mjuk pepparkaka: swedish spice cake with brown sugar & rum glaze

This past weekend marked the annual holiday scandinavian brunch at the long beach marina.  It's definitely a unique holiday tradition and it sure is a good time.   We thoroughly enjoyed playing on the saiboat (keeping Carson out of the water) and feasting on scandinavion fare.

We were asked to contribute a scandinavian dish (and since I don't have any of those in my recipe box) I tried a traditional swedish treat called mjuk pepparkaka.  Pepperkaka is a spice cookie or cake (similar to gingerbread?), which is eaten during the holiday season.    There are lots of recipes out there and I couldn't quite decide which one to follow.  I'm never good at following a single recipe!  So, I threw together my own variation

and...

it is DELICIOUS!  I'm so glad I stumbled upon this swedish treat!  It just might be the best smelling cake ever.  The house smells SO good!

I think this recipe is a keeper.  Oh, and I added a (not so traditional) brown sugar & rum glaze, which I think is a must.  But, any type of glaze would probably do the trick.

Mjuk Pepparkaka

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour (I used 1 cup white & 1 whole wheat)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbs baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1+1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom (it's pretty strong - I like it - but if you're not a really spicy one, reduce to 1/4 tsp)
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (I just made my own with vinegar and skim milk)
• 6 oz. greek yogurt (1 container - or you could go with sour cream)
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) melted butter 

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, both sugars, baking powder, salt and all spices. In another bowl, mix together eggs, milk and vanilla. Add wet mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix well. Add the melted butter gradually, stirring to combine. The batter should be nice and smooth.
3. Transfer the batter into a buttered and floured bundt/cake/loaf pan.  I made 6 mini bundts.  They were ready to come out of the oven at 23 minutes, but obviously a larger cake would need quite a bit longer.  The other recipes I found seem to say it needs 35 to 40 minutes.  I would watch it closely and take it out as soon as a toothpick comes out clean.
4. Let cool before removing from cake pan and preparing glaze

 Brown Sugar & Rum Glaze (not part of the traditional recipe)

• 4 Tbs butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup dark/spiced rum

Heat all ingredients over medium heat until bubbly.    Let it bubble for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly (don't let it burn!).

Spoon the glaze over the cake (I used a spoon and silicon brush).  Add a dusting of powdered sugar if you'd like.

ENJOY and God Jul (a swedish merry christmas)!