Coffee and Cakes from Southern Jutland at Hohenwarte

Hohenwarte is located in the scenic Tønder Marsh, only 2 kilometers from the Wadden Sea, where you can experience a unique nature and wildlife. When visiting Hohenwarte you are in close distance to magnificient nature experiences by The Wadden Sea National Park, shops in the idyllic city of Tønder, the great beaches on Rømø, or the German borders.
Hohenwarte is a hobby farm, where the guests can enjoy various activities such as petting the animals and horseback riding. On the farm you can experience a traditional Coffee/Cake-Table from Southern Jutland with at least 14 different kinds of cakes, both the hard ones and the soft ones.

The story behind the Coffee/Cake Table from Southern Jutland: In Southern Jutland, we are known for the huge amount of pastries and cakes that are served at our traditional Coffee/Cake table. This proud tradition goes 150 years back. After the war in 1864 Southern Jutland was under German rule. In an attempt to keep up Danish traditions, the Danes built community houses in Southern Jutland – at the time called North Slesvig.

The community houses were the gathering point for the Danish-minded groups who stood together against the German supremacy. The Danes met regularly in the community houses - here they would arrange political meetings initiated with patriotic songs followed by speeches. The meetings were important to keep the Danes’ fighting spirit alive and give them a sense of unity. The meetings were in Danish at a time where expressions in Danish were forbidden. These gatherings were shunned upon by the German rulers and therefore the Danes were not allowed to serve alcohol.
With the need for something else to serve at the meetings the housewives turned to their kitchens and let the creativity rule. A competition between the women started – who could bring the most creative, best tasting and beautiful cakes to the meetings?
In order to keep the audience quiet and avoid interruptions during the speeches plates would be stacked with cakes. The meetings in the community houses were therefore the beginning of the most well tasting tradition in Southern Jutland today known as “The coffee table from Southern Jutland”.

Today tradition prescribes at least 14 different cakes at a Coffee/Cake Table; seven soft cakes and seven solid cakes. The cakes are eaten in a very structured order: You start with a bun with a lot of butter on top in order to create a good foundation. Then you will have the solid cakes such as sweet pretzel pastry, then the more dry cakes such as sponge cake and pie. Then the more rich cakes such as Swiss rolls and then the most important cake: The layered cake – here the hostess really gets to show off. Finally you will have the solid cakes – the cookies, here there are numerous variations.

It is considered very impolite not to taste all of the cakes!

Experience a traditional Coffee/Cake table with at least 14 different cakes