Taxinge’s Sugar Paradise

Claiming rights to the largest cake table (kakbord) in Northern Europe, Lola A. Åkerström visits Taxinge slott to check out its fabled table.

Fika at Taxinge Slott - Sweden - Food Photography by Lola Akinmade Åkerström

All photos by author.

I was already at the pastry table when they rounded the corner – a curly-haired woman holding a small point-and-shoot camera, and two kids, no more than 6 or 7, a boy and girl both holding their father’s hands, one at each side. I caught their mother’s expression first – mouth wide open, eyes twinkling, camera ready. A girl-like giggle escaped her. “This is insane,” she must have been thinking.

At least that’s what I thought when I rounded the same corner…

The two kids – boy and girl – were frozen in their tracks; a mixture of fear and confusion written across both faces. They probably weren’t thinking this was insane, but rather, this was impossible. Humanly impossible for them to witness towering tables of cakes, cookies, pies, buns, and other sugary sweet-things in their short lifetimes.

And the confusion, I deduced, stemmed from the fact that their parents brought them here and it was a-okay. I met their father’s eyes. The twinkle in his eyes matched his wife’s.

About an hour’s drive from Stockholm in Nykvarn lies Taxinge slott which touts itself as having “Northern Europe’s largest kakbord (cake table)” with over 60 varieties of home-baked desserts, pastries, and other fikabröd.

So naturally, I had to go investigate their claims.

Also known as the “Cake Castle”, everything is baked locally with no artificial ingredients or semi-manufactured products and each item has a moniker like Treasure Chest, Gemmy or Almond Flower. There are about 60 different kinds of pastries from tortes to carrot cake.

Fika at Taxinge Slott - Sweden - Food Photography by Lola Akinmade Åkerström

Fika at Taxinge Slott - Sweden - Food Photography by Lola Akinmade Åkerström

Fika at Taxinge Slott - Sweden - Food Photography by Lola Akinmade Åkerström

Fika at Taxinge Slott - Sweden - Food Photography by Lola Akinmade Åkerström

Fika at Taxinge Slott - Sweden - Food Photography by Lola Akinmade Åkerström

More on Taxinge Slott

Taxinge Castle and its vicinity have a rich history. In the 13th century, the township’s name Taxinge meant “home of the young badgers”. At that time, a “tax” was a badger. Today, it means a dachshund.

August Strindberg lived in its Bellgarden some summers as a young boy. He was captivated by the beautiful lady of the castle, Ebba Augusta, and is said to have taken her for a model when he wrote “Miss Julie”.

The castle has also taken part in some movies: Ingmar Bergmans “Cries and Whispers” and the wedding scene in Bille August’s “Good Will Hunting”.

It lies 60 km south of Stockholm along Gripsholm Bay by Mälaren Lake and you can also take a steamboat from Stockholm via Mariefred.

www.taxingeslott.se

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Author: Lola A. Åkerström

Lola Akinmade Åkerström is an award-winning writer, photographer, and travel blogger, and is also the Founder/Editor-in-chief of Slow Travel Stockholm. Her photography is represented by National Geographic Creative. She tweets at @LolaAkinmade.

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