Norwegian Prince's Cake Fyrstekake

Olha's Note:

Almond-filled butter pastry characterizes cakes that are in some way royal.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 1 9 inch ...

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, plus
• 1 tablespoon butter, firm, but not hard
• 1 egg

FILLING

• 1 cup unblanched almonds
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 egg whites

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, or in the food processor with the steel blade in place, combine the flour, baking powder, and sugar. Slice the butter and add to the flour mixture. Cut in using a pastry blender or on/off bursts of the food processor until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat in the egg and mix until a dough forms. Gather dough into a ball and chill.
2. To prepare the filling, pulverize the almonds in the food processor with the steel blade in place, or put through a food chopper with a fine blade. Blend in the powdered sugar and egg whites until mixture makes a firm dough. Wrap and chill.
3. Press 2/3 of the chilled dough into a 9-inch ungreased cake pan, covering bottom and building up the sides of the pan to about 1 inch. Spread almond mixture over the dough.
4. On a floured board, roll the remaining dough out to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into 1/2 inch strips. Crisscross the strips over the filling, fastening them to the edges of the cake. The strips may break but, never mind, they will bake together and look fine. If you have dough scraps, roll into a thin strip and fasten around the top edge of the cake. Preheat oven to 375°F.
5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely and cut into thin wedges to serve.
6. The Great Scandinavian Baking Book.

Reviews

[Heathery]

Great recipe! I needed a popular Norwegian recipe for a group project I was doing for an intercultural communications class, and everyone in my group enjoyed this (including one member who is part Norwegian anyways)! Very sweet- a small piece is relatively filling. Thanks!

[Santa's_Elf]

A good cake, the only problem I had was that the two egg whites and 1cup powdered sugar part never made a firm dough. I ended up using extra sugar which probably made the filling a bit too sweet. In the future I would probably just use one egg white.... otherwise I liked it.

[Girly_Girl_Lori]

I added a little bit of rum extract to the filling (per the sons of norway recipe page), and this was great! It is wonderful served with a dallop of fresh whipped cream mixed with sugar and a bit of cardammom.