Cloudberry Brandy Cake

Make this cake in a heart shaped pan for Valentine's Day and enjoy with a cup of coffee!     Cloudberries are beautiful golden berries grown in the mountains of far northern regions such as northern Norway - highly prized and much loved. You can buy or order the jam from Scandinavian shops. The jam has a delicate flavor that I use for special recipes. CLOUDBERRY  BRANDY  CAKE (Makes 2 8 1/2 inch Heart Shaped Cakes or Rounds)

1 c. Goat or Cow Butter 2 c. Sugar 4 Eggs 2 1/2 c. All Purpose flour 6 T. Corn Starch 1 tsp. Freshly Ground Nutmeg 4 tsp. Baking Powder 3/4 tsp. Salt 1 c. Water 2 T. Plain Goat or Cow Yogurt 2 tsp. Brandy 1 tsp. Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two 8 1/2 inch heart shaped pans or round cake pans. Cut a piece of parchment paper for the bottom of each and place inside. Flour the sides, turning the pans over and tapping to discard the excess. Bring the butter to room temperature and cream in a mixer until very soft and smooth. Add the sugar very slowly and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each one. Beat for a couple minutes after the last egg to add volume. Combine the flour, corn starch, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl and whisk together. Mix the water, yogurt, brandy, and vanilla in another bowl and set aside. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just incorporated after each addition. Pour the batter evenly into the two pans and bake for 40-45 minutes until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes and invert onto a rack. Remove the parchment and invert again to right side up and cool completely. It helps to have an extra rack to use for inverting.

Brandy Syrup

1/2 c. Water 1/2 c. Sugar 1/4 c. Brandy or Cognac

Heat the water and sugar in a sauce pan, stirring, until the sugar dissolves completely. Stir in the brandy or cognac and set aside to cool. Taste to adjust the amount of brandy if you wish.

Assembly

2 Cakes Brandy Syrup 2 c. Cloudberry Jam or other Berry Jam 1 recipe Hard Sauce

When the cakes have cooled completely. Slice each in half. Sprinkle the bottom layers with half of the syrup. Spread 1/2 cup of jam over each bottom layer. Place on the top layers and sprinkle with the rest of the syrup. Spread another 1/2 cup of jam on top of each cake. Frost the sides of the cakes with the hard sauce. You will have some hard sauce left over to freeze for other uses. Set the cakes in the refrigerator a few minutes to set the jam and frosting before covering with plastic wrap. These cakes will store in the refrigerator for 1 week beautifully.