Name: Kärleksmums – Swedish Love Cake With Mocha Glaze
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 14 tbsp Butter (200g /1 3/4 sticks); 3/4 Cup Milk (200ml); 4 Eggs; 1 3/4 Cups Sugar (320g/ 400ml ); 1 2/3 Cups All purpose flour (240g/400ml ); 2 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder; 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract or vanilla sugar; 1 1/4 Cup Cocoa powder (90g/150ml ); 1 pinch Salt; 1 stick Butter (100g); 1/3 Cup Strong coffee, cooled (100ml ); 4 teaspoons Cocoa powder; 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract or vanilla sugar; 4 Cups Powdered sugar/confectioners’ sugar/ icing sugar (250g/ 5 dl/500ml ); 1/2 Cup Shredded. coconut (30g -for traditional kärleksmums); 1 teaspoon Sea salt flakes (lightly crushed )

Jump to Recipe

This Swedish classic lies close to my heart, and not only because it’s wonderfully soft, super chocolatey, and so easy to make. It’s a cake I’ve made countless times with our oldest daughter, which makes it extra special! I’ll share our favorite kärleksmums recipe below, as well as our secret to making them irresistible. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Kärleksmums is a delicious Swedish chocolate cake with a mocha glaze (chocolate glaze with a hint of coffee). It’s made using a generous amount of cocoa powder, giving it a rich, brownie-like flavor while maintaining a light, fluffy cake texture. It’s baked in a rectangular cake pan or baking tin, and served in squares, perfect for sharing with loved ones on Valentine’s Day, or any day for that matter! If you love chocolate, then you’ll love these easy Swedish Chocolate Balls too, and they don’t need an oven!

Our favorite way to serve kärleksmums

Traditional recipes call for a chocolate mocha glaze topping and a sprinkling of shredded coconut, but over the years, our family has adapted this recipe and now uses coarse sea salt flakes instead. It makes them slightly less sweet and utterly irresistible!
Let me know in the comments below if you try our version!

Love Cake

The name, pronounced ‘share-lecks-mums’, means ‘yummy love cake’, or ‘love yums’ to be exact, making it the perfect Valentine’s Day treat!

Kärleksmums – Swedish Love Cake Ingredients

Makes :approximately 20-24 squares. Prep time: 20 minutes. Bake time: 25-30 minutes

Butter – 200g /1 3/4 sticks
Milk – 200ml / 3/4 cup
4 Eggs
Sugar – 320g/ 400ml /1 3/4 cups
All purpose flour – 240g/400ml / 1 2/3 cups
Baking powder – 2.5 teaspoons
Vanilla extract or vanilla sugar ( see note below!) – 1 teaspoon
Cocoa powder – 90g/150ml /1 1/4 cups
Salt – Pinch

Vanilla Sugar

A quick note about vanilla sugar: We often use vanilla sugar in Sweden. You can buy it ina little tub, and it tastes mildly of vanilla and has a slightly sweet taste. I’m not sure if it’s possible to buy it outside of sweden and personally, I prefer to use powdered vanilla or vanilla extract for a more intense vanilla flavor. For very special occasions, I use vanilla from a fresh pod.

Chocolate Mocha Glaze Ingredients

Butter – 1 stick/ 100g
Strong coffee, cooled – 1/3 cup / 100ml
Cocoa powder – 4 teaspoons
Vanilla extract or vanilla sugar – 1 teaspoon
Powdered sugar/confectioners’ sugar/ icing sugar – 4 Cups/250g/ 5 dl

To Garnish

Shredded. coconut – 30g/ 0.5 Cup ( for traditional kärleksmums)
OR
Sea salt flakes, lightly crushed – approx 1 teaspoon

Equipment

Cake pan with sides – 10×15 inch (approximately 25×38 cm) Parchment paper
Electric whisk
Large bowl
Whisk
Small saucepan
A spatula or knife – for spreading the icing

Our favorite way to garnish Käeleksmums with with a sprinkle of sea salt flakes

How to make this delicious cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.

2. Grease and line your cake pan with parchment paper.

3. Melt the butter in a small pot on low heat. Add the milk, and let it cool.

4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar really well with an electric mixer until fluffy. This takes about 5 minutes on maximum speed.

5. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.

6. Add the melted butter and milk, vanilla extract, and the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix everything into a smooth batter using a wooden spoon or a spatula. Be careful not to overmix!

7. Pour the batter into the lined cake pan. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 25-30 minutes.

Use a toothpick

You can use a toothpick to check that the cake is completely cooked through – insert the toothpick into the center of the cake, and it should be clean when removed. If there are traces of cake batter on the toothpick, pop the cake back into the oven for another 5-10 minutes.

8. While the cake is cooling, prepare the icing. Melt the butter gently in a saucepan over a low heat. Remove from the heat, sift in the cocoa powder and powdered sugar, and add the strong coffee. Stir until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add a tiny splash more coffee or water. If it’s too thin, add a little more powdered sugar.

9. Once the cake is completely cool, spread the chocolate icing evenly over the top.

10. Allow the chocolate icing set for about 15-20 minutes and sprinkle generously with shredded coconut or flaky sea salt. Divide the cake into evenly sized squares; you should get about 20 – 24 squares, but you can easily make larger or smaller squares.

Traditional Kärleksmums garnished with shredded coconut

Kärleksmums garnished with sea salt flakes instead of shredded coconut

Serving suggestions

These little love cakes are perfect for celebrating Valentine’s Day, as the literal translation is ‘love yums’ or ‘love treats’. But we make these all year round as they are rich and chocolatey and really satisfy a sweet tooth!
Serve with hot coffee, tea, or hot chocolate and a warm hug!

How to store Kärleksmums

This is a light, fluffy cake that’s prone to drying out easily. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

Be sure to check out this really simple Swedish Chocolate Balls Recipe – Chokladbollar and this Nordic Spiced Saffron Hot Chocolate Recipe! Looking for more great Swedish recipes? I’ve got you covered!