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Close-up photograph of a homemade Finnish runeberg torte (runebergintorttu) with a ring of white icing and raspberry jam on top, served on a white ceramic plate with a small spoon.
Erik Lundström

Runebergintorttu Recipe (Poet’s Rum Cake)

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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Syrup + topping + resting 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 12 small cakes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Finnish
Calories: 400
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the cake batter
  • 1 ¾ sticks (200 g) Unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp (25 g) Brown sugar (or use 2 extra Tbsp regular sugar)
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • ¾ cup (95 g) All-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup (about 50 g) fine plain bread crumbs or crushed gingerbread cookies (for authentic flavor)
  • 1 cup (100 g) Almond meal (ground almonds)
  • 1 tsp Baking powder
  • ½ tsp Ground cardamom (optional, but lovely for warmth if not using gingerbread crumbs)
  • ¼ tsp Salt (a pinch, to balance sweetness)
  • ¼ tsp Bitter almond extract (or ½ tsp almond extract) – this gives the signature almond aroma.
  • ¾ cup (180 ml) sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt; this keeps the cake moist)
For the syrup (for moistening, optional but recommended):
  • ½ cup (120 ml) Water
  • 2 tbsp Sugar
  • 2 tbsp Dark rum or arrack Swedish Punsch is the traditional way to go
For decoration:
  • ½ cup (120 g) Raspberry jam, seedless if you prefer. (Traditional recipes use raspberry, but you can sub strawberry in a pinch.)
  • 1 cup 120 g) powdered sugar mixed with 2–3 tsp water or milk (to form a thick, pipeable icing).

Method
 

Prep and Preheat
  1. Preheat your oven to 200 °C (390 °F).
  2. Grease a muffin tin (or your Runeberg cake molds, if you have them) with butter and dust lightly with flour or breadcrumbs. This will help the little cakes release easily after baking.
    A top-down view of a 12-cup metal muffin tin on a wooden surface, with each cup visibly greased with butter.
Make the Batter
  1. In a large bowl, cream the softened butter with the sugar (and brown sugar, if using) until the mixture is light and fluffy.
    A stainless steel mixing bowl on a light wood surface containing softened butter, white granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
  2. This should take about 2–3 minutes of vigorous mixing (use a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed).
  3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. The batter may look a bit curdled at this stage – that’s okay.
    An electric hand mixer beating a whole egg into a creamed butter and sugar mixture in a metal bowl.
Add Dry Ingredients
  1. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, breadcrumbs (or cookie crumbs), almond meal, baking powder, cardamom, and salt, stirring until evenly mixed.
    A separate metal bowl containing distinct piles of flour, ground almond meal, gingerbread crumbs, and baking powder.
  2. Add half of these dry ingredients into the butter-egg mixture and stir gently to combine.
    A wooden spoon stirring the dry almond and crumb mixture into the wet creamed butter mixture.
  3. Pour in the sour cream (and if using sour cream, don’t forget to add that ½ tsp baking soda now as well)
  4. Add the remaining dry ingredients and continue to mix until everything is just incorporated. Avoid over-mixing – you want a thick, slightly textured batter, not a super-smooth cake batter. (It’s normal that this batter is thicker than typical cake batter due to the breadcrumbs.)
    A thick, grainy cake batter in a stainless steel bowl, showing the characteristic texture of the almond meal and breadcrumbs.
Flavor and Finish Batter
  1. Mix in the bitter almond or almond extract. This little bit of almond essence gives the cakes their characteristic aromatic note, so don’t skip it unless you absolutely have to.
  2. At this point, the batter will be quite thick (somewhere between a cookie dough and a muffin batter in consistency). That’s perfect.
Fill the Molds
  1. Spoon the batter into your prepared muffin cups. Fill each cup to about 2/3 full (you want to leave room for the cakes to rise).
  2. If you’re aiming for a more traditional tall shape and you have enough batter, you can fill slightly more to get a bit of a dome – but generally 2/3 is safe to prevent overflow.
  3. Smooth the tops of the batter gently with the back of a spoon.
  4. Now, make a small indent in the center of each batter mound with your thumb or a spoon.
  5. Drop about 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam into each indent. (This is an old trick: some jam baked into the cake infuses it with moisture and flavor. Don’t worry if it sinks a little during baking – we’ll add more jam on top later.)
    A 12-cup muffin tin partially filled with cake batter, showing small thumbprint indentations being filled with red raspberry jam.
Bake
  1. Place the tin in the preheated oven and bake for 15–20 minutes on the center rack (the time will depend on your oven and the size of your cakes).
    A muffin tin of Runebergintorttu cakes baking on the center rack of a lit oven.
  2. The Runeberg cakes are done when they have risen, turned a lovely golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center (avoid the jam pocket when testing) comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
  3. Do not overbake – because of the low moisture ingredients like breadcrumbs, they can dry out if left too long.
  4. When done, remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
Soak with Syrup
  1. While the cakes are cooling, prepare the rum syrup (if using). In a small saucepan, combine the water and 2 Tbsp sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in the rum (or arrack).
  2. Let this syrup cool for a couple of minutes. Then, using a pastry brush, brush the warm syrup generously over the top of each cake. You can do this while the cakes are still a bit warm. The liquid will soak in and impart wonderful moisture and a hint of rum flavor.
    A hand using a pastry brush to apply a clear rum and sugar syrup to the tops of baked cakes on a wire cooling rack.
  3. If you really want extra moist cakes, you can poke a few tiny holes on top of each cake with a toothpick before brushing on the syrup – this helps it seep in. Brush each cake 2–3 times, allowing the syrup to soak in between brushings. (You might not use all the syrup; that’s fine. Or use the extra to brush the sides of the cakes if you like.) This step is optional, but highly recommended to ensure a moist result
Decorate
  1. Once the cakes have fully cooled (and after syrup soaking, if done), it’s time for the signature finish.
  2. If the jam dollop on top of the cakes has sunk in during baking (often it creates a little crater), add a fresh small spoonful of raspberry jam on top of each cake now.
  3. Next, prepare the powdered sugar icing by mixing the powdered sugar with just enough water (start with 2 teaspoons and add drop by drop more) to make a thick, opaque icing that barely drips off the spoon. It should be thick enough to hold a shape, but not so stiff that it won’t pipe. Transfer the icing into a piping bag with a small round tip (or a zip-top bag with a tiny corner snipped off).
  4. Carefully pipe a ring of icing around the jam on each cake. The ring should encircle the jam like a little white frosting halo. (Tip: if you’re not confident with piping, you can also spoon the icing in a ring shape – it might be a bit rustic-looking, but it will taste just as good!)
    A piping bag applying a thick ring of white powdered sugar icing around the red jam center of a baked cake.
  5. Let the icing set for 10–15 minutes until it firms up.
Serve and Enjoy
  1. Your Finnish poet’s cakes are ready!
  2. Traditionally, Runebergintortut are served at room temperature, alongside a cup of hot coffee or tea. The cakes should be moist, fragrant with almond and spice, and have that delightful jam center in each bite. Enjoy one for fika (coffee break) and you’ll almost feel like you’ve been transported to a snowy Helsinki café. Hyvää ruokahalua – bon appétit!

Notes

Storage:

If you have leftovers (lucky you!), store the cakes in an airtight container. They actually improve in flavor after a day as the flavors meld. Keep them at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4–5 days. (They keep well thanks to the syrup and the moisture from the almonds and sour cream.) You can also freeze undecorated cakes (without jam and icing) for up to 2 months; thaw and then add jam + icing before serving for the best texture.