Nut Cake with Salmonberry Fromage

This recipe comes from the Norwegian National Recipes Cookbook, page 14.  The recipe is titled Nut Cake with Cloudberry Fromage (Nottekake Med Multebaerfromasj).  There is a lovely picture on page 15, of the cookbook, which inspired me to adapt this recipe using Alaska salmonberries.

For the Nut Cake:

2 cups ground almonds (The book calls for hazelnuts)

3/4 cup sugar

5 egg whites

Pureed Salmonberries:
2 cups salmonberries
2/3 cups sugar

Fromage:
2 cups whipping cream
2 envelopes Knox unflavored gelatine
2 Tbs. water
5 egg yolks
2 Tbs water
Pureed salmonberries

Preheat oven to 350F.  Using an electric mixer, whip egg whites and sugar until stiff.  Gently fold in ground almonds.  Bake in a 9" springform pan for 25-30 minutes until lightly browned.

While the cake is baking, puree the salmonberries and sugar in a blender or food processor.  Strain to remove the seeds.  Whip 2 cups of whipping cream and fold in the pureed salmonberry sugar mixture.  Set aside. (I took a little out of the bowl to reserve for topping the cake when serving)

Whisk the egg yolks and 2 Tbs. water.  Dissolve the Knox gelatin in 2 Tbs. boiling water.  Add a small bit of egg mixture to the gelatin mixture and stir to cool the gelatin mixture before adding all to the egg mixture.  This will prevent the hot gelatin mixture from cooking the egg mixture.  Whisk together until the mixture thickens.  Mix with the creamy cloudberry mixture.  Pour over the almond cake in the springform pan.  Place in the refrigerator to cool for about 2 hours.  Remove from the pan, cut and serve.  

I am inspired to use this nut cake recipe again as a foundation for something.  It is absolutely dreamy.  The Salmonberry Fromage on top is tasty too.

Note:  I get a little nervous about using raw eggs in my cooking because I don't want to share the gift of Salmonella with friends and family.  I wanted to try this recipe though so I did a little egg research.  I decided to make and eat this recipe using the raw eggs and it was fine, however you have to make the decision about what to do yourself.  You do have the option of using pasteurized eggs too.  I am not familiar with this product but these eggs can be safely eaten raw.

This is from the Incredible Egg.Org site:
Are Salmonella bacteria most likely to be found in the egg’s white or yolk?

Bacteria, if they are present at all, are most likely to be in the white and will be unable to grow, mostly due to lack of nutrients. As the egg ages, however, the white thins and the yolk membrane weakens. This makes it possible for bacteria to reach the nutrient-dense yolk where they can grow over time if the egg is kept at warm temperatures. But, in a clean, uncracked, fresh shell egg, internal contamination occurs only rarely.

Doesn’t the eggshell protect an egg from bacteria?

Yes and no. The egg has many natural, built-in barriers to help prevent bacteria from entering and growing. These protect the egg on its way from the hen to your home. But, although it does help, the porous shell itself is not a foolproof bacterial barrier. For additional safety, government regulations require that eggs be carefully washed with special detergent and sanitized.

Other protective barriers include the shell and yolk membranes and layers of the white which fight bacteria in several ways. The structure of the shell membranes helps prevent the passage of bacteria. The shell membranes also contain lysozyme, a substance that helps prevent bacterial infection. The yolk membrane separates the nutrient-rich yolk from the white.

In addition to containing antibacterial compounds such as lysozyme, layers of the white discourage bacterial growth because they are alkaline, bind nutrients bacteria need and/or don’t provide nutrients in a form that bacteria can use. The thick white discourages the movement of bacteria. The last layer of white is composed of thick ropey strands which have little of the water that bacteria need but a high concentration of the white’s protective materials. This layer holds the yolk centered in the egg where it receives the maximum protection from all the other layers.

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