While there are many Danish baking recipes with a long history behind them, the Dream Cake is a relative newcomer. It rose to popularity in the 1960s when a Danish schoolgirl entered the recipe (her grandmother's) in a baking competition and won. This caught the attention of large food company, and the recipe eventually found its way into a mainstream cookbook and into the hearts (and stomachs) of Danes throughout the country. Danish Dream Cake is typically a soft, vanilla cake topped with a layer of caramel-y coconut icing that is either baked or broiled on top.