Tærtens skorpe smager bedst, når den får lov til at køle lidt på risten.

Tærtens means the pie’s.

The -s is the Danish genitive ending, used very much like English ’s:

• tærte = a pie
• tærten = the pie
• tærtens = the pie’s

Unlike English, Danish normally does not use an apostrophe before this s.

Because in Danish possessive/genitive expressions, the possessed noun usually does not take the definite ending.

So:

• tærtens skorpe = the pie’s crust

Even though English uses the in the pie’s crust, Danish does not say tærtens skorpen.

This is a very common pattern:

• husets tag = the house’s roof
• bilens dør = the car’s door

The definiteness is already understood from the possessor.

Smager bedst means tastes best.

Breakdown:

• smager = tastes
• bedst = best

Here bedst is the superlative form related to god/godt:

• godt = well / good in this kind of expression
• bedre = better
• bedst = best

So smage godt = taste good, and smage bedst = taste best.

Når means when, but here it is used for a general situation or habitual truth, not one specific past event.

So the sentence means something like:

• the crust tastes best when it is allowed to cool a little on the rack
• in general, that is the best moment for it

This is different from da, which is more often used for a specific event in the past.

Because når den får lov til at køle lidt på risten is a subordinate clause.

In Danish:

• main clauses usually follow V2 word order, where the finite verb comes second
• subordinate clauses usually keep a more straightforward order: subject + verb

So:

• når den får lov ... = correct
• når får den lov ... = not correct here

This is a very important Danish pattern.

Yes, literally får lov til at means gets permission to or is allowed to.

But in natural English, in a sentence like this, it is often better understood as:

• is allowed to
• gets to
• is left to
• is given time to

So here it does not sound like someone is formally granting permission to the crust. It is an idiomatic way of saying that the crust tastes best if you let it cool a little.

Most naturally, den refers to skorpe (the crust).

So the idea is:

• The pie’s crust tastes best when it gets to cool a little on the rack.

Grammatically, den could in theory refer to another common-gender noun, but in context the crust is the most logical reading.

Here køle lidt means cool a little or cool down a little.

• køle = cool
• lidt = a little / a bit

Yes, Danish can also use køle af, which often feels very natural for cool down:

• køle lidt af = cool down a little

So this sentence could have been phrased slightly differently, but køle lidt is understandable and natural in context.

På risten means on the rack.

Breakdown:

• rist = rack / grate
• risten = the rack
• på = on

In a baking context, this usually means a cooling rack. Danish often just says risten when the context makes it clear what kind of rack is meant.

Lidt softens the statement and makes it more natural.

It means:

• a little
• a bit

So the crust is not supposed to become fully cold; it just tastes best after cooling slightly.

Without lidt, the sentence would suggest a more general cooling idea, but lidt gives a more precise, natural cooking sense.