Smoked Salmon Cake

By Kitchenbee

Martha Stewart Living magazine
Serves 8-10

Ingredients

• 3 8oz pks cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup finely chipped red onion
• 2 tblsp capers, drained and chopped
• 2 tblsp fresh dill, finely chopped plus more for garnish
• 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• coarse sale and freshly ground pepper
• 2 loaves pumpernickel bread, cut into 16 half inch slices, with crusts
• 1 lb smoked salmon, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 seedless cucumbers, thinly sliced into 1/8 inch slices, patted dry, plus more slices for
• decorating side of cake
• 1/2 cup creme fraiche
• 2 1/2 oz salmon roe
• 1 oz black caviar
• lemon wedges for garnish

Preparation

Step 1

In small bowl, combine 8 oz cream cheese, onions, capers, dill and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper, and stir until smooth. Lay 4 bread slices on clean work surface; trim 1/4 inch from all sides of slices. Spread 1 tablspoon cream cheese mixture on top of 1 slice, and layer with smoke salmon and cucumber (try not to overlap cucu ber slices). Spread another thin layer of the mixture on top. Repeat with 2 more bread slices.

Neatly stack prepared slices, filling side up, squaring the sides with your hands; top with fourth bread slice.REpeat with remaining bread and filling to create three more stacks in this way.

Transfer stacks to a serving platter with their long sides touching. In small bowl, combine remaining cream cheese and creme fraiche until smooth. Using an offset spatula, spread mixture evenly over assembled cake. Refrigerate, covered, 2 hours or overnight.

Before serving, arrange overlapping cucumber slices around base of cake, spoon salmon roe and caviar along the top, and sprinkle with dill. Garnish the platter with lemon wedges.