Today is the Runeberg Day that pays tribute to Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 – 1877), Finland’s national poet. Runeberg was an epic poet who also wrote the lyrics to Finland’s National Anthem.
On this day the Finns traditionally eat Runeberg torte, a sweet pastry said to be created by Runeberg’s wife Fredrika Runeberg (1807 – 1879). She in turn was a journalist, an author and a spokesperson for women´s rights.
Poems, 1830
Elk Hunters, 1832
Second note, 1833
Hanna, 1836
Christmas night, 1841
Third note, 1843
King Fjalar, 1844
The Tales of Ensign Stål part 1, 1848
The Tales of Ensign Stål part 2, 1860
Kings of Salam, 1863
Ingredients
125 g of unsalted butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 dl wheat flour
50 g of almond crumb
1.5 dl breadcrumbs
1.5 dl gingerbread crumbs
a teaspoon of ground cardamom
1 egg,
1 dl sugar
1 dl of cream
bitter almond oil
raspberry jam
punch or almond liqueur
1 dl icing sugar
1 teaspoon water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 125°F. Soften the butter without melting it. Combine baking powder, flour, crushed almonds, bread crumbs, crushed gingerbread and cardamom. Beat the beaten eggs and sugar together and mix with the cream, melted butter and flour. Finally, add two drops of bitter almond oil.
Place the resulting batter in a silicone or paper container and fill the center with raspberry jam. Add the dough to the top of the jam, a little more than halfway up the container.
Place in the oven and bake at 125 degrees for the first few minutes, then increase the temperature to 200 degrees for about 20 minutes, until the tart is a beautiful brown color.
When the baked tart is cool, remove it from the container (you can leave the paper container in place). Add punch or almond liqueur to the tart to moisten it. (For families with small children, substitute sugar water.) Make the icing by adding a drop of water to the icing sugar and top the tart with a circle. Fill the inside of the rings with raspberry jam.
Serve with coffee or punch.
Enjoy!