Muslimah's Kitchen: December 2013

Assalamualaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatu strangeville. I can't believe it's been 8 months since my last post but it seems my procrastination has now reached a new level. There's no other way to describe it - unless perhaps Instagram is the culprit. Yes, let's blame my blogging laziness on Instagram. So I'd like to share this Scandinavian recipe of sandwich cake that my friend makes.

Firstly, about the person that sent this recipe; when it comes to cooking and baking, masha Allah the sister's got the talent but she isn't interested in any of these writing shenanigans; otherwise she'll feature more on this blog. I only just got my hand on this recipe three months ago after asking for almost a year!
So I first experienced this thing called sandwich cake also known as voileipäkakku (in Finland) and smörgåstårta (in Sweden) almost a year ago at my friend's henna party. She'd made them herself and they masha Allah looked astonishing; I was then told they were only layered sandwiches that were finished to perfection with an artistic touch. I was reluctant to try it because anything that starts with ch and ends in eese scares me silly - lactose! I did try a little bit after several prompting (cowardice - I know) but I honestly can't remember what the verdict was that first time. I think I must have been so nervous that I didn't even bother to chew it - probably just swallowed. Anyway, three month's later, we met again at another friend's henna but this time as I was hosting, there was leftover sandwich cake just taking a big space in my fridge the following day. So decided to swap my normal hot lunchbox for a cold voileipäkakku and let's just say sandwiches never tasted the same since then. Perhaps the fact that it was a busy day at work and I was quite hungry by the time I got my 5 minutes break helped.

So what is smörgåstårta? It is a Scandinavian dish comprising of several layers of bread with different fillings and is served just like you'll serve a slice of desert cake except it's savoury rather than sweet (usually).

Ainekset - What you'll need (Serves 24)

36 pieces Whole meal toast bread

Chicken filling
450g chicken pieces
1-2 table spoon vegetable oil
1/2 tea spoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
320g salsa sauce
300g cheese dip

Vege filling
150g avocado dip
1 red pepper - chopped in cubes

Wetting
150ml of water
50ml lemon juice

Topping
150g avocado dip
150g crème fraîchea

To decorate
1 yellow pepper
200g cherry tomatoes
10 thin slices of cucumber
10 black stoneless olives
Parsley
Small piece of onion - sliced in thin rings
Those Doritos with no flavour

Preparation
Fry the chicken pieces in oil. Add salt and pepper. Allow to cool then mix in salsa and cheese dip.
Cut edges off from the bread. Put 9 bread pieces on a tray. Wet the bread with lemon –water mixture. Place half of chicken filling on top. Place another layer of bread on top and wet it. Add vege filling on top of that. Then add a third layer of bread, wet it with your mixture. Put rest of chicken filling on top. Put fourth layer of bread and wet that too.

Spread the topping (avocado dip and crème fraiche) on top of the sandwich cake including the sides. Decorate with cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, olives, onion rings and parsley. Decorate sides with Doritos.

M.M

From the pictures, you will notice that the ingredients can vary just like any other recipes. And based on what I've seen - you can use almost anything depending on whatever takes your fancy - ranging from spinach paste to salmon. I've seen recipes with eggs, prawns, even fruits and you can also use rye bread . And apparently this sandwich usually tastes better if you make the sandwiches and keep in fridge overnight then decorate on the day.