War Cake (or Lemon Roll Cake with Jam)

A month or two ago when my friend, Vesna, and I were talking on Skype, she showed me a piece of cake that was made by one of her friends. She told me it was very delicious and told me how to make it if I wanted. Even more interesting than the cake itself is the story behind it.

During the civil war in the former Yugoslavia, people’s lives changed drastically in many ways. One way their lives changed had to do with food and meals. Food availability was limited, and so every meal was pretty much the same. Bread, butter, and jam does give the body some energy and can help ease hunger pangs, but the body craves a variety of food. If you go for a long period of time without fruits, vegetables, and proteins, not only does the body suffer, but the spirit can suffer as well.

Well, to continue the story, one day a lady was walking along the beach and found a few lemons. Of course she was excited to find the fruit, and I’m sure she must have thought long and hard about how to share it with everyone. In the end, she used both the juice and peel of the fruit to make a cake which lifted everyone’s spirits. The resulting cake is called war cake.

This is an excellent cake to make and share at Christmas or Thanksgiving. It’s simple but delicious, and the story behind it is one that helps remind us to be grateful and thankful for all we have. Perhaps this cake also embodies the spirit of Thanksgiving, reminding us to give thanks, not only for all the food on our tables, but also for living in a country which is not ravished by war and the effects of war. This War Cake helps remind us of all we really have to be thankful and grateful for.

Here’s a picture of 3 slices that I took at around 4:30 a.m. when I wasn’t really awake enough to be taking pictures.

War Cake (Lemon Roll Cake with Jam)

Yield: Makes 3 jelly rolls

Ingredients:

• 4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 lemons
• 1 tbsp. sour cream (or can substitute with buttermilk)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 5 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• jam of your choice (I used peach preserves)
• confectioner’s sugar (for sprinkling)

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Grate the lemon peel off all four lemons.
• Then cut the lemons into pieces and squeeze all the lemon juice into a small cup.
• Cream the butter and sugar together.
• Add the lemon peel, lemon juice, eggs, baking powder, and buttermilk, and stir well.
• Stir in the flour, a little at a time.
• Lay a large piece of parchment paper onto your counter top.
• Divide the dough into three pieces and roll them into balls.
• Place a dough ball on the parchment paper.
• Now tear off another piece of parchment paper and place it on top of the dough.
• Flatten the dough with your rolling pin, taking care not to roll it too thin.
• Spread the jam evenly over the dough.
• Now start at one end of the dough and roll it until the entire dough is rolled (like a jelly roll).
• Repeat the process with the other two dough balls.
• Bake until the dough is cooked. You’ll know it’s done when you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.
• After the dough is done, remove the cakes from the oven and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar.
• Slice the cakes after they’ve cooled.

Baking Notes: The flavor of the cake was lemony and tasted great! While I enjoyed it warm from the oven, I liked it even better after they sat overnight in the refrigerator. The texture of the cake was just a bit dry and crumbly. The cake actually turned out more like the texture of a cookie than a cake, and after I cut the rolls, the pieces reminded me of cookie bars. The flavor of the lemon was wonderful, especially combined with the peach preserves. This cake holds up for a long time and tastes even better the longer it sits on my counter. I’ve been keeping it covered with plastic wrap so it stays fresh, and the flavors seem to intensify and the cake becomes softer as the days go by. I can’t wait to have more for dessert this evening.