Kermakakku (Finnish Sour Cream Cake)

I love this cake. It is simple to prepare, flat out tasty, and just different enough that people will raise their eyebrows quizzically and ask "What's in here?" And yet, it tastes familiar enough that everyone will take a slice.

The Nordic flavors in this pound cake -- cardamom, almond, and pepper (!) -- really make this cake a knock-out. Plus, the presentation is tremendous. Highly recommended!

Kermakakku

From the Penzey's Spices catalog

2 eggs

2 c sour cream

2 c sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

3 c cake flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 - 3/4 tsp ground white pepper

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 - 3/4 tsp cardamom

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a tube or fluted tube pan and liberally sprinkle with sugar and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together flours, soda, salt and spices. Add the dry ingredients in thirds to the wet ingredients and beat well until the batter is smooth and combined. Pour into the pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, until set in the middle.

Cool on a rack fo 10 minutes and invert to cool. Dust liberally with powdered sugar; the granulated sugar on already on the cake will keep it from "melting."

Comments

Chicken Traybake with Roasted Poblano and Tomato Salsa

This dish is delicious! Easy! And, beautiful to look at! The original recipe calls for you to process all the cooked vegetables together into a chunky salsa, but I recommend serving it as is so you have an automatic side dish. The original also calls for cooking chicken bone-in, but, the more I cook traybakes, the more I advocate for slicing chicken into tenders and cooking boneless. Just a safer bake that way because everything comes to the same temperature at the same time. Chicken Traybake with Roasted Poblano and Tomato Salsa Milk Street 1 T chili powder 2 poblano, stemmed, seeded, chopped 1 yellow onion, root end intact, in 8 wedges 1 pint cherry tomatoes 1/4 c olive oil 1 T brown sugar 1 T oregano, dried 3 lb chicken, bone-in, skin-on, trimmed 10 cloves garlic, peeled 1 T vinegar 1/4 c cilantro, chopped Heat oven to 450. In small bowl, stir together chili powder and 2 tsp salt. In large bowl, toss together pobloanos, onion wedges, tomatoes, and 1 T of the chili-power/salt mix

Mayocoba Beans with Green Chiles

I love this dish so much that I can barely stand it. Delicious the night it was made, and fantastic as leftovers throughout the week. Mayocoba beans are easily replaced -- try pintos, if you can't find mayocobas. Mayocoba Beans with Green Chiles Baptism of Fire 3-4 green chiles, roasted and chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 T lard or olive oil 1/2 tsp oregano 1 tsp cumin pepper 1 c mayocoba beans, dry 3 c water 1 tsp salt Cook the green chiles, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, and black pepper in the fat until the onions begin to caramelize. Add the water and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the beans sit, uncovered, for an hour. You may drain the water to remove some of the slightly indigestible sugars that cause gassiness. If you decide to drain them, add enough water back into the pot to cover the beans with about 2" of water above the beans for cooking. Bring the beans back to a boil and cook, until tender. This will take

Crustless Couscous and Spinach Quiche

This "quiche" is so simple to make - you can prepare everything the night before, assemble it in the morning, and have it ready to go soon after waking up. An ideal dish to serve company, too. Crustless Couscous and Spinach Quiche The Garden of Earthly Delights 1 1/2 c water 3/4 c couscous, uncooked 3 eggs, beaten 1 bunch spinach 3/4 c cottage cheese 2 c cheddar cheese, shredded 3 T salsa 1 tsp chile powder 1 clove garlic, crushed 1/2 tsp oregano, dried 1/2 tsp coarse salt 1/2 tsp pepper Preheat oven to 375. Lightly coat a 9" pie plate with vegetable oil and set aside. In a medium pot, bring water to a boil. Add couscous. Stir once, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer couscous to a large bowl and add remaining ingredients. Spread couscous evenly in the bottom of the pie plate. Placein oven and bake until a knife comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Remove quiche from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Donut Army

Search This Blog