Sweet • Sour • Savory

Food blog on scandinavian style food done right.

Kransekage

Kransekage - Danish Almond Wedding Cake

Desserts, Cookies, Holiday, New Year's Eve, CakeTove Balle-PedersenComment

Kransekage - Danish Almond Wedding Cake.

For me this is not a wedding cake, but a New Years Eve cake. Most Danes celebrates New Year by drinking champagne and eating kransekage. This year I decided to make numbers instead of the traditional top.

You get the best cake by using a mazipan/almond paste with more than 63% almonds, otherwise the cake will flatten, and flow out during the baking, masking a cookie.

Kransekage should be crispy outside and a soft inside.

Happy New Year from Copenhagen Denmark.

Makes about 100 cm kransekage (6 rings and the top ball)

Ingredients:

Kransekage:

  • 75g almonds blanched or ¾ cup slivered almonds

  • 150 g (1 cup) sugar

  • 1½ (48 g) egg whites

  • 375 g marzipan, use Ren Rå marcipan or this Almond Paste

Icing:

  • confectionary sugar (powdered sugar)

  • egg white

  • water

Directions:

Put almonds and sugar into food processor with the steel blade in place and process until finely pulverized. Add the egg whites and process until smooth. Be careful not to heat the mass to more than 95 - 104°F, else the egg white will cook. 

Shred the marzipan and add it and the almond/egg white mixture to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat it until it's completely smooth and free of lumps. Form the dough into a ball, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃).

Weigh out 400 g Doug and roll it into a 70 cm log. By during this, you will get the perfect size kransekage, whether. you make pieces, a number cake or a top.
Bake the kransekage for 12 minutes or on til golden brown.

With the palm of your hand gently press each log into a rounded triangle. You can wet you hands a little so the dough won’t stick to your hands.

Form the logs into circles on the parchment paper. Make sure to connect the ends really well.

Cutting the log up making rings.

For the numbers you need 12 cm + 4 cm for the number 2. and 22 cm for the number 0.

If you make a top, you start with 7 cm, and roll it into a ball. For the next ring add 2 cm, so you form a ring out og the 9 cm piece. For each remaing ring add another 2 cm, this will make a perfect top. With this amount of dough, you can make a top with 6 rings and a top ball. (7 cm, 9 cm, 11 cm, 13 cm, 15cm , 17 cm, 19 cm )

A trick to making Danish Kransekage, is to make the rings tall. When you cut the rings or pieces is should be in the shape of a triangle.

Here you see the shape of rings or pieces cut through.

Don’t use the kransekage pans, the rings will become rounded on the bottom, and harder to stack. Shape the kransekage with your hands.

Bake the kransekage on parchment paper, on a double baking sheet, this will prevent the bottom from burning.

Mix the powdered sugar with egg white and water.

When making the icing, it should be thick, not runny at all. Put the icing in a piping bag, cut a tiny tiny hole in the bag. I use half water and half egg whites for the icing.

When piping the icing shouldn't be runny. You almost place the thin line of icing on the kransekage. the piping take time, don't rush it.

If you make a top place the rings on top of each other, lifting the rings with your fingers like hooks inside the rings. Glue the rings together with small dots of icing.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year

Cake, Christmas, Desserts, Holiday, New Year's EveTove Balle-PedersenComment
Pistachio kransekage.

Pistachio kransekage.

True to the Danish tradition we have champagne and kransekage at midnight. This year we started the new year celebration with my native Denmark, at 3 pm in California, testing a new color champagne. 

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog through out the year. It really warms my heart when you leave kind and constructive comments on my posts. This make me feel like a make a difference in the big community called the Internet.
I wish you all a healthy and prosperous 2017.

Happy New Year!

 

Pistachio kransekage

Make 8-10 cakes.

Ingredients:

Kransekage:

  • 50 g raw pistachios

  • 100 g sugar

  • 1 egg white

  • 250 g marzipan

Icing:

  • confectionary (powdered) sugar

  • hot water

Directions:

Put pistachios and sugar into food processor with the steel blade in place and process until finely pulverized. Add the egg whites and process until smooth. Be careful not to heat the mass to more than 95 - 104°F, else the egg white will cook. 

Shred the marzipan and add it and the pistachio/egg white mixture to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat it until it's completely smooth and free of lumps. Form the dough into a ball, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven for 375℉ (190℃).

Roll the dough into logs as thick as your finger, and cut into 3 inch long pieces. Press the top part, making a top. 

Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden.  Allow to cool completely before icing them.

Enjoy!

 

 

Habanero Kransekage - Habanero Almond Cake

Cake, Desserts, Holiday, New Year's EveTove Balle-PedersenComment
Habanero Kransekage - Habanero Almond Cake

Habanero Kransekage - Habanero Almond Cake

Happy New Year.

Thank you for visiting my blog. It’s has been a fun year for me with blog. I learned that I do not control what happens after I post. And I do not know what will be a hit and what will be a miss. One thing I do know is, the quality of the photos is getting better. My husband has learned a lot about light, and how to use it.Thank you Michael for helping me, you are the best.

I hope you will keep visiting my blog, and I promise to keep coming up with new recipes and giving old classics a new twist.

I look forward to 2015 and to face all the new challenges this year will bring.  

From my family to yours, have a fantastic 2015, filled with love, light and laughter.

Cheers.

Makes 12

Ingredients:

Kransekage: 

  • 50 g almonds blanched
  • 100 g sugar
  • 1 egg white
  • 250 g marzipan (I used Ren Rå, a 60% almond paste)
  • habanero chili (be cautious with this chili, it is very powerful, taste a teeny-tiny bit to determine how much to use)

Icing:

  • confectionary sugar
  • water, hot
  • orange food coloring

Directions:

Put almonds and sugar into food processor with the steel blade in place and process until finely pulverized. Add the egg whites and process until smooth. Be careful not to heat the mass to more than 95 - 104°F, else the egg white will cook. 

Shred the marzipan and add it, minced habanero and the almond/egg white mixture to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat it until it's completely smooth and free of lumps. Form the dough into a ball, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven for 375℉ (190℃).

Roll the dough into logs as thick as your finger, and cut into 3 inch long pieces. Gently press the top, so you get a peak.  

Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden.  Allow to cool completely before decorating.

Make the icing with small amount of hot water. You want the icing to be a thick paste. Pipe the icing across the top, using a piping bag with a small round tip.

Enjoy the kransekage with a glass of sweet bubbles.

 

Kransekage with Liquorice

Cake, New Year's Eve, Holiday, Sweets and CandyTove Balle-Pedersen2 Comments
Kransekage with Liquorice

Kransekage with Liquorice

With all the liquorice I've been using, I had to try liquorice in the kransekage

Kransekage: 

  • 50 g almonds blanched
  • 100 g sugar
  • 1 egg white
  • 250 g marzipan (I used Ren Rå, a 60% almond paste)
  • 15-25 g marzipan with liquorice from Lakrids by Johan Bülow

Icing:

Directions:

Put almonds and sugar into food processor with the steel blade in place and process until finely pulverized. Add the egg whites and process until smooth. Be careful not to heat the mass to more than 95 - 104°F, else the egg white will cook. 

Shred the marzipan and add it and the almond/egg white mixture to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat it until it's completely smooth and free of lumps. Form the dough into a ball, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven for 375℉ (190℃).

Roll the dough into logs as thick as your finger, and cut into 3 inch long pieces. Cut about 1 inch of each the pieces. Roll the 2 inch piece thinner, and flatten the log, and form a little slit where you put some marzipan with liquorice. Top the piece of with the rest of the dough you cut of.

Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden.  Allow to cool completely before decorating.

Kransekage with orange zest or chocolate

Cake, Holiday, Sweets and Candy, New Year's EveTove Balle-Pedersen2 Comments
Kransekage with orange zest and chocolate

Kransekage with orange zest and chocolate

When I make kransekage for New Year's Eve, I always make small pieces with different flavor profiles. The classic with the danish nougat, a soft chocolate made with hazelnuts. Another flavor profile I really love is with orange zest.

Kransekage: 

  • 50 g almonds blanched

  • 100 g sugar

  • 1 egg white

  • 250 g marzipan (I used Ren Rå, a 60% almond paste)

  • zest of 1 orange or

  • 15 g nougat (the golden package on the photo)

Icing:

  • confectionary sugar

  • water

Directions:

Put almonds and sugar into food processor with the steel blade in place and process until finely pulverized. Add the egg whites and process until smooth. Be careful not to heat the mass to more than 95 - 104°F, else the egg white will cook. 

Shred the marzipan and add it and the almond/egg white mixture to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat it until it's completely smooth and free of lumps. Form the dough into a ball, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven for 375℉ (190℃).

If you make the one with orange zest, add it when you mix the batter.

Roll the dough into logs as thick as your finger, and cut into 3 inch long pieces. Press the top part, making a top. 

For the ones with nougat, cut about 1 inch of the pieces. Roll the 2 inch thinner, and flatten the log, and form a little slit where you put some of the nougat. Top the piece of with the rest of the dough you cut of.

Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden.  Allow to cool completely before icing them.