My morning coffee: Lagkagehuset

This morning my daughter started ballet school and if you've even been a mother of a little girl at her first ballet lesson, where its all pink and tutus and ooh and aah, then you'll know the place of which I speak. Nothing could prepare me for it. My daughter had been dressing up in her 'dancing shoes' and prancing around in various mock ups of a ballerina's wardrobe for a couple of days but there's something very different about being in a room full of such little girls. It was one of those moments.

The school we have chosen for her is in Christianshavn and so it was a merry little jaunt on the bikes from Østerbro on this sunny Saturday morning and what a wonderful way to start the day. But the energy and excitement for what lay ahead did not dispel the need for a wake up shot of caffeine and I decided that the best place for this pitstop would be the original Lagkagehuset on Torvegade.

Now that I am writing up my experience at what has apparently been voted one of the best bakeries in the city, I am struggling to find testament to support the urban myths that surround this place. During my time here I had heard (although now I cannot verify) that lagkage is a layered cake traditionally eaten on birthdays and the building that sits at the junction of Torvegade and Overgaden oven Vandet (shown in the picture above) reminiscent of such a lagkage, was the first bakery to open in the group and gave it its name: Lagkagehuset (the layer cake house). In any event, here it was that we made pilgrimage and enjoyed coffee and a pastry before the morning's fun began.

Lagkagehuset can be found all over Denmark and their branded colouring with the famous signatures of the founders, Steen Skallebæk and Ole Kristofferson, can be a comforting sight in moments of need. Their bread is really what puts them on the map and they boast that most of it is allowed to rise for 12 hours. Be prepared to pay though as this labour of love doesn't come cheap.

And, of course, they are the creators of the cursed 'chokoryg' - is it a chocolate roll with rye in it or a rye roll with chocolate in it? Either way, the mention of 'rye' and it immediately made an appearance on  my list of 'healthy'(er) snacks! Be warned, they are not for the faint hearted or those, like me, with no self control.

Cost: a large (single shot) cappuccino costs 32 DKK
Coffee hygge factor: 3 out of 5

Find out more at www.lagkagehuset.dk

There IS such a thing as a free lunch (or cake!)

It's one of Denmark's best kept secrets that if you spend 1000 DKK at Lagkagehuset (and keep the receipts to prove it) then you get a free cake! That's what a French friend living here in Copenhagen told me and I thought there must be a catch - a free cake, in Denmark?! I figured it's a pretty safe bet on their part - who would spend 1000 DKK in a coffee shop?

 But then the time came to pass when I was publicly shamed into sorting out my wallet. It all began with an embarrassing incident in a bookshop last week when I was meeting with mummy friends for a coffee and my daughter was playing with my wallet. She promptly emptied the contents all over the bookshop floor and, mortified, I gathered up the carpet of receipts and stuffed them back into my bag vowing to have a clear out as soon as I got home.

And when I did get around to clearing out my wallet and handbag, would you believe it, there was the paper trail of over 1000 DKK spent in a coffee shop?! I might as well have found a golden ticket to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory - the excitement I neatly folded the receipts and placed them back in my bag.

The lovely lady serving at Lagkagehuset was only too pleased to take possession of the receipts and place my order for a free cake. This morning I collected the lovely white cake box and as I write I am tucking into a slice of buttery heaven - yum, yum yum. Thanks, Lagkagehuset, for adding a silver lining to the cloud of shame for stuffing my wallet with receipts!