~ "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; Through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." ~ "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing" ~ "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." ~ "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."~

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Smoked Salmon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting...Martha Stewart



Smoked Salmon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting...Martha Stewart I came across this recipe in a Martha Stewart Living Annual Recipes Cookbook.~2003. It was in the Easy Entertaining section....the cake looked so beautiful! Of course, it grabbed my attention not only because it was very pretty, but because it used smoked salmon. I just love smoked salmon, and I knew I wanted to try the recipe. I also wanted to share a recipe, for those of you who are entertaining guests this coming New Year's eve or New Year's day. I know some of you might not like smoked salmon, but I am sure you can substitute the salmon with some chopped ham,turkey,chicken,chopped shrimp, crab or even some tuna (tuna, would that work?...hmmm). I think this recipe can easily be adapted to include ingredients that you have in your house or ingredients that you like. You can definitely be creative...try using some foccacia bread(thinly sliced) and spread some basil pesto, sundried tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, olive tapenade with some prosciutto. Anyway, back to the recipe...I chose to use a German pumpernickel bread for my cake. This type of bread has whole rye grains in the bread(60%)...it is healthier, but can be sort of rough. I would prefer to make it with the softer pumpernickel bread slices(the regular kind) if I would serve it to guests....that is what the original recipe used. I just think it would be much nicer... I didn't make the exact recipe as in the book, but used my own measurements. You can't really go wrong with this recipe....it is very forgiving. Feel free to adjust amounts of the seasonings/ingredients....you might not want to use so much cream cheese. The cake, in the book, was a quite a bit bigger, and so I scaled mine down a bit. Martha Stewart decorated hers with cucumber slices,dill, lemon slices and topped it with some caviar. I tried making a salmon rose:) for my topping... but if you have better ideas, feel free to decorate as you like. I am not much of a cake decorator, but I had fun making this. This definitely will serve quite a few. It is best served in small pieces. Well, I hope you enjoy this....and, Happy New Year!
You will need:
4 slices of pumpernickel bread(4x6 inches or so)
12 oz cream cheese,softened~you could use whipped cream cheese, chive and onion flavored, etc, to make your life easier
1 TBS chopped red onion
2-3 tsp dill, chopped
1 TBS capers
squeeze of lemon juice
pinch of salt
pepper
smoked salmon,sliced
cucumber, thinly sliced

Directions:
Soften cream cheese or use whipped cream cheese. Divide in two or thereabouts. You might not need to use so much cream cheese. Reserve about 6 oz or so for the topping. With the other 6 oz or so of cream cheese, add a squeeze of lemon juice, chopped onion, dill a pinch of salt(I skipped the salt on mine) and pepper.
Mix together.
Spread a bit of cream cheese mixture on one slice of bread....if using the softer pumpernickel bread, trim crusts. Top with sliced salmon.
Add sliced cucumber, trying not to overlap them.
Repeat with the layering.
"Frost" the top and sides with some of the reserved softened cream cheese.
Decorate with the remaining cream cheese. Decorate with extra capers, dill smoked salmon, etc.
Enjoy! Sometimes, I wish it was made out of chocolate:)...

6 comments:

Snooky doodle said...

what a nice recipe. this would be so nice presenting it for dinner :) delicious too!

Sailaja Damodaran said...

Mouthwatering....interesting too.Wish u a happy 2010.

Ellie said...

Snooky doodle,
Thanks for stopping by and for leaving such sweet commnents...I really appreciate it.

Sailaja,
Thanks and wishing you a wonderful New Year as well!

The Food Hunter said...

Sure looks good!

La-Chef-A said...

Wow, splendid! What a fabulous creation. This seems relatively light, and I imagine it still has plenty of flavor. Looking forwards to trying it!

Ellie said...

La-Chef-A, Thanks for stopping by...I'm glad you like the idea. I too thought it was a pretty neat way to make a savory cake....and you can be as creative as you like. Hope you can give it a try:)...