Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Sklandrausis (Rye Carrot Tart)
Little hand-raised rye pastry cases filled with potato and sweet spiced carrot purees, baked until set, an ancient Livonian specialty.
Latvian · medium · serves 6
prep 40 min · cook 25 min
~314 cal · 6g protein · 54g carbs · 8g fat · 4g fiber · 10g sugars · 5g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Sklandrausis is one of the oldest dishes in Latvia, a Livonian and Courland speciality so distinctive that it holds an EU protected-name status of its own. A stiff, unleavened rye dough is pressed into little cases by hand, the edges crimped up into a low wall, and the shells are filled with two purees: a pale layer of mashed potato below and a sweet, spiced carrot layer above.
The rye pastry is the giveaway of its age, from the centuries when rye, not wheat, was the grain of the Baltic. The filling is seasoned with caraway, cinnamon, and a little cream and honey, so each small tart is at once earthy and sweet, savoury and dessert-like. They were traditionally baked for weddings, funerals, and festivals, and carried a whiff of ritual.
Eaten warm or cool, often with a cup of tea, sklandrausis tastes of a very old countryside. Rustic, golden-topped, and unlike anything else, it is a proud, edible piece of Latvian heritage rather than just something spread on bread.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
2 cups rye flour
1/2 cup warm water
2 tbsp butter, melted (for the dough)
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups potatoes, boiled and mashed
2 cups carrots, boiled and mashed
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp ground caraway
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
1
Make the dough: mix the rye flour, salt, melted butter, and warm water into a stiff, smooth dough. Knead a few minutes, then let it rest 15 minutes under a cloth.
2
For the potato layer, mash the boiled potatoes with half the cream and a pinch of salt until smooth.
3
For the carrot layer, mash the boiled carrots with the honey, remaining cream, caraway, and cinnamon.
4
Roll the dough thin and cut rounds about 4 inches across. Pinch up the edge of each into a low, crimped wall to make a little case.
✎ Chef’s note
The walls need to stand up on their own, so keep the dough stiff and the cases small, like a free-standing tartlet.
5
Spread a base layer of the potato mash into each case, then top with a mound of the spiced carrot.
6
Set the tarts on a lined tray and bake at 400F (200C) for 20 to 25 minutes, until the shells are firm and the carrot tops are set and lightly browned.
7
Cool slightly and brush the tops with a little extra honey or melted butter for shine. Serve warm or cool, with tea.
Courland (Kurzeme) heritage tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Riga. The grey peas have protected status. Latvijas lielie pelekie zirni were registered in the EU scheme in 2015 and one cultivar was bred at the Priekuli institute, which is a surprising amount of paperwork for a bowl of peas with bacon and onion.
🗺️
Latvia. Midsummer has its own cheese. Janu siers is fresh curd heated with milk, butter, eggs and a handful of caraway, pressed into a round yellow wheel that stands for the sun, and it is eaten with beer through the shortest night of the year. It holds EU Traditional Speciality Guaranteed status, as do a Latvian rye bread and the carrot buns called sklandrausi.
🌍
Europe. A surprising amount of European cooking is under five hundred years old. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, maize, beans and chocolate all crossed from the Americas after 1492, and none of them was trusted quickly: the potato took most of the eighteenth century to be accepted as food rather than animal fodder across much of the north.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Latvia
Grey Peas with BaconNutty grey peas simmered soft and tossed with crisp bacon and fried onion, Latvia's unofficial national dish.
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Rupjmaizes KārtojumsA layered trifle of toasted rye breadcrumbs, tart cranberry, and whipped cream, a uniquely Latvian dessert.
Browse all Latvia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven.
Storing it: Keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and reheats covered in the oven. Most bakes can be assembled a day ahead and baked when needed.
Make it a Latvia meal
Rupjmaizes KārtojumsDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Sklandrausis (Rye Carrot Tart)?
Little hand-raised rye pastry cases filled with potato and sweet spiced carrot purees, baked until set, an ancient Livonian specialty.
Where does Sklandrausis (Rye Carrot Tart) come from?
Sklandrausis (Rye Carrot Tart) is a Latvian dish from Riga, Latvia.
Can Sklandrausis (Rye Carrot Tart) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Sklandrausis (Rye Carrot Tart) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Sklandrausis (Rye Carrot Tart) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Sklandrausis (Rye Carrot Tart) take to make?
About 65 minutes total (40 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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