Vínarterta

Ingredients

Layers

• 500 gplain flour
• 250 gbutter, softened
• 300 gcaster sugar
• 2eggs
• 2 teaspoonsground cardamom
• 1 teaspoonbaking powder
• 3 tablespoonsmilk
• 1 teaspoonalmond extract
• a pinch of salt

Filling

• 500 gpitted prunes
• 300 mlwater
• 100 gsugar
• 1 teaspoonground cardamom
• 1 teaspoonvanilla extract
• 1 tablespoonlemon juice

Optional icing

• 150 gicing sugar
• 1 tablespoonwater
• 1/2 teaspoonalmond extract

Directions

1. Put the prunes and water in a pan. Bring them to a simmer and cook for twenty minutes. They should be completely soft and falling apart. Mash them with a fork or blend them briefly. Return the puree to the pan with the sugar. Cook it over a low heat, stirring constantly. Cook until it is thick enough to hold a line. It should be a stiff jam rather than a sauce.
2. Stir in the cardamom, vanilla and lemon juice. Let it cool completely before using it. Making the layers is like a firm biscuit dough. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the almond extract as well. Sift the flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt together. Work the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.
3. Add the milk to bring it together. The dough should be firm and slightly crumbly. Wrap it and chill it for thirty minutes. Rolling the layers takes patience. Divide the dough into five or six equal pieces. Roll each piece between two sheets of baking paper.
4. Roll to about four millimetres thick. Cut each one into a neat circle or rectangle. Use a plate or a tin as a template. All the layers must be exactly the same size. Keep the offcuts and reroll them. Baking them is quick and needs watching. Heat the oven to 180C to bake them. Bake them for eight to ten minutes. They should be pale gold at the edges only.
5. Cool them flat on a wire rack. Do not stack them while they are warm. Set the first layer on a board or plate. Spread a thin even layer of prune filling over it. The filling layer should be thinner than the cake layer.
6. Set the next layer on top and press it gently. Continue until all the layers are used. Leave the top layer bare or ice it. Do not put filling on the outside edges.
7. Wrap the whole cake tightly in cling film. Leave it somewhere cool for at least three days. Mix the icing sugar, water and almond extract if using. Spread it thinly over the top layer. Cut the cake into very thin slices. Half a centimetre is about right.

Technique

• Icelandic settlement in Manitoba dates from the 1870s, and the community there has kept a distinct version of the cake.
• Debates between Icelandic and Icelandic-Canadian families over the correct number of layers and the correct filling are longstanding and good-natured.

Substitutions

• Dried apricots or dates can replace the prunes, and both appear in some family versions.
• Rhubarb filling is used in a few Icelandic households.

Variations

• Some families make seven layers and others five.
• Iced versions are more common in Canada than in Iceland.
• A version flavoured with cinnamon rather than cardamom exists but is less usual.

History

A nineteenth-century Icelandic cake carried by emigrants to Manitoba, where Icelandic Canadians preserved the recipe after it faded at home.

Frequently asked questions

What is Vínarterta?

Vínarterta is a dessert from Iceland: layered cake with prune filling, cut in thin slices with coffee. A nineteenth-century Icelandic cake carried by emigrants to Manitoba, where Icelandic Canadians preserved the recipe after it faded at home.

How long does Vínarterta take to make?

Vínarterta takes 1 hour of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes one cake, 20 thin slices. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Vínarterta?

Yes, within limits. Dried apricots or dates can replace the prunes, and both appear in some family versions. Rhubarb filling is used in a few Icelandic households.

What is the most important thing to get right in Vínarterta?

Put the prunes and water in a pan. Bring them to a simmer and cook for twenty minutes. They should be completely soft and falling apart. Mash them with a fork or blend them briefly. Return the puree to the pan with the sugar. Cook it over a low heat, stirring constantly. Cook until it is thick enough to hold a line. It should be a stiff jam rather than a sauce.