Manitoba Vínarterta

CBC Life | Posted: December 20, 2021 5:27 PM | Last Updated: December 20, 2021

This beautiful Icelandic celebration cake is the perfect holiday dessert

Image | Vinarterta

Caption: (Geoff George / The Great Canadian Baking Show)

Manitoba’s Icelandic population has made the vínarterta a staple dessert in the region. The beautiful celebration cake traditionally consists of multiple uniform layers of biscuits sandwiched together with a homemade prune jam that’s loaded with wintry spices. This version is also topped with a delicious buttercream and garnished with candied kumquats, sugared currants and rosemary, making it an inviting holiday dessert.

The Manitoba Vínarterta was the Technical Bake for this year’s Great Canadian Baking Show holiday special.

Manitoba Vínarterta

Ingredients

Filling:

454 g pitted prunes
1¾ cups water (approx.)
¾ cup (149 g) granulated sugar
¾ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract

Biscuits:

¾ cup (171 g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (198 g) granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tbsp 35% cream
1½ tsp almond extract
4¼ cups (604 g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp ground cardamom

Buttercream Frosting:

½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
2¼ cups (283 g) icing sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
2 to 3 tbsp 35% cream (approx.)

Candied Kumquats:

3 or 4 kumquats
¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
¼ cup water
2 tsp liquid honey

Sugared Currants and Rosemary:

Red and golden currants
Rosemary sprigs
¼ cup (48 g) superfine sugar
No-melt powdered sugar

Preparation

Filling:
In a large shallow saucepan, combine the prunes with enough water to cover them and bring to a boil. Cook until the prunes are tender, about 10 minutes (most of the liquid should be absorbed). Meanwhile, combine the sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

Transfer the prunes to a food processor and pulse until they’re finely chopped. Return them to the saucepan, stir in the sugar and spice mixture, and cook over medium-low heat. Stir the mixture frequently, every 2 to 3 minutes, until it’s thick and mounds when stirred, 7 to 9 minutes.

Stir in the lemon juice and vanilla. Transfer the filling to a shallow container and refrigerate it until slightly cooled, about 20 minutes. The mixture should be very thick and spreadable.

Biscuits:
Heat the oven to 375 F.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high until it’s very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl with each addition. Add the cream and almond extract.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom. Add them to the bowl of the stand mixer and beat on low until almost combined.

Scrape the dough onto a work surface and gently knead it to combine. Divide the dough into seven equal portions.

Shape one portion of dough into a rectangle using a pastry scraper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 9¼-by-7-inch rectangle, about ⅛-inch thick. Using a fork, dock all over the entire surface. Repeat with another portion of dough.

Place each rectangle on its own parchment-lined rimless cookie sheet. Bake one sheet at a time on the centre rack of the oven until the dough is just baked and still pale, 7 to 9 minutes.

Repeat with the remaining dough portions, making sure they are uniform in size and thickness. Let the biscuits cool completely on their trays.

Assembly:
Divide the prune filling into six equal portions.

Place one biscuit on a cake turntable or small cutting board. Spread one-sixth of the prune filling evenly on top, taking it out to the edges. Top with another biscuit, pressing down lightly, and spread another sixth of the prune filling on top. Repeat until all seven layers are assembled, leaving the top layer bare.

Cover the cake with two layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes. This will soften the biscuit layers.

Remove the plastic from the cake and tidy up the edges by trimming them with a long serrated knife.

Re-wrap the completed cake in two layers of plastic wrap and store in a pantry at room temperature for up to 2 days. This will allow the cake to soften further and for the flavours to come together.

Buttercream Frosting:
Beat the butter and icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium-low to combine. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until very light, about 5 minutes. Beat in the salt, vanilla, almond extract, and enough cream to create a smooth and spreadable icing.

Spread the frosting evenly on the top layer of the cake. Using a melon-baller, make even indentations across the frosting.

Garnish:
To make the candied kumquats, cut the kumquats into ⅛-inch thick rounds and remove any seeds. Combine the sugar, water and honey in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is thick. Add the kumquats and gently stir to coat them with syrup. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let it stand for 15 minutes. Remove the kumquats from the syrup, place them on parchment paper and set aside. Continue cooking the syrup until it’s thick enough to coat the rosemary and currants.

To make the sugared rosemary, brush some of the kumquat syrup on the rosemary sprigs, then roll them in the superfine sugar. Let the sprigs dry on parchment paper.

To make the sugared red currants, brush them with the kumquat syrup, then gently toss them in the superfine sugar to coat. Let the currants dry on parchment paper.

Arrange the candied kumquats on the cake with the currants and rosemary. Arrange holiday green foliage around the cake, if you have some, then dust with the no-melt icing sugar.

Makes one cake.