Vinarterta Cake

by Evelyn
(Toronto ON)

(Special Occasion Cake - Christmas recipe ) - An Icelandic classic

What you need
For Cake Layers:

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups fine granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons cream
4 cups flour (approx.)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 dessert spoon almond extract
2 teaspoons ground cardamom seed

For Filling:

1 lb. prunes, boiled and stoned and put through a food chopper.
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup water that prunes were boiled in

Preparation

Bring the prune-mixture to boil and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Keep warm for spreding on cakes.
Cream butter, add sugar gradually and eggs one at a time. Add dry ingredients, flavouring and cream. Knead in all the flour (don't knead too much).
Divide into 6 equal parts. Place each part on the bottom of a round tin. First you flatten the dogh with your hands, to fit the tin. To get it nice and even put a wax paper over the layers and with a glass, lightly roll over it. Remove the wax paper and with a fork, make small holes in the layers. Bake to golden brown at 375 (F) degrees for about 10 minutes. Remove each layer from tin and cool before putting together with prune filling. Cover with butter icing if desired.

NOTE: This cake freezes well and thaws quickly when needed. It's best to make the cake, at least several days before you need it and store it in closed tin in fridge to season.

I've known people who use cardamom, cinnamon, and even wine in it, and there are those that ice it and those that don't, those that do and don't use marzipan, and so on.


Here's a link to a step by step guide, complete with pictures.
http://www.cs.umanitoba.ca/~andersj/vinarterta/vinarterta.html

A bit of work but worth it.