Tuesday, November 9, 2010

TWD - Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake


This week's Tuesday with Dorie challenge crosses shortbread with jam to give a Shortbread Cake. Our host was Jessica of Singleton in the Kitchen.

In a nutshell, you make a shortbread dough, divide it into two, line a springform tin with one half, put 2 cups of jam on it, then top the jam with the other half of the shortbread. Easy! You don't even have to roll out the dough - you can just press it out with your hands, which is what I did.

Instead of making the cranberry jam Dorie suggested (cranberries being scarce here in anything other than dried form), I used a jar of Ikea cloudberry jam that I have had for some time. I actually found this jam on its own to be quite tart, so it was a relief to find a way to use it so that the tartness was balanced by sweetness. Because it was tart, I also thought it might be a good substitute for the rather tart cranberry jam.

My favourite part of this cake was the crunchy top, created by brushing the top with water then sprinkling it with sugar before it went into the oven. I think this cake would be wonderful with cooked apple or peaches in place of the jam.

If you are interested in the recipe, buy the book or check out Jessica's site (when it is Tuesday her time). To check out what the other TWD members thought of this cake, visit the TWD blogroll.

33 comments:

Gloria Baker said...

Cakelaw this look soooo good! gloria

Kayte said...

This looks delightfully delicious! Your tips/suggestions sound good as well. Guess I better get to it, it is still Monday here, but Tuesday is approaching quickly.

The Blonde Duck said...

I love cranberries!

Flourchild said...

I loved the cookie crust but my filling was way to tart. Next time I want to make it with apples! I agree with you in that this recipe is easy. I loved how easy the dough was to work with!

Nickki said...

Your cake looks so lovely! The cloudberry jam sounds good. I really enjoyed making this recipe.

Mary said...

I am just about to start making this, so I came along for a sneak peek. I can't get your picture to load for some reason, so I'll have to take your word it was good! I'm not using cranberries either, but I have enough jars of jam around to make a dozen of these.
:)

Nutmeg Nanny said...

What a delicious pie! I love the sweet and tart!

Peggy said...

This was really easy. The dough was so easy to work with. I do think mine is sweeter the second day though. I liked it better the first day. Love yours.

Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

Good idea to use the cloudberry jam. Your looks perfect. I loved the top as well. :)

Judy said...

It's cranberry season here, so they are easy to find. The jam was delicious, but I agree that other fruity jams would work just as well. I love the sugary crust, too! Nicely done!

What do cloudberries taste like?

Juliana said...

Cranberry in shortbread? Sure looks so colorful and so tasty...great to take to a party :-)

Jessica said...

The cloudberry jam sounds like a perfect substitution for the cranberry jam, and bonus, it has such a pretty name. I need to hightail it to Ikea and get some cloudberry jam to try out myself.
Your tart looks lovely. I agree, the crunchy top is a high point of this cake. Thank you so much for baking along with me this week!

Cindy said...

This was a fun cake to make and it tasted delish! Have a wonderful day.

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

OMG this is genius! I am so making this for my shortbread loving mum for her birthday cake! :D

Cakelaw said...

Hi Judy, cloudberry jam is fairly tart - tarter than I expected. It is yellowish in colour, like the cloudberry itself, which is a type of wild raspberry.

You have a wonderful day too Cindy.

Peggy said...

I am curious as to what cloudberries are. I have never heard of those! Your cake looks fabulous.

chocolatechic said...

I made mine with apples.

I bet this would also be fabulous with strawberry jam.

Tia said...

cloudberries? maybe I live under a rock or something, but I've never heard of those. mmmmmmmmm

TeaLady said...

Yes, Yes, and Yes. Crunchy top. Easy to make. Delicious with apples next time.

Will have to check out Cloudberries. That's a new one to me.

Cakelaw said...

Peggy, Tia and Tealady, I was fascinated with them after seeing the title of the Tessa Kiros book Falling Cloudberries, then when I saw the jam in Ikea, I had to buy it. They are like yellow raspberries with only 4 or so sections, and only grow in brutally cold climates like the Nordic regions and the wilds of the UK.

Amber Marie said...

Looks great! I loved the crunchy top too. I've never heard of cloudberry jam...hmmm...I'll have to google it. :)

Jacque said...

I like the crunchy top too, I forgot about that. Nice job, yours looks delish.

AmyRuth said...

Honestly I thought the shortbread was delicious and even used the trimmings to make some cookies. Sneaky huh? I loved this all sweetness and tart.
Kinda pretty too!
AmyRuth

margot said...

Your cake looks terrific! The crunchy top was soo good!

Barbara said...

What is cloudberry jam??
This shortbread caken looks absolutely marvelous. I love the crunchy top.

Barbara Bakes said...

I'm sure I'd love this delicious dessert any time of year, but especially for the holidays.

steph- whisk/spoon said...

mmm....sounds good! i was thinking about using ikea's lingonberry jam next time myself.

Amanda said...

My aunt used to make a similar looking apricot shortbread that was just divine. I have never recreated it - maybe this recipe is the one I need!

daphne said...

This looks amazing. I can see why you are addicted to it, I would be too. No doubt!

♥Sugar♥Plum♥Fairy♥ said...

Oh i have this recipe bookmarked and i think apples with apricot preserve would be fantastic too!!
Love the added crunch!!

Beth said...

It looks delicious! I might go with your suggestion to use cooked apples or peaches as I'm not a big cranberry fan.

blackbookkitchendiaries said...

this is something very similar to what my aunt used to bake for us.. it really brings me back..thank you so much for sharing this..i really love it.

Anonymous said...

This looks delicious! It sounds like your jam was a good substitute.