Fyrstekake is a very popular cake in the Nordic countries with its almond and marzipan base. In Norway it is common to serve the cake as a dessert. It is available in supermarkets, but every Scandinavian agree that nothing tastes like the homemade cake – preferably made by grandma.

The New York Times has written an uplifting story about Fyrstekake:

Midcentury Scandinavian food never had the second life that Scandinavian furniture did. And if you’d like to know why, imagine the opposite — a world in which we savor salted herring and forget about Saarinen tables. No! But if we were to bring back just one worthy dish, I’d vote for Fyrstekake, also known as Royal Cake.(…) Fyrstekake is something between a cake and a bar cookie. It’s so fragrant and chewy that it begs for an accompanying cup of tea.

Below you will find the recipe for traditional Fyrstekake. It is easy to make, and tastes heavenly!

Ingredients

Dough:

5.8 oz. (165 g) butter

4.4 oz. (125 g) sugar

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons heavy cream

8.8oz. (250 g) flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

Almond Base:

10.5 oz. (300 g) almonds

8.8 oz. (250 g) sugar powder

½ teaspoon vanilla sugar

½ teaspoon baking powder

5 egg whites

Brushing:

1 egg

Method

Dough:

Mix butter and sugar well. Blend in the egg yolks and heavy cream, and add sifted flour and baking powder.

Grease up a cake mold, approx. 9-10 inches (24-26 cm) in diameter. Remove ¼ of the dough, and press the rest into the mold covering the surface and 1.1 inches (3 cm) up the edges.

Spread some flour over the unused dough, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate.

Almond Base:

Ground the unpeeled almonds. Whip the egg whites stiff. Mix in the almonds, sugar powder, vanilla sugar and baking powder. Spread the filling on top of the dough.

Roll out the rest of the dough. Slice it into narrow, even strips using a pastry crimping wheel. Place the strips in a square pattern on top of the cake. Add a dough strip around the edge.

Brush the dough with egg white, or one whipped egg added water.

Bake the cake on the bottom shelf at 347 degrees F/ 175 degrees C degrees about 45-50 minutes.

Let the cake rest for 5 minutes before removing the mold ring. Let it rest additional 15-20 minutes before carefully placing it on a wire cooling rack.  

TIPS: You can also use gingerbread molds to create funny and exiting shapes and place them on top of the cake.

Text by: Anette Broteng Christiansen, ThorNews

Recipe by: Ingrid Espelid Hovig

Photo: Matprat

Categories: Culinary Surprises, Recipes