Seasonal eatings!

We had some friends and family over for coffee on the 24th - that's the main day of Christmas here. I made (clockwise from top) a tiger cake, ginger bread, a plum pie and a sandwich cake. I am especially pleased with the vegan sandwich cake - it's a kind of savoury cake that is usually filled with cold meat and mayonnaise.  I think it might be a Scandinavian or maybe just a Finnish thing  - I haven't actually encountered it anywhere else than in Finland. The recipe is from my best friend but I've altered it a bit. ( I hope you don't mind if you're reading this, S.V.!)

What you need for a VEGAN SANDWICH CAKE is:

2 loaves of sliced toast, one really white unhealthy one, and one whole wheat one
1 tub of vegan cream cheese ( I used Tofutti)
2 tubs of vegan mayonnaise
1 tub of natural soya yoghurt
1 chunk ( about 200g) of smoked tofu
1 sweet red pepper
rucola salad or water cress
1 red onion
vegetable stock (I used Vecon mixed with water, that's tasty and healthy too!)
pretty vegetables and herbs for decorating

What you need to do :

Firstly, sieve the yoghurt overnight to make it less liquid. I did this through a terry cloth (yes, a nappy, but an unused one!) : place the moistened cloth in a sieve an pour the yoghurt in it.  Put the sieve in a pan or something else big enough to allow the extra liquid drip off without touching the bottom of the sieve. Put the whole package in the fridge.

Mix the thickened yoghurt with mayonnaise and cream cheese. Divide the mixture into 3 equal parts. Now grab your trusty mixer: mix one part with smoked tofu and finely chopped red onion. Mix the second part with the red pepper and rucola/water cress. Leave the third part as it is, that will be used for decorating the cake.

Slice the crusts off the bread slices, making them even squares. Place 4 slices of the white bread in a row (without gaps) on a piece of cling film. Moisten the slices with vegetable stock. Then dollop the pieces of bread generously with the mixture flavoured with smoked tofu.

Put 4 slices of the darker bread on top of the white bread, moisten with vegetable stock and cover with the pepper-mayonnaise mixture. Repeat until about 5 to 6 layers high, alternating with white and brown bread and the two different fillings.

Wrap the whole business tightly in cling film and finally on tin foil. Keep in the fridge till the next day.  Smooth the unseasoned mixture on the cake and decorate for example with slices of cucumber, cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs.

You should end up with something looking roughly like this:

Enjoy!