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My recipe
Ellen Svinhufvud Almond Cake - Еllen Svinhufvudin kakku
Introduction
This cake bears almost a hundred years history. It was named after Ellen Svinhufvud, the wife of Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, 3-rd president of Finland. In the 30-ies it was a tradition within the Presidential Palace to hold “coffee evenings” for the famous finish women. This cake was an absolute must to be served.
ALMOND BASE
- 6 egg whites (200 ml)
- 300 ml icing sugar
- 150 g finely-ground almond
- 5 drops natural almond essence (optional)
FILLING
- 150 ml strong coffee
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 150 ml cream
- 100 g finely-ground almond
- 300 g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 5-7 drops natural coffee essence (optional)
TOPPING
- 50 g almond flakes
- Icing sugar
- Preheat the oven to 125 С
- Line 2 baking trays with the parchment paper
- On a dry pan toast 150 g almonds until golden, cool down
- Whisk the egg whites until firm adding gradually the icing sugar
- Fold in the ground almonds
- Divide the batter evenly into 4 parts and spread each part into a rectangular of 10x7 in, smooth the top with a spatula
- Bake for 1.30-1.40 min. During the baking change the place of the trays several times – the upper one goes down and vice verse
- Remove the cake from the oven, using the knife or spatula carefully remove the paper. Cool down on a rack
- Dissolve the sugar in the hot coffee, mix with the cream
- On a dry pan toast the almonds until golden
- Beat the butter until light and fluffy, gradually pour in the coffee with cream and coffee essence. Fold in the almonds.
- To assemble the cake spread the filling on the first cake layer, cover with the second cake layer and top with the filling, repeat.
- Top the upper layer and sides of the cake with the filling
- On a dry pan toast the almond flakes and sprinkle over the cake
- Chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours
- dust with icing sugar before serving. Serve chilled.
Thoughts and Ideas
I would categorize this cake as an “haute cuisine” as it has a very sophisticated taste. I make this cake almost without changes, the only thing is that instead of the coffee I take 150 ml coffee liquor with 1 tsp instant coffee.
The most challenging part in this cake is to bake 4 equal pieces for the base. I have some know-how techniques to make it easier. You can use 4 disposable foil tins, lining them with parchment paper. You can also bake 2 bigger layers using 2 tins, and then cut each in 2 parts.
The cake is difficult to cut, so I would recommend to cut it with the electric knife.
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