Sjónvarpskaka

TV cake

When you ask Icelanders what a “typical Icelandic cake” is to them, one name always comes up: Sjónvarpskaka.

Literally translated it means “television cake”. However, no one could really answer me why this cake is called TV cake. Maybe because it's easy to eat without making a big mess while watching TV on the couch.

But one theory also says that the cake is called TV cake because the surface of the cake looks like the TV picture in Iceland used to - crisp and noisy. Of course there could be something to that!

In Iceland, the cake is not only known as Sjónvarpskaka (= television cake), but also as "Skólakaka" (= school cake) and as "Gullkaka" (= gold cake).



Ingredients

4 eggs
300 g sugar
250 g flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 pinch of ground vanilla
200 g milk
50 g margarine

For the coconut caramel topping

125 g margarine
100 g coconut flakes
125 g powdered sugar
4 Tbsp milk


Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 upper/lower heat.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until fluffy.

Add flour, baking powder and ground vanilla.

Add the milk and margarine...

...and work everything into a smooth dough.

Place in a springform pan (approx. 24 cm) lined with baking paper and bake in the lower third of the preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) for about 35 minutes.

Take the cake out of the oven briefly and prepare the topping:

Put all the ingredients for the topping in a small pot and heat slowly, stirring occasionally. Let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes.

Pour the coconut mixture into the middle of the cake and spread it very carefully, leaving a small edge so that nothing flows down during baking.

Then bake for about 25 minutes at 350 °F (180 °C) upper and lower heat in the lower third of the oven.

Then take the cake out of the oven and let it cool down.

In Iceland, the “classic TV cake” is usually enjoyed with whipped cream and cold milk.

Have fun with a cozy afternoon watching TV!

[Translated from here.]