Mini Skyr and Birch Liqueur Cakes with Coffee Buttercream Frosting

As you can see, I continue to obsess over all things Icelandic after our recent vacation. First it was Icelandic lamb, and now it's skyr, the Icelandic yogurt that is technically a cheese. (Truth be told, I have been eating the stuff for breakfast since long before our trip. It's a bit like Greek yogurt, but creamier.)

Here I've substituted vanilla skyr for yogurt in a Trixified version of yogurt cake. I also included a splash of Birkir, an Icelandic birch liqueur with a distinctive, almost resin-like taste. It imparted a very subtle "What's that?" kind of quality to my mini cakes - if you can't get your hands on any, substitute a pine liqueur. I used Madagascar vanilla bean in both the cake batter and the frosting, and threw in some coffee extract to give the frosting a little oomph.

I brought these to Thanksgiving dinner, hence the decoration, though I must say those autumn leaves look a bit too much like funfetti for my taste.  I also discovered the hard way the Zip Loc bags with expanding bottoms do not work as pastry bags, and so my frosting job looks a bit on the ragged side. Despite their somewhat bedraggled look, however, my sister in law declared that they tasted "sophisticated," and so I will call this experiment a success.

Mini Skyr Cakes with Birch Liqueur and Coffee Vanilla Buttercream

makes 24 - 30 mini cakes

For the cake:

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup vanilla skyr

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean

1 tablespoon Birkir or pine liqueur

2 cups unbleached cake flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon Birkir or pine liqueur

In a bowl, combine the eggs, skyr, sugar, canola oil, vanilla bean, and liqueur. In another bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet. When just combined, spoon into lined mini muffin cups, filling halfway. Bake at 350 F for 15 - 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Let cool for 10 minutes in the tin and then allow to cool completely on a rack. 

For the frosting

2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature

3 cups confectioner's sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean

1 tablespoon coffee extract

In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and coffee extract and whip until fluffy and spreadable. 

Frost as desired. 

While I loved the coffee in the frosting, I thought it made the cakes a bit too sweet overall - I actually enjoyed the cakes solo. I suspect those of you with a bigger sweet tooth will disagree, so frost away!