Jam

« A delicious shortbread crust topped with lingonberry jam, fresh lingonberries and a rolled oat and nut streusel. Addictive. »

After picking about 20 litres of fresh lingonberries a month or two ago, I looked for recipes that I thought might be a tasty use for the fresh bounty from the forest. One of the recipes I tried was a lingonberry jam cake that I had found in a popular American Scandinavian cookbook. The first attempt failed miserably as baking it in a loaf pan was clearly wrong. The second and third attempts were also disappointing and dense. I gave up on the cake until I ran across two recipes in a small, but informative, book about Finnish berries and recipes for using them, Luonnon Marja ja Hedelmät Värikuvina. One of the recipes was clearly the same recipe as the cake that had failed, but with a very important difference; the Finnish recipe didn't call for lingonberry jam, but a macerated mixture of berries and sugar that is called a jam in Finnish which might have been responsible for the confusion in the failed recipe. It also uses a small bundt cake pan. Little differences can make a recipe great or make it fail. The cake is moist and, as so many people noted while eating a slice, tastes like Christmas with the mixture of spices.

The other recipe was called a lingonberry cake, but was more like a bar cookie than a cake. The first time I made the recipe, I read it in Finnish instead of translating it first as I usually do and accidentally mixed the jam in with the dough which gave it a weird pink colour. I made it again the right way, but both were terribly dry and crumbly. I looked for a bar cookie recipe that might be similar since I figure that the original recipe might have been inspired by cookies rather than cakes. Cooks Illustrated had a recipe that was almost an exact match except that it didn't have the egg and baking powder in the crust, it added fresh fruit in with the jam layer and it called for brown sugar instead of white for the streusel. The difference between them was pretty amazing as the shortbread crust was soft, but not crumbly, and the toppings were perfect in that they weren't too sweet and had the right texture to accompany the shortbread. They are dangerously addictive.

Raspberries or cranberries can be substituted for lingonberries depending on availability or taste. In my obsessive lingonberry jam cake baking, I also became rather familiar with all of the commonly available brands of lingonberry jam in Finland and one brand, Meritalo, was clearly better than the rest since it isn't overly sweet and it contains a visibly greater amount of fruit. As a bonus, it's no more expensive than most of the other brands.

Lingonberry Streusel Bars 

Makes: twenty-four 2-inch/5cm squares
Time: about 20 minutes prep + baking time
Source: CI

Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups or 6 dl unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup or 1,6 dl granulated sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt 
• 2 sticks or 225g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into 1/2-inch/1,25cm pieces

Filling:

• 3/4 cup or 2 dl lingonberry or raspberry preserves
• 3/4 cup or 2 dl (about 100g) fresh lingonberries or raspberries
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping:

• 2 tablespoons or 28g butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/4 cup or 0,6 dl packed brown sugar, light or dark
• 1/2 cup or 1,25 dl rolled oats
• 1/2 cup or 1,25 dl finely chopped almonds or pecans

 

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375F/190C degrees. Grease a 13X9-inch/33X23cm pan and place sheet of baking paper on the bottom of the pan leaving excess along the sides as handles for lifting.
2. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with flat beater or with a hand mixer, stir flour, granulated sugar, and salt at low speed until combined. Add butter one piece at a time with mixer on low speed. Continue mixing on low until mixture is well blended and crumbly in appearance.
3. Place 1 1/4 cups (3 dl) flour mixture into medium bowl and set aside; distribute remaining dough mixture evenly in bottom of prepared baking pan. Using hands or flat-bottomed measuring cup, firmly press mixture into even layer to form bottom crust. Bake until edges begin to brown, 14 to 18 minutes.
4. While crust is baking, add brown sugar, oats, and nuts to reserved flour mixture and mix together. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter with mixer on a low speed or with your fingers.
5. Combine preserves, lingonberries, and lemon juice in small bowl; mash with fork until combined but some berry pieces remain.
6. Spread jam mixture evenly over hot crust; sprinkle streusel topping evenly over filling (do not press streusel into filling). Return pan to oven and bake until topping is deep golden brown and filling is bubbling, 22 to 25 minutes. Cool to room temperature on wire rack, 1 to 2 hours; remove from baking pan by lifting baking paper extensions. Using chef's knife, cut into squares and serve. You can also try using cookie cutters to cut the bars into various shapes to make them look even more appealing than they do as plain squares.

Spiced lingonberry cake / Mausteinen Puolukkakakku

Makes: 1 cake, 12-16 servings
Time: 15 minutes prep
Source: Luonnon Marja ja Hedelmät Värikuvina

• 100g or 7 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 dl or 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 dl or 6 1/2 tablespoons creme fraîche/sour cream
• 2 dl or 3/4 cup fresh lingonberry jam (see below)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 dl or 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1. Heat oven to 175C/350F. Butter a 20-22cm/8-8.5-inch bundt pan (sokerikakkuvuoka), dust with flour and set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy and well mixed. Beat in eggs until well blended. Add spices and creme fraîche. Stir jam into the mixture.
3. Mix together flour, baking soda and baking powder and gradually add to the batter until mixed. Pour dough into prepared bundt pan and bake on lower rack for 45-50 minutes.
4. Allow to cool for an hour before turning the cake out of the pan. The cake is easier to slice if it is loosely covered, allowed to sit overnight and served the next day.

fresh lingonberry jam:

• 4 dl or 1 3/4 cups lingonberries, fresh or frozen
• 1,4 dl or 1/2 cup sugar

Pour clean berries into a dish, add sugar and stir together with a fork until the sugar has dissolved. Cover and set aside for a few hours. If using frozen berries, allow enough time for the berries to thaw completely before using.