Norwegian Garland Cake Real Homemade Treat by Hanne

Guests at Books on the Menu not only heard about a Norwegian Garland cake  there were able to sample it courtesy of local home cook chef Hanne Hoelass (pictured). She spoke of elegant dinner parties while growing up in Norway which her mother would spend days preparing for, decorating the table and the dining room with seating for up to 26 guests. She showed off a much loved cookbook by Norway's first culinary star Henriette Schonberg Erken and published in 1921 (pictured). Hanne spoke of the challenges for cooking for a vegan son and found she could adapt recipes and skip any vegetarian meat substitutes. Among her favourites now are Donna Hay's cookbooks. The Garland Cake looked fabulous and Hanne explained it was plainly decorated  they are usually much more elaborate. It was served by cracking off the base rings at the bottom of the cake and breaking into pieces and serving. So you finish the cake at the top! Kind of fun really. Thank you Hanne.