A pinch of traditions

I thought it would suit just perfectly to start with something Estonian. At this time of year everybody is talking about baked potatoes, blood sausage or rich pork roast, so I'd better remind kama.

Kama is a traditional Estonian food, a flour mix of different roasted and grinded grains (wheat, rye, barley) and legumes. It is usually eaten mixed into dairy products (buttermilk, yoghurt, curd cheese), but is sometimes just the taste a cake or some snack needs. In this cake the taste of kama can be felt pretty strongly and the sweet, sour and salty tastes compete with each other in a pleasantly baffling way.


Rhubarb-kamacake with cinnamon flavoured glaze

100 ml vegetable oil
130 g honey
1 egg
1 tbsp baking soda
150 ml unflavoured yoghurt
250 g wheat flour
100 g kama flour
2 tsp salt
350 minced rhubarb
1 tsp vanilla extract
50 g chopped nuts (i.e. almonds, hazelnuts, pecans)
70 g sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter (at room temperature)

1. mix together oil and honey, add the egg and blend well, then add yoghurt and vanilla extract.
2. mix together wheat flour and kama, baking powder, shopped nuts and salt, add to the mixture.
3. you can add the rhubarb the way you like it the most. I like to puree half of it and add the other half minced. put the blended batter into a baking pan.
4. mix together the butter, sugar and cinnamon. gently cover the batter with the mixture.
5. bake the cake at 170 C for about 1 hour until firm.

The cake is just perfect served warm with a cup of cold milk, but nearly as good served at room temperature. It's not the sweetest of bites, but is a good change with its controversial tastes. Maybe serve with apricot jam and green tea?