Lagkaka

Layer cake

In Iceland, lagkaka ("layer cake") is the name given to cakes with a light or brown dough that is filled with several layers (often 4 layers with jam or cream). Classic Icelandic layer cakes include Brúnterta or Randalín , but this Lagkaka also looks great on the coffee table.

Brúnterta and Randalín

Ingredients

250 g soft butter
300 g sugar
1 pinch of ground vanilla
2 Tbsp grated lemon peel
5 eggs
400 g flour

100 g chocolate
2 Tbsp whipping cream

50 g raspberry jelly
50 g cream cheese


Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C) upper/lower heat.

In a large bowl, mix the softened butter with the sugar, vanilla and grated lemon peel.

Add the eggs one at a time and mix in.

Finally add the flour and mix into a smooth dough.

Then put the finished dough into a king cake mold and let it bake well in the lower third of the oven in the preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) for about 60 minutes.

Once the cake has successfully passed the “stick test”, take it out of the oven and let it cool in the tin.

Then cut the cake into approx. 1/2 cm thin slices.

Melt the chocolate in a water bath, then stir in the cream.

Mix the cream cheese with the raspberry jelly to form a uniform cream.

Spread the first slice of cake with the chocolate cream, place the second slice on top and spread it with the cream cheese mixture. Place the next slice on top and spread the chocolate cream again. Continue like this until there are five slices on top of each other.

Then carefully cut off the edge and cut the “cake sandwich” crosswise into four to five slices.

Repeat the same process with the next five slices of cake.

Then wrap all the “packages” in aluminum foil, place them in the refrigerator and let them soak overnight.

Serve the cake well cooked the next day!

Bon appetit!

[Translated from here.]

Saltkjötskökur

Salted meat cakes

You can easily buy salt meat in any supermarket in Iceland - fresh meat marinated in salt. Really extremely salty!

In other countries it's often hard to get such a kind of salt meat. I recommend cured pork tenderloin, but the meat pulp must then be seasoned with a pinch of salt.


Ingredients for 4 persons

500 g salt meat (weighed boneless)
1 onion
2 Tbsp margarine
2 slices of toast bread
250 ml milk
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg
1 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp breadcrumbs
Margarine for the pan


Preparation

Wash the salt meat, dry it thoroughly and cut it into very small pieces with a knife.

Cut the white bread (toast) into small pieces and soak it in the milk so that it soaks well.

Peel the onion and chop it finely.

Heat a teaspoon of margarine in a large pan and brown the onion pieces in it.

Then put the chopped salt meat, the soaked white bread with milk, the browned onions and the egg in a large bowl with the flour and breadcrumbs, mix thoroughly and season with pepper to taste. (Salt is unnecessary, real salt meat is definitely salty enough!)

Then shape the dough into flat, round cakes with moistened hands.

Heat the pan again, melt some margarine and fry the meatballs in batches until golden brown on both sides.

Serve the still warm salt meat cakes traditionally with boiled potatoes and vegetables.

Bon appetit!

[Translated from here.]

Djúpsteiktur fiskur

Baked fish

For this Icelandic "fried fish" recipe I used "Þorskhnakkar", i.e. "cod snack".

By the way, in Iceland it is customary to eat the skin of fish, especially cod / halibut. After all, life in Iceland was so meager for centuries that people could not afford to throw anything edible away. Furthermore, the skin should be very rich in vitamins. In any case, it doesn't taste bad!


Ingredients

750 g halibut
240 g flour
200 ml milk
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 pinch of pepper

2 Tbsp oil for frying


Preparation

To make the dough, first mix the flour with the milk, eggs, salt and pepper and let the dough stand for about half an hour.

Cut the cod into large pieces.

Heat the oil in a large pan.

Dip the fish pieces into the batter and then fry them in the hot oil.

Then serve the fried fish in the classic way with vegetables and potatoes.

[Translated from here.]

Sveskjumauk

Plum jam

Ingredients

350 g dried plums
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Water


Preparation

Cut the dried plums carefully into small pieces.

Put the chopped plum pieces in a pot, add honey and lemon juice and just cover with water.

Cook over medium heat for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Then puree with a blender to taste or let it cool straight away.

I had the plum jam together with this whey cheese skyr cream. Sounds pretty unusual, but it was delicious!

[Translated from here.]

Mysuosts- og skyrfroða

Whey cheese skyr cream

For this recipe you use Mysuosta, which is firm brown whey cheese. The cheese has a very spicy taste and is somewhat reminiscent of cheddar - only much, much more intense.


Ingredients for 4 servings

150 g solid whey cheese
350 g pure Skyr
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
150 g whipping cream

Plum compote


Preparation

In a large bowl, mix the skyr with the lemon juice, water and powdered sugar very thoroughly until the mixture is as uniform as possible.

Grate the whey cheese into the skyr mixture - setting aside a little bit of cheese for later decoration.

Mix the liquid whipping cream with the Skyr cheese mixture.

Divide the plum compote into the dessert bowls, top with the Skyr cheese cream and grate the remaining whey cheese over it for decoration.

Bon appetit!

[Translated from here.]

Sætur berjagljái með hangikjöti

Sweet berry shine with smoked lamb

Traditionally, crowberries (Krækiberja) are used for this recipe. Crowberries belong to the genus of heather plants, a flat plant where you have to look very closely - and then you suddenly discover a lot of berries.

Crowberries contain twice as much vitamin C as blueberries and are therefore a very good source of vitamins. Strictly speaking, they also contain grayanotoxins - a plant poison, which is only contained in such small quantities in crowberries that there are no known cases of poisoning. In Iceland and other Scandinavian countries in particular, crowberries are traditionally used as food.

If crowberries are not available at the moment, you can also use other types of berries or berry mixtures to make this berry sauce.

Hangikjöt with Flatbrauð

Oh yes, the Hangikjöt - Hangikjöt is lamb meat smoked over sheep dung and aged for a long time, which gives the meat its very own and very special taste. Hangikjöt may not be exported to the EU; smoking with sheep dung is not permitted here. So here you have to make do with cold smoked lamb for this dish.


Ingredients

200 g berries
100 g honey
50 ml balsamic vinegar
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of pepper

smoked lamb


Preparation

Put all the ingredients for the berry sauce in a pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has reduced by about half.

Allow to cool well...

...and then serve with cold, thinly sliced ​​hangikjöt. With fresh salad, it's a very nice meal that's easy to prepare!

[Translated from here.]