A small cylindrical almond-and-rum cake topped with a ring of raspberry jam and white icing. Eaten in the weeks around 5 February, the birthday of poet J.L. Runeberg.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
The Runeberg torte is tied to Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Finland's national poet, who lived in Porvoo; his wife Fredrika is credited with the recipe. Flavoured with almond, gingerbread crumbs and a dose of rum or arrack, the cake appears in Helsinki bakeries from January until Runeberg Day on 5 February. Porvoo, an easy day trip, is its spiritual home.
Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Nuts
Tip from the editors. Brush the warm cakes with a little extra rum syrup for the moist, boozy crumb the bakeries are known for.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
The Karl Fazer Café on Kluuvikatu lays on a weekend brunch under its 1891 glass dome, a spread of Finnish breakfast plates, pastries and the house chocolate.
Order: The weekend brunch with Fazer pastries and chocolate
Tip: Weekend brunch sells out, so reserve. The setting under the historic glass ceiling is half the reason to come.
Ekberg has run on Bulevardi since 1852, the oldest cafe and bakery in Helsinki, where the patisserie counter keeps an old-world ritual alive.
Signature drink: Coffee with a Napoleon pastry
Tip: Come for the morning pastry counter and the Napoleon mille-feuille. It has been a Bulevardi fixture since 1852.
Konditoria Hopia in Töölö is an old-time patisserie baking Karelian pies and cinnamon buns to a recipe brought from Sortavala nearly 70 years ago.
Tip: Come for the karjalanpiirakka rye-and-rice pies, baked daily to the original Karelian recipe. A Töölö neighbourhood fixture.
Worth the queue: Karelian pie (karjalanpiirakka)
More cities are in research. Want runebergintorttu (runeberg torte) covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.