mondomulia

One month ago I made a special cake for my husband's birthday. It's called Bløtkake and is a traditional Norwegian cake made with layers of sponge, jam and whipped cream, topped with fresh fruits and berries.

My husband specifically asked for this cake, which neither of us had tasted before, because it "looked" fresh and light. He begged me not to make another chocolate cake! In reality, this cake is far from light, as it's packed with sugar and cream.

Thankfully, he loved it, so the experiment was a successful one!

I chose a recipe by Five and Spice, because it was in English (most Bløtkake online recipes are only in Norwegian), well written and published recently.

It didn't take me too long to bake the sponge the evening before the birthday. I let the sponge set overnight, then the next morning I woke up early to assemble and decorate the cake.

It's not a complicated cake to prepare, but it requires a little bit of patience when cutting the sponge in layers. The decoration is the fun part, as you can be creative with the colours and shapes! I made rings of contrasting colours, leaving space in the centre to place the candles.

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 3 large eggs separated and at room temperature
• 190g (1½ cup) caster sugar
• 290g (2¼ cups) plain flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 50ml (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) vegetable oil
• 130ml (1 cup) whole milk
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling and assembly:

• 600ml (1 pint) whipping cream
• 30g (2 tbsp) caster sugar
• 100g (3/4 cup) strawberry or raspberry jam
• about 300gr (2-3 cups) fresh fruit

Preparation

Pre heat your oven to 180 ºC. Grease a 23cm (9-inch) round springform pan.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until they are foamy, then continue to beat on high speed while adding 60 grams of sugar (one tablespoons at a time). Beat until the whites are stiff and glossy. Set aside.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, remaining sugar, baking powder and salt, then on medium speed beat in the oil and vanilla and half cup of milk for one minute.

Add the remaining milk plus the egg yolks and continue to beat for another minute, until well combined. Then, fold in the egg whites and spread the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the cake in the oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 15-20 minutes, then remove it from the springform pan and allow to cool completely.

When the cake is fully cooled and ready for decorating, slice it into three horizontal layers using a very long serrated knife.

Spread the bottom layer with a thick layer of jam, then cover this with a layer of whipped cream. Add the second layer and repeat, spreading it with jam, then whipped cream. Top with the final layer of cake.

Spread the entire outside of the cake with the rest of the whipped cream, then decorate the tops and sides with the berries.

Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.