On the Eighth day of Christmas, my True Love baked for me…

Smoked Salmon, Dill and Rye Layer Cake! Who says that layer cake has to be sweet?

These canapés are so delicious and really simple to put together, as easy as layering up sandwiches! You start with finely sliced Danish Rye bread or Pumpernickel (which you don’t have to make yourself!)…

whip up cream cheese with lemon zest and juice, dill and a dash of hot pepper sauce…

and layer it all together with sliced smoked or cured salmon, then crown the top with bright pearls of salmon roe.

The combination really is amazing, and the little layered bites look so pretty. Salmon Dill and Rye Layer Cake has been a go-to Christmas staple of mine (and my mums) for a few years now, and nobody is showing any signs of being tired of it yet!

Salmon Dill and Rye Layer Cake

makes 18 pieces

ingredients

250g (eight slices) Danish rye bread or pumpernickel
125g cream cheese, softened
zest of one lemon
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp finely chopped dill
1/4 tsp hot sauce, such as tobasco
100g sliced smoked or cured salmon
50g salmon roe

assembly

For best results you need a small, straight sided loaf pan. Mine is 10 cm on the short side and expandable, so its easy to make it snugly fit two slices bread laid side by side. While the pan is useful, it’s not essential to use one, you just need to be careful when you layer everything up to make sure you get out to the edges!
Line the loaf pan with a layer of cling wrap, or place a large square of cling wrap on your work surface.
Trim the bread if necessary to make it perfectly rectangular (or square if your bread was square!), then lay two slices on the bottom of the pan (or in the centre of the cling wrap).

Whip the cream cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, dill and hot sauce together until creamy. Divide into quarters. Dollop one quarter on the bread in the pan, and spread evenly over the bread, taking care to get all the way to the edges. Place slices of salmon in a single layer over the top of the cream cheese, taking care not to overlap the salmon slices. Top this with two more slices of bread, making sure, if your bread is slightly rectangular, to orient the slices in the same way as those on the lower level (this keeps the cake straight sided!). Repeat the process until you have used all the bread and salmon. You will have one more portion of cream cheese mixture – spread this on the top of the top layer. Tip the salmon roe on top of the cream cheese, and gently spread the roe over the surface. You should have just enough roe to completely cover the surface.

Take the edges of the cling wrap and fold them up over the top of the layer cake to firmly seal.

Then, gently invert the layer cake and place it back in the pan, roe side down and refrigerate for at least three hours – you could also make this the day before.

When you are ready to serve, invert the cake again and unwrap. Cut into 18 equal pieces (that means each bread slice gets cut into 9!).

Enjoy!xxx