Vínarterta - Vinarterta

This cake is also called Randalín (the striped lady). The name Vínarterta means Viennese Torte, but with the English spelling which leaves out the accent above the i, it becomes Friend’s Cake.

A variation of this cake is famous among the Western-Icelanders - the descendants of Icelandic immigrants in Canada and the U.S.A. For them, there is hardly anything more Icelandic than Vínarterta.

In spite of the name Viennese Cake, I think it probably originated in Denmark. The Western-Icelandic version is somewhat different from this. You can find many variations on the web. Even Martha Stewart has one!

This is my grandmother's recipe. She used to spread rhubarb jam on it while it was still warm, so the jam would seep into the cake. Mmmmmmm!

Ingredients:
  • 500 g flour
  • 250 g sugar
  • 250 g margarine/butter, soft
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baker's ammonia (ammonium carbonate)
  • a pinch of baking powder
  • essence of cardamom or a pinch of ground cardamom 
  • Rhubarb jam or stewed prunes.

Mix together all dry ingredients. Add the margarine/butter and eggs, kneading dough until well mixed. Cool dough in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours. Roll out into a thickness of approx. 1 to 1 1/2 cm (1/2 inch). 

You can divide the dough at this point or after baking, into as many parts as you want layers (3-5 is usual). Try to keep each portion the same shape, size and thickness as the others. My grandmother used to bake it all in one large piece and cut it up after baking.

Bake on the middle rung of the oven at 200°C, until golden in colour and done through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. 

When the cake is almost cold, spread rhubarb jam or stewed prunes (see recipe below) on top of all layers except one and sandwich the layers together.

Notes:

  • This cake freezes well and thaws quickly, and is liked by almost everyone.
  • Brown Vínarterta: Add some cocoa to the recipe and use vanilla butter icing instead of jam, or alternate layers of icing and jam

To make stewed prunes:
Take one kilo (approx. 2 lbs.) prunes with pits, or equivalent in pitted prunes. Soak the prunes in water to soften (most prunes these days are quite soft, so this step may not be necessary) and remove the pits of there are any. Mince the prunes and cook on low for 30 minutes with 650 g. sugar and a little bit of water - just enough to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cool before spreading on the cake.

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