Icelandic Special Occasion Cake - Vínarterta

Ingredients:

Cake Layers:

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups fine granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons cream

4 cups flour (approx.)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 dessert spoon almond extract

2 teaspoons ground cardamom seed

Filling:

1 lb. prunes, boiled and stoned and put through the food chopper

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1/2 cup water that prunes were boiled in

Cooking Instructions:

Bring filling to a boil and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Keep warm for spreading on cakes. Cream butter, add sugar gradually and eggs one at a time. Sift dry ingredients and work into first mixture. Add flavouring and cream. Knead in all the flour (don't knead very much) and divide into 6 equal parts. Roll each part on wax paper to fit the outside bottom of a (9 inch diameter) round baking tin. Transfer to the outside bottom of the tin, trim off excess dough and bake to a light golden brown at 375 degrees (about 10 minutes). Watch carefully as the edges can burn easily. Remove each cake layer from tin and cool before layering together with prune filling. Total cake height should be about 2 1/2 - 3 inches. Place a book on the cake for awhile to help compress it. When cool, wrap in plastic and let stand in the fridge or in a cool room for 2-3 days to cure. As a finishing touch, some people ice the cake with an almond/vanilla flavoured butter icing prior to cutting and serving. Most enjoy it plain or with a dolop of whipped cream.

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