10 000.

References

ifood.tv
Retrieved 2014-02-05.

Nationalencyklopedin ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia, initiated by a favourable loan from the Government of Sweden of 17 million Swedish kronor in 19 ...

, Gustav Adolfsdagen Brautigams
, the web page of the bakery. In Swedish "Gustav Adolfs huvud ska vara i choklad"
Göteborgs tidning 2011-11-06 Ny standard skapad för Gustav Adolf-bakelser
Aftonbladet 2003-11-06 (Swedish) Nordiska museet: Gustav Adolfsdagen
(Swedish) {{pastries Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Swedish pastries November

See also

References