Hjónabandssæla or Icelandic Blissful Marriage "Cake"

Blissful Marriage Cake

Hjónabandssæla or Icelandic Blissful Marriage "Cake"

Hjónabandssæla

Everywhere I travel I try to find a Pie tied to the local culture.  In Iceland the closest I could get to pie is Hjonabandsaela, Blissful (or Happy) Marriage Cake.  The lore regarding the origin of the name has been lost.  But in a way that’s great because we get to make up our own story.

I imagine a scene like this.  Cue the noisy Nordic family, children running through the kitchen, the husband fed up from working hard with few resources to get the family through the winter.  The wife, also fed up and on her last nerve throws together this simple, comforting crumble cake in an attempt to bring harmony back in the house.  So I think of Blissful Marriage Cake, not as an example of happiness in a pan but rather containing the magical quality for restoring happiness to a relationship frayed a bit by reality.  What could be better?  The “cake” is basically like a pan of bar cookies and seems related to the more sophisticated Linzer Torte.  It can be baked in a jelly roll pan or rectangular pyrex dish and cut like bars or in a cake or pie pan and cut into wedges.

In my first hour in Reykjavik I had the karma common to many slow foodiers  I met Eyglo Bjork Olafsdottir , the co-chair of Slow Food Reykjavik. by chance in the Hotel Hilton Nordica bar.   She and her husband, Eymundur Magnusson have an organic farm in Eastern Iceland, Vallanes.  Her husband is responsible for reintroducing barley for human consumption to Iceland, a land with almost no grain tradition.  I told Eyglo (pronounced with a long A) that I would really love to experience cooking in a home kitchen while I was in Iceland.  So she suggested I come over and make the Blissful Marriage Cake with her.  Since they grow their own barley, Eyglo made her version with barley grits. I used oats in my version.

 

Hjónabandssæla – Blissful Marriage Cake, an Icelandic Tradition
The traditional Icelandic cake, or more precisely bar cookie made of a simple crumble and jam.

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack, Tea Time
Cuisine: Gluten Free, Icelandic
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 cup Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Mix
2 cups old fashioned oatmeal or barley flakes
1/4 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup brown sugar firmly packed
2 sticks salted butter softened (8 oz)
1 egg beaten (optional)

Instructions
1. Mix dry ingredients with your fingers or a fork: flour, oatmeal or barley flakes, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, brown sugar

2. Add soft butter to dry ingredients and work it in with your fingers until it is moist enough to stick together when you squeeze it in your hand. If not moist enough or you want a sturdier, less crumbly result (if you are baking in a springform for example) beat one egg and add it to the mix.

3. Scatter two-thirds of the mix into the pan and press it down into an even base layer. Spoon the jam onto the pressed dough and use a spatula to spread it evenly. Add the remaining crumble mixture either crumbled evenly over the jam or concentrate it into stripes of dough, giving you a lattice look.

4. Place in preheated 375° oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the crumble top is golden in spots, the bottom crust is nicely browned and the jam is bubbling. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

Recipe Notes
This recipe is extremely versatile. You can use AP or barley or spelt flour instead of the GF mix. You can change the context of the dish by varying the amount of jam you use and the type of baking pan. For example, if you use less jam and bake it in a rectangular pan you get bar cookies. Use a pie plate with a thick layer of jam and you have a pie. Add the egg to the crumble, use a springform pan, and remove the dessert from the springform and you get a “cake” to serve on a plate.