Runebergintortut

On February 5th, Johan Runeberg, one of the most famous Swedish-Finnish poets was born. Runeberg wrote all kinds of poetry about Finland, rural life, and the war with Russia (after which Finland become a Grand Duchy of Russia until 1917). One of his poems later became the Finnish National Anthem.

Each February, Finns celebrate Runeberg's birthday with a traditional Runebergintortu, a cake made with almonds inside, raspberry jam on top, and a circle of vanilla frosting. According to the story, Runeberg's "Lady Wife" as Leena called her, used to make this every morning for her husband's breakfast. So in honor of him, we enjoyed this:

Most people just buy these cakes because they are kind of difficult to make, but you can only buy them in January and February. The nurse I was working with last week found a recipe for me, so you can bet I'll be attempting to make these once I get home :)