I'm a little late in posting this, I know. The last few weeks have been very busy, & my focus has been far from cooking. I've started Swedish school, which I attend 5 days a week. At the end of March, I went on a mini-tour to Germany with the band. We have another gig coming up in Norway, so a lot of my time has been spent drumming & studying, plus finding some activities that give me a chance to relax between those times (like Sims Medieval!). Amongst all that, I haven't really felt like cooking either.
With Easter approaching, & all the chocolate & sugar indulgences that I couldn't partake in, I started to consider what I was going to make for myself. I didn't really feel like anything sweet, beyond what I've been having regularly (like sugar-free jelly. Oh, I forgot just how easy that is to make!). H's mum came over for his birthday & bought him a cake that he & I could have - a smörgåstårta. 'What the hell..?' I hear all non-Swedes ask. A smörgåstårta is a 'sandwich cake', a savoury cake made from bread & layered with mayonnaise, cream, & various savoury toppings. While they ate it whole, I pulled it apart, wiping away the bread to consume the creamy fillings & yummy toppings. Once I'd had it, I knew what my next attempt was going to be!
First I compiled my list of ingredients, then made the bread. The cake is made a day ahead so that the flavours from the filling immerse into the bread, making the flavour fuller & more enjoyable. There are all kinds of recipes for these cakes; anything goes, really. It's all up to personal taste & preference. I based my bread recipe off one I found here, omitting the honey with stevia, & adding some milk to make up for the missing liquid.
H's mum graciously bought me a scale too, so I was able to weigh the ingredients. I can see what the big deal about them is now. 1 tablespoon of coconut flour does not equal 15 grams of coconut flour. It's furthered my ability to know how much ingredients I'm actually using, & has been easier at keeping track of nutritional values & such. I recommend anyone who cooks & bakes regularly to get one of those.
The first part of the recipe (the bread), is measured. The following part (filling & toppings) is really left up to you; I didn't really measure anything, just threw stuff together. I'll share with you what I used, but I really think it's left up to personal taste.
This serving is rather small; it's meant for 1-2 people, 2-3 servings all up. It's quite filling, very delicious & oh-so-indulgent.
Smörgåstårta
(grain-free, sugar-free)
Coconut Bread
(based off Nourished Kitchen's coconut flour bread recipe found here)
Ingredients:
80 grams butter (room temperature)
63 grams/ 130mls coconut flour
4 eggs
45mls milk (I use light milk - 1.5% fat)
10mls vinegar
1 gram stevia
1 gram baking soda
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius
2. Sift flour & add the dry ingredients together.
3. In another bowl, whisk the eggs. Add milk, butter & vinegar & mix together (I used an electric beater on low). Add the dry ingredients.
4. Place batter into a loaf tin & bake for 35-40 mins, or until it starts to brown slightly on top.
5. Leave it out to cool.
Once cooled, I sliced the loaf in half, then again sliced through the length of the loaf to make more layers. It was actually more than I needed, so I kept one of the slices for something to snack on. Feel free to have a four-layered cake - it's up to you!
Filling
Now this is where it gets experimental, but I'll begin with what I used. I had the following:
Mayonnaise
Sour cream
Cream cheese
Caviar
1/2 cup small shrimp
Dill
Paprika
Method:
1. In a bowl, add 2 tablespoons (30mls) of the mayonnaise, sour cream and cream cheese. Mix together. Add more ingredients depending on how you want this to taste (I added more mayonnaise & a little more sour cream).
2. Add the shrimp & about 1 teaspoon (5mls) caviar. Mix together, adding more caviar if desired.
3. Sprinkle dill & paprika, starting with 1/2 teaspoon (2.5mls) of each, adding more if you desire.
4. Spread the filling inbetween the layers of the bread.
5. Once it's filled, cover the cake & place it in the fridge, leaving it overnight. If you want to eat it the same day, give it at least 3 hours to sit in the fridge so the bread absorbs some of the flavours from the filling.
Cake awaiting the final process - topping!
Topping
Again, this is really up to you. I wanted a seafood smörgåstårta, so I went with some shrimp, salmon, cucumber, cheese, tomato, caviar & a hard-boiled egg, which I cut into quarters. The beauty of the smörgåstårta is you can make it with anything: chicken, ham, even omitting all the meat & seafood & making it vegetarian. Some versions have liverpaste spread through the layers. It's all up to what you feel like having.
Serve!
Submitted to Amy's Slightly Indulgent Tuesday & Cybelle's Allergy Friendly Friday
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