Bløtekake :: Norwegian Strawberry Cream Cake

Birthday cake in Norway tends to mean Bløtekake. As you may never have had the great fortune of eating the glory that is Norwegian Bløtekake, I thought I'd share some pictures and the recipe with you. It's not difficult at all and the ingredients should be available in most supermarkets.

Bløtekake would make a wonderful 4th of July flag cake, or a 17th of May (Norway's Constitution Day) cake. You could use blueberries and raspberries to create these wonderful flags.

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

4 eggs, separated

3/4 cup granulated sugar

Custard Filling (see below)

1 pint fresh strawberries

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Butter a 9- to 10-inch springform pan; dust with flour; set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a small bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until fluffy. Gradually beat in granulated sugar until stiff peaks form; set aside. In a small bowl, beat egg yolks until pale. Fold beaten egg yolks, and then flour mixture into the beaten egg whites. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake 30 minutes or until top of cake feels dry. Center of cake will be slightly indented. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove side of pan. Loosen cake from bottom of pan; cool cake on a rack.

Prepare Custard Filling. Reserve 5 strawberries for top of cake. Slice remaining strawberries lengthwise; set aside. In a medium bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla. When cake is cooled, cut horizontally into 3 thin layers. Place bottom layer on a cake platter; spread with half of Custard Filling and half of sliced strawberries. Place second cake layer on top. Spoon remaining Custard Filling and sliced strawberries over top. Place remaining cake layer on top. Spoon whipped cream mixture over top of cake and decorate with reserved strawberries. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 16 servings.

2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup half-and-half

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, blend egg yolks, butter, cornstarch, half-and-half, and sugar. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until smooth and thickened. Cover pan and set aside to cool. Stir vanilla into cooled custard.

Potato starch, also known as "potato starch flour," is an almost magical ingredient when used to replace flour in recipes such as this gluten-free Norwegian Bløtekake. Because the potato starch readily absorbs and retains moisture, it produces a light cake so moist that you can literally hear a sponge-like "swoosh" as you cut through the cake prior to filling it with thick layers of strawberry cream.

Ingredients:

* 6 eggs

* 1 1/2 cups sugar (baking sugar is best)

* 1 1/4 cups potato starch flour (Swan's is the most commonly available brand. Do NOT use "potato flour" for this recipe).

* 1 tsp. baking powder (gluten-free, like Rumford's)

* Zest of one medium lemon

* 2 cups whipping cream

* 2 tsp. vanilla sugar

* 3 cups sliced strawberries, slightly mashed to release juices

* Sliced fruit (strawberries, kiwis) to garnish

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly grease and use a small amount of potato starch flour to dust a 9-inch springform cake pan (Alternatively, you can divide batter between 3 regular 9-inch cake pans or, if you only have two 9-inch cake pans, fill one pan with 2/3rds of the batter and the second with 1/3 of batter).

Divide 6 eggs into two bowls. Whisk the yolks until smooth and golden, then add 3/4 cup of sugar and lemon juice, mixing well to combine. Fold in potato starch just until all is incorporated.

Beat the egg whites with remaining 3/4 cup sugar until strong peaks form. Gently fold half of the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture, then pour this batter back into the remaining egg whites and fold together until combined (use a really light hand for this - you don't want to overmix the batter). Lightly fold lemon zest into batter.

Pour batter into cake pan and bake on middle rack 40 minutes until top is brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Place pan on rack and allow cake to cool completely before removing.

When cake has cooled, remove from pan and slice into 3 layers (you'll hear an amazing, moist, spongy "whoosh" sound as you cut through the cake!).

Whip together cream with 2 tsp. vanilla sugar until stiff. Reserve 1/3 of whipped cream for top of the cake. Fold together remaining 2/3 of cream with mashed strawberries.

Construct your cake, dividing the strawberry cream equally between the lower two layers. Frost the top of the cake with the plain whipped cream; garnish with sliced fruit and lemon zest.

If possible, refrigerate 2-3 hours or overnight before serving (this allows the flavors to blend well together, creating an even moister cake).

Yield: 10-12 servings of Norwegian wet cake.

Perhaps you have a variation on this recipe you'd like to share. Please take a moment to share your memories of Blotekake.