Kransekage – Danish and Norwegian dessert, especially used for New Years.
Recipes two versions, writtens as in the books:
Frøken Jensens Kogebog, printed 1901
½kg almonds, maybe 2-4 bitter almonds, 650 g sugarm 3 -4 egg whites Scald and almonds and remove the skin, then dry them thoroughly. Grind them in and almond grinder (?) or twice through a parsley chopper, maybe with a bit of the sugar. Add the rest of the sugar and the egg whites, put them in a pot and cook with low heat till it is a thick porridge. Roll them out with a bit of powdered sugar. [Shape not written, everyone knows the shape] Bake 8min at 250°C. Or use premade dough. ½kg premade Kransekage dough to 150g powdered sugar, 1 -2 egg whites. Knead it with sugar and egg whites. Cook at low heat as above. Shape and bake as above. Good raw marzipan can be used instead of premade Kransekage dough. After baking decorate with egg white icing.
Egg white icing 150 g powdered sugar, 1 egg white ½ tsp vinegar. Sift powdered sugar into the egg whites and mix it together with the vinegar, till the icing is white, firm and shiny. Decorate.
Mad - by Surhs Husholdningsskole - Special version printed in 2010
Kransekage 500g kransekage dough or marzipan 125g powdered sugar 1-2 egg whites
Egg white icing 125g powdered sugar about 1 pasteurized egg white maybe ½ tsp vinegar
Cut marzipan into smaller pieces or grate it roughly. Knead the mass with powdered sugar and egg whites. Form the mass [description of forming the mass into finger thick varying rings and a ball for the topper, or long 7cm sticks]. Bake at 225°C in the top of the oven till they are lightly brown, about 10 min. Cool on a rack. Egg white icing Mix it till it’s smooth and firm. Decorate in thin zigzag pattern.
Showing the steps of a tower:
The Icing zigzag is a bit hard to master. Baker apprentices usually practice on broom handles for several days.
It can also be used for confections. Either make smaller pieces instead of rings. or add a bit more egg white and pipe them out and decorate with nougat, pistachio paste, nuts or dried fruit. Candied cherries are traditional. (You can also fill the middle, but that is a hassle.) These can be used for various parties, not just new years.
Kransekage can also be more fancy and used for other occasions, like child naming, youth ritual, weddings or anniversaries. The other shapes are often used.
A cornucopia shape is very popular for important occasions. Only your skills set a limit for the shape.
I'll try to make my own this year. I found fancy marzipan!