Icelandic Happy Marriage Cake - Hjónabandssæla

Icelandic Happy Marriage Cake is traditionally made with a rhubarb jam filling – purists take note – everyone else can use their favorite jam in the middle. 

It seems like there are as many recipes for Happy Marriage Cake as there are happy marriages but the three ingredients they all seem to include are sugar, butter and oats. They also pretty much agree on how the bottom is pressed or smoothed into the pan. After that, it’s a big free-for-all. 

Some recipes want you to crumble the balance of the “cake” on top of the rhubarb. Others suggest you try to spread it (impossible!) or even roll it into thin sausages to be put on top lattice-like before baking. I wish I could tell you my source for this pat-the-dough method but I saved this recipe ages ago and didn’t save the link. 

The origins of this recipe are likewise fraught. Some say it is from the 1950s. Others claim their grandmothers and their mothers before them made this. One blogger said the only proper time to eat/serve Happy Marriage Cake is at a wedding reception while another claimed that it got its name because it is an inexpensive treat a newlywed wife can make her husband the day after.

Here’s what I can tell you. It’s buttery. It's oaty. Love the rhubarb in the middle. It’s good! 

Icelandic Happy Marriage Cake - Hjónabandssæla

You can use store-bought jam in place of the rhubarb but choose something with a bit of sharpness. If your jam is quite thick, consider loosening it with the addition of some lemon or lime juice. This is not meant to be super sweet but a just right blend of sweet and tart. I used frozen rhubarb since fresh is ridiculously expensive where I am right now. Check your supermarket's frozen section. You might be as pleasantly surprised as I was by how affordable rhubarb can be. 

Ingredients

For the rhubarb jam:

3 cups or 325g chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb

1/4 cup or 50g granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cake:

1 3/4 cups or 158g rolled oats

1 3/4 cups or 220g all-purpose flour

1/2 cup or 100g granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons or 200g butter, softened

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup or 240ml rhubarb jam

For serving: cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Method

First we’ll make the rhubarb jam, which is very much like a very thick rhubarb sauce. Combine the rhubarb, sugar, and vanilla in a medium pot. 

Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb has completely broken down and thickened, about 25 minutes. If you can pull a spoon through it and it doesn't run back together, you are good to go. 

Remove the jam from the heat and cool completely.

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C. 

To make the cake dough: Combine the oats, flour, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl.  

Mix in the softened butter until evenly incorporated.

Add the beaten eggs and mix until a stiff dough forms.

Lightly grease a 9 x 9 in or 23 x 23cm baking pan. Line it with baking parchment. You can skip the greasing step if you'd like but I find just a little butter helps keep the baking parchment in place. 

Evenly press about 2/3 of the dough into the prepared dish. My dough weighed 776g (27 oz by weight) so I used 517g (18 oz by weight) for the bottom. 

Spread with the rhubarb jam. 

Using the remaining 1/3 of dough, dampen your hands with water and take a small piece of dough and flatten it between your hands. Place the piece of flattened dough on top of rhubarb.  

Continue in this manner, using smaller pieces of flattened dough to fill in the gaps between the larger pieces, until the rhubarb is almost completely covered.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top of the cake is lightly browned.

Cool on wire rack. 

Cut into squares to serve.

Serve with cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Enjoy!

Today my fellow Baking Bloggers are all sharing recipes made with oats. Check them out below! Many thanks to our host and organizer, Sue of Palatable Pastime. 

• Baked Oatmeal with Rhubarb by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Buttermilk Oat Flour Pancakes by The Redhead Baker
• Cherry Rhubarb Crisp by Palatable Pastime
• Chewy Oatmeal Cookies by Making Miracles
• Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Fresh Cherry and Nectarine Crisp With Oat Streusel by Magical Ingredients
• Icelandic Happy Marriage Cake - Hjónabandssæla by Food Lust People Love
• White Chocolate Chunk Oats Cookies by Sneha’s Recipe

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interested in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

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- Hjónabandssæla!

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