Mondlukaka – Icelandic Almond Cake Dessert

Submitted by twissis

"Most Icelanders have an enormous “sweet tooth” and an Icelandic afternoon tradition called “Kaffi og Kaka” (coffee and cake) is 1 way they indulge their craving. At first I expected something simple, but I quickly realized K&K is the Icelandic version of an American tradition ... “pig out till you seriously hurt yourself!” For some, it’s daily and casual. For others, it’s less frequent ... but a very formal, put out your best china, fill a table w/all manner of taste sensations and eat for 2 hrs while pouring coffee so strong it would make you gasp w/terror. A favorite treat for such occasions is Iceland Almond Cake. Again my source is my “Classic Scandanavian Cooking” cookbook by Nika Hazelton. Part of the intro says “This cake is good & easy, & it will keep well if wrapped in aluminum foil – without the filling & topping, of course.”"

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 9
• Yields: 8 Cake Wedges
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs (separated)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup almonds (blanched and finely ground)
• 1 cup flour (sifted)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄2 cup strawberry jam
• 1 cup heavy cream (whipped and sweetened to taste)

directions

1. Set oven temp at 350°F.
2. Cream butter and gradually add sugar. Beat in egg yolks (1 at a time), beating well after ea addition. Stir in vanilla and almonds.
3. Sift together the flour & baking powder and gradually add to batter. Beat egg whites till stiff (but not dry); fold into batter.
4. Bake in three 8-inch buttered & floured layer pans for about 30 minutes or till golden brown. Cool at least 5 minutes before removing from pans.
5. Spread strawberry jam between cooled layers and cover top and sides with swirls of whipped cream. Serve immediately and watch as it disappears.

Reviews

[Ginger Rose]

This is a delicous cake! In the end I only did 2 layers...but that was just because I was too lazy to find another tin ;-)!

 

[Chef Kate]

I brought this to an open house on Sunday--it disappeared so fast I was very grateful that I had made a 'mini-version' that stayed at home. So pretty! So easy! Thanks, Mary Pat!

 

[Dreamgoddess]

This cake was delicious, easy to make and presented beautifully. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

 

[lauralie41]

This is a wonderful cake! I could not find my round cake pans, think DD "borrowed" them when she moved, so I used a bundt pan. When the cake was cooled I sliced the cake to make three sections. Used strawberry preserves and doubled the amount of whipped cream. So pretty and tastes so good! Thank you tsissis for posting this recipe!!

 

[evelynathens]

I was definitely the most popular at work today. This is a fabulous cake recipe! The actual cake layers are very thin and oh-so-flavourful with the ground almonds. Because of the use of almonds, I preferred to use a homemade sour cherry preserve between my layers and made a bit more whipped cream (can you ever have enough?) - using 1 1/2 cups. This was GORGEOUS before and after cutting. My colleagues are at my beck and call and, twissis, this is a KEEPER!