Monday Christmas Cookie (6) - Kumquat Roulade Or Cake

Christmas back home can be quite extreme. On one hand, traditions are strictly followed and unquestioned. On the other hand, certain procedures have been somehow interpreted slightly differently over the years. You might remember my last year´s Christmas experience - lovely Christmas tree, presents, traditional dishes such as fried carp and potato salad, poppy seed buns with milk ("pupaky"), fish soup... etc. That is how it is supposed to be. Quiet, peaceful and full of spirits. Not that we ever fail to re-create such calm atmosphere every year, we just seem to reach it by different means.

Music is a key element, since that is the only sound heard during compulsory silent dining experience. During these couple of hours, you re supposed to re-think your previous year and assess yourself (quite of a job, I tell ya ;-) And just like the rest of the country, we grew up listenng to "silent night" and other Christmas Church songs... Then one year our tape recorder consumed the "Christmas Tape" during the dinner and I remember mum freaking out and started interpreting this incident as a warning to a major disaster to be followed that year. Dad failed to "foresee" the same and insisted that the symbolism in broken tape lies in the fact that the music is no longer appropriate. Ever since we sit around the table listening to the Country Christmas CD, while loud benjo and yoddling roam the room, we ponder "in silence"...

The other tradition "over-developed" over the years is our annual fruit bowl. Now everyone knows fruit are good for ya (vitamins, fiber and stuff) and that they symbolise fertility and prosperity. Every household has a small bowl where they display various fruit goodies.
Our family places an enormous tray in the middle of the table, goes to every store in town, buys every single variety of fruit available, piles them up on the tray to create Mt. Everest in our living room, adds dried fruit, garnishes with nuts and start throwing money around. We definitely have the most "prosperous" fruit bowl in the country.

This year, dad happily returned with a bag of kumquat, that he "somehow found somewhere" (It was probably Tesco, guessing from the plastic bag ;-) yet we did not want to ruin his excitement). But he was given credit for that since I never remember seeing or eating kumquat before.
To cut the story short, massive fruit bowl starts naturally go bad after a few days at room temperature. Those are the days that everyone goes on a compulsory fruit diet. Mum went creative and included a bag of kumquat to our Christmas Cake (traditionally made with mandarin oranges):

KUMQUAT ROULADE CAKE:
(kumkvatový koláč)

• for the roulade (makes 16 slices):
• 4 eggs
• 80 g sugar
• 10 g vanilla sugar
• 70 g semi-refined flour
• 50 g ground almonds
• 50 g candied orange peel
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 150 g raspberry jam
• 1 soft cake base
• 9 gelatine strips
• 4 oranges
• 1 lemon
• 100 g kumquats
  
• 1 tbsp grated orange peel
• 50 g sugar
• 300 g yoghurt
• 500 ml whipping cream
• to garnish (chocolate flowers, honey mint leaves, kumquat slices, pistachio nuts...)

Pre-heat the oven for 200°C. Separate egg yolks and whites. Add 3 tbsp water to the egg whites and gradually, add the sugar. Whisk into a firm foam. Mix in the egg yolks, orange peel, flour, almonds and finely chopped candied orange peel. Bake until brown, spread the jam on top and roll out. Cut the roulade into 1 cm thick pieces like this:

If you are tired by now, skip the rest and enjoy the roulade as such.

For the brave ones...

...the next step is filling. Put the gelatine stripes into some water and let bubble up. Press the juice out of lemon and oranges. Add the sugar, orange zest and yoghurt and whisk well.

Slowly melt the gelatine over the low heat. Add to the yoghurt mixture and let cool down for 20 minutes. Once cold whip the whipping cream and mix in (leave a few tablespoons for garnishing).

Wash and halve the kumquats and place onto the cake base. Set the cake form with sides and start placing the roulade around the cake form sides to form a "basket". Once ready, pour in the gelatine, garnish with sliced kumquat and transfer to the fridge for about an hour.

(Our kumquat cake, cooling itself out on the balcony).

After the cake is ready, take off the metal form and garnish with whipped cream and chocolate florets or as desired. Ours came out really pretty :-)

I know this is quite a bit of work, but it is worth it! Bindiya, please enjoy a piece for your These Are A Few of My Favorite Things.... event. Cakes and muffins are this month´s theme. Hugs :-)

Margot of Coffee & Vanilla is also getting a piece for her AFAM - Kumquat event. I know this is quite an unusual fruit, therefore I am happy to contribute another way of using up these tiny "oranges" :-)