Smoked Salmon Cake

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• coarse salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 2 loaves pumpernickel bread, cut into 16 half-inch slices, with crusts
• 1 lb smoked salmon, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 english seedless cucumbers, thinly sliced into 1/8-inch slices, patted dry, plus more slices for decorating sides of cake
• 1/2 cup creme fraiche
• 2 1/2 ounces salmon roe
• 1 ounce black caviar
• lemon wedge, plus more dill chopped for garnish

Recipe

• 1 in a small bowl, combine 8 ounces cream cheese, the red onion, capers, dill, and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper, and stir until smooth. lay 4 bread slices on a clean work surface; trim 1/4 inch from all sides of slices. spread 1 tablespoon cream-cheese mixture on top of 1 slice, and layer with smoked salmon and cucumber (try not to overlap cucumber slices). spread another thin layer of the cream-cheese mixture on top. repeat with 2 more bread slices.
• 2 neatly stack prepared slices, filling side up, squaring the sides with your hands; top with the fourth bread slice. repeat with remaining bread and filling to create three more stacks in this way.
• 3 transfer stacks to a serving platter with their long sides touching. in a small bowl, combine remaining 16 ounces cream cheese and the crème fraîche, mixing until smooth. using an offset spatula, spread mixture evenly over assembled cake. refrigerate, covered, 2 hours or overnight.
• 4 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.