Icelandic–Scandinavian Christmas traditions in Hellisgerði

Grandma Erla’s Mocha Swiss Roll

Sponge Base

• 4 eggs

• 100 g sugar

• 32 g flour

• 7 g baking powder

Whip the eggs and sugar until stiff. Add the dry ingredients and beat for 2–4 minutes. Pour and spread onto a baking tray. Bake at 190 °C for 10 minutes. Cool and remove from the tray.

Filling

• 100 g butter

• 85 g powdered sugar

• 100 g milk chocolate

• 2 tbsp instant coffee (NESCAFÉ)

Whip the butter and sugar until pale, fluffy, and forming stiff peaks. Spread the filling on the cooled sponge base in a 0.6 cm thick layer across the entire base. Chop the milk chocolate into coarse pieces (not too large) and sprinkle evenly over the cream.

Then sprinkle the instant coffee over the cream and roll the sponge together. Wrap in parchment paper and chill. Once the cake has cooled, roll it in granulated sugar and cut into 2–2.5 cm slices. Serve cold.

Dad prefers it frozen, but we settle for just a couple of degrees.

The Story of the Cake

“This mocha cake of Grandma Erla’s has always been fought over at my dinner parties. The favorite dessert of so many. The perfect Christmas treat,” says Knútur Hreiðarsson, chef at Sydhavn.

“Grandma Erla lives next to the Kaupfélags block here in Hafnarfjörður but is originally from Siglufjörður. She’s the Italian grandma in my life. Everything is made from scratch, which inspired me to pursue cooking. I got to cook everything from scratch and even make traditional Icelandic dishes with her,” he says.

“There are many volumes of recipes that she has handwritten, and I keep one of them in an armored cabinet. My grandfather, Ragnar Sveinsson – always called Sófus – bound many of them. You hardly dare touch the recipes, and I’m sure it’s the same for others because the book is in such excellent condition. The family fights over getting secret recipes from the book.”