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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Sparkling Strawberry Lemon Cocktail

Lightly sweetened homemade strawberry vodka is the main ingredient of this sparkling strawberry lemon cocktail, refreshingly cold, perfect for summer!

More than a month ago I shared the how-to instructions for making simple strawberry vodka so I hope you all got right on that! If so, you are ready to make this cocktail today. 

If not, what are you waiting for? It’s one of the easiest ways of preserving the flavor of sweet summer strawberries to enjoy all year round. 

Sparkling Strawberry Lemon Cocktail

I am not a fan of the flavored vodkas you can buy in the stores because they always taste artificial to me but if you are a fan, feel free to use one in this cocktail. You’ll need to add a little simple syrup as well though, if your store-bought strawberry vodka isn’t sweetened. Most are not. 

Ingredients

1/2 oz or 15ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 oz or 60ml simple strawberry vodka

2 1/2 oz or 75ml club soda

Curled lemon peel or strawberry for garnish (optional)

Method

Fill a cocktail shaker 2/3 full with ice cubes. Add in the strawberry vodka and lemon juice. Shake until well chilled, about 15 seconds.

Fill a glass with ice. Strain the cocktail mixture into the glass. Top up with club soda and stir gently. 

Garnish with a strawberry plus a curl of lemon peel, if desired.

Enjoy!

It's Sunday FunDay and it's all about berries today! Check out the recipes below. Many thanks to our host, Renu of Cook with Renu and her Sunday helper, Rebekah of Making Miracles.

• Berry Spinach Salad by Making Miracles
• Blackberry Spinach Salad by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Blueberry & Grape Smoothie by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Blueberry Picking and a Summer Salad with Microflowers and Berries by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Eggless Strawberry Banana Muffins by Cook with Renu
• Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Sandwiches with Blackberry Jalapeño BBQ Sauce by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Kokum Sherbat by Sneha’s Recipe
• Sparkling Strawberry Lemon Cocktail by Food Lust People Love
• Summer Berry Turnovers by Karen's Kitchen Stories

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin this Sparkling Strawberry Lemon Cocktail! 

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Spicy Mango Salsa

This spicy mango salsa is a party in your mouth, with sweet, ripe mangoes, tart lime juice and hot peppers. It’s best friends with fish and chicken. 

Waaaaay back in 2005, I used to watch a cooking show on television called The Surreal Gourmet with a quirky host named Bob Blumer. Bob drove around the United States with a refurbished Airstream trailer that looked exactly like a great big toaster. It even had two enormous (pretend) pieces of toast sticking out the top. The Airstream was named the Toastermobile and it was kitted out with a full professional, albeit small, kitchen. 

On one of the shows Bob cooked a dish he called mambo chicken and made this mango salsa as an accompaniment. I didn’t write down the ingredients for the chicken but I sure did for the salsa!  

Spicy Mango Salsa

I make this as Bob did with one exception. We like things spicy, so I add a red chili pepper right at the end. This is optional but it does give the salsa what we consider a much-needed kick. In case you are interested in making the mambo chicken as well, I found this link on the Food Network. 

Ingredients

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice 

1 to 2 jalapeno chilies, stems, seeds and membranes removed

2 large green onions, finely sliced 

2 mangos, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes 

2/3 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves, hard stems discarded, coarsely chopped

Optional: large hot red pepper, minced

Method

Add the minced jalapeños to the lime juice in a large bowl. This both softens their impact for the wimps in your family and makes sure that the spiciness is better distributed throughout the salsa. 

Add in the sliced onion tops, mango and cilantro. Stir to combine. 

Finally, stir in the minced red chili pepper, if using. 

This spicy mango salsa is a wonderful accompaniment to any fried or grilled fish. Or serve it with pan-fried chicken. I must confess I ate leftovers straight out of the serving bowl with a spoon. It's so good even a couple of days later. Do refrigerate any leftovers so you can do the same. 

Enjoy! 

It's Sunday FunDay and my fellow bloggers are all sharing recipes made with mangoes. Check them out below. Many thanks to our host Mayuri of Mayuri's Jikoni!

• Aam Panna with Jaggery (Raw Green Mango Summer Drink) by Cook with Renu
• Dragonfruit, Mango, Jicama, & Corn Salad Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Grilled Steaks with Mango Chimichurri by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Homemade Aam Roti/Mango Papad by Sneha's Recipe
• Mangonada - Mexican Mango Sorbet Smoothie by Palatable Pastime
• Mango Chicken by Making Miracles
• Mango Falooda by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Mango Margarita by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Spicy Mango Salsa by Food Lust People Love
• Stir-Fry Mango Ginger Chicken by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• White Chocolate Mango Mascarpone Mille Crepe Cake by Pandemonium Noshery

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin this Spicy Mango Salsa!

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