I don't know if it's better described as a cake sized cookie but this little keeper is not only easy, it's irresistable.

My partner in the most recent swap was Netla & among the wonderful items that she sent me was a book of traditional Icelandic recipes. Iceandic cuisine is something that I've never encountered so I promptly read the book from cover to cover. I couldn't wait to try a recipe from it so I decided to test drive the vinarterta with rhubarb jam for Easter. No pictures, so I'm not sure how it was supposed to look. And since the measurements are in grams I did my own (probably incorrect) conversions.

The result was incredible. Not only pretty with it's creamy, thin, cookie like layers & pink rhubarb but absolutely delicious. Like layers of sweet bakery cookies with tart jam in between.

Here's the recipe as written with my measurement conversions in parenthesis just in case my incorrect measurements were what was responsibile for the yummy result (but I doubt it).

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Vinarterta from Cool Dishes by Nanna Rognvalardottir

225 g margarine or butter softened (1 stick unsalted butter)

225 g sugar (1 cup)

2 eggs

500 g flour or as needed (2 c)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cardamom

4 tbs milk

500 g rhubarb jam (as much as I had made)

Cream the butter & sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well between additions. Add the flour, baking powder & cardamom along with the milk & stir to combine. Knead the dough until smooth, it should be fairly soft but not sticky. (I did all of this in the food processor fitted with a dough blade). Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic & refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 190 c (400f). Divide dough into 6 equal parts. On a floured work surface roll each part out into a thin disc around 22 cm (9") in diameter. Arrange the rounds on baking sheets lined with parchment (or silpat) and bake in the center of the oven for 12 minutes or until just beginning to brown at the edges.

Sandwich the layers with jam while still warm. Allow the cake to cool completely, wrap it in foil & keep it for at least a couple of days (good luck staying out of it- I made mine 1 day in advance and it was divine). If stored in a cool place the cake will keep for weeks (again, good luck) and improve with age. The top of the cake is sometimes covered with a thin icing made from sugar & water (I didn't do this & didn't think that mine needed it).

Rhubarb jam

1500g rhubarb stalks, preferably red

900 g sugar

red food coloring- optional (I didn't use this & the resulting pink color of the preserves was gorgeous).

(I totally winged this- two large stalks of rhubarb that yielded about 3 cups chopped & about a cup & a half of sugar)

Wash & trim the rhubarb stalks & chop them into 1cm pieces. Place them ina large, non reactive pan. Add the sugar, stir & leave it to stand for several hour or overnight (I would stir this periodically). Bring slowly to the boil & simmer gently until the jam has the desired thickness (thick) which could take 1 1/2-2 hours. If green stalks are used it might be desireable to add a little food color to perk up the color of the jam (use red stalks)

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This slices easily & thinly (for those in my family that always want "just a sliver") and I can't wait to try making it with apricot preserves and maybe lemon curd. But the tartness of the rhubarb was a great foil for the sweetness of the cookie.

So that's it. I can't wait to make this again but only when I know that company's coming. It's too dangerous to have around otherwise!

Nina