Summer solstice marks the longest day of the year, and that’s cause for celebration. This week is one of sunshine stretching into the evening, carpets of wildflowers in the midst of grassy fields, bare feet and picnic blankets.

For me, it marks the celebration of Swedish midsommar, which will be celebrated this Friday. The traditional midsommar spread of food is one of my favorites, featuring some of my favorite dishes like marinated cucumbers, pickled herring (which you can even use in a savory cake), and plenty of knäckebröd.

But my favorite part of midsommar has to be dessert. Strawberry cake is one of the most common desserts on the Swedish midsommar table, and it puts seasonal berries front and center. It’s a simple dessert, topped with plenty of whipped cream and bright red berries.

I like to make the cake with cardamom, and even marinate a few strawberries in honey and cardamom to use as the center filling. The cake is cut in half, so that you can layer it, but if you want to make an even fancier cake, consider making two of them and layering them.

Glad midsommar!

Swedish Strawberry Cake with Cardamom

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (4 ounces, 115 grams) raw hazelnuts or almonds, finely ground (this is just a little shy of 1 cup worth of hazelnut or almond meal)

2/3 cup (3.25 ounces, 90 grams) brown rice flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 to 2 teaspoons whole cardamom seeds, crushed

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 eggs

1/3 cup (80 milliliters) honey

1/2 cup (240 milliliters) yogurt

About 1 pound/500 grams strawberries

If you want to marinate some of the strawberries:

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon whole cardamom seeds, crushed

Topping:

1 to 2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped

If you want to marinate some of the strawberries, take half of them and slice them thinly. Add the honey and cardamom and stir together. Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours. I prefer to do this the night before making the cake, so that the strawberries are nice and juicy.

When you are ready to make the cake, preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan. I flour with cornmeal, because I like the texture that it adds.

In a food processor, finely grind the hazelnuts or almonds. In a bowl, combine the ground nuts with the flour, baking powder and cardamom seeds.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Set aside while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy. Add the yogurt and honey and whisk until the batter has a slightly lighter color. Add in the melted butter.

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, careful not to over stir.

Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the cake is a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Remove the cake from the pan and using a knife, carefully cut the cake in half so that you get two layers. Spread a layer of whipped cream and the marinated strawberries on the bottom layer, place the second layer on top and add more whipped cream and whole strawberries to decorate the top.

More recipes for Swedish midsummer:

Strawberry Tartlets

Savory Pickled Herring Cake

Potato Salad with Radish Greens

White Bean and Kale Salad with Feta and Dill