Rūpjmaizes Kārtojums (Layered Latvian Rye Bread Dessert)

Latvians have some incredibly delicious desserts. A lot of them are made with rye bread, which is an essential part of traditional Latvian cuisine. You can even find rye breadcrumb ice-cream over here and yogurt with rye breadcrumbs. Not to mention cream of bread, bread soup, etc. Even nowadays, as bread is losing its popularity (a lot of people are on a diet and think it’s too fattening), public opinion polls say an average Latvian eats up to 50 kg bread per year. And coarse rye bread is the sort which remains favourite throughout the years. This dessert is originally called Rūpjmaizes kārtojums, which means layers of bread. The most common method is to layer rye breadcrumbs, whipped cream, and cranberry or cowberry jam. Sometimes cream of cottage cheese is used instead. The dessert can be made in small individual ice-cream bowls or in a larger bowl and then cut in portions. We make it in a larger container for four and use mascarpone instead of whipped cream. Imagine rye breadcrumbs toasted with sugar and cinnamon, layered with tangy mashed cranberries, and topped with soft, vanilla-flavoured mascarpone; repeat once and top with those crunchy breadcrumbs. Sounds good, uh? Fresh cranberries can be replaced with sour cranberry jam, if you prefer.