Kransekake Ring Cake Recipe

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Kransekake (Ring Cake) is a type of cake that is popular in Norway during the Christmas holiday season. It is served at weddings and other celebrations as well. The dough of this cake is made from almonds and confectioners sugar so the cake is somewhat dense, moist and chewy. It tastes a lot like a really good almond cookie. Kransekake is also different from most cakes in that it is baked as a series of rings that are plastered together with a sweet, almond icing and then adorned with a wide variety of candies or other decorations. Discover this cake this holiday season. It's fun to make and even better to eat.

Recommended Equipment:
spice or coffee grinder
tape measure or ruler

Ingredients:
cake:
6 cups of water
1 pound of whole almonds
1 pound of confectioners sugar
2 tspn almond extract
3 egg whites
potato flour (for dusting the rolling surface)

icing:
4 cups confectioners sugar
1 tspn lemon juice
1 tspn almond extract
2 egg whites
your choice of candy for garnish. I used cinnamon imperials.

Preparation:

1. In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add half of the whole almonds. After a few minutes, the almonds will begin rising to the surface of the water. As they do this, remove them from the saucepan when they hit the surface using a slotted spoon or strainer. Set them aside to let them cool. When you have removed all of the almonds from the saucepan, rinse them in cold water and remove the skins. Distribute them on a paper towel to let them dry completely. Wash the saucepan to use later.
2. Using your spice or coffee grinder, grind up the half pound of almonds that still have their skins. Pour the ground almonds into the large saucepan. Do the same with the almonds that have their skins removed. You may need to regrind any of the large pieces of almond that were not ground originally.
3. Add the confectioners sugar to the saucepan along with the almond extract and egg whites. Place the saucepan over low heat. Mix the ingredients together until they form a smooth paste that pulls from the sides of the saucepan.
4. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it overnight.
5. The next day, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and grease 2 to 3 baking pans.
6. Dust a counter top or other flat surface with the potato flour.
7. Roll the dough into 1/2 inch ropes. The length of these ropes will range from about 14 inches to 20 inches, varying in length by 1/2 inch each. So, you will make a rope of each of the following lengths: 14, 14.5, 15, 15.5, 16, 16.5, 17, 17.5, 18, 18.5, 19, 19.5, and 20 inches.
8. Form a ring from each of these ropes and bake them for between 12 and 15 minutes until they turn golden brown. Remove them from the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes before removing them from the baking sheets to cool further. You can bake 2 to 3 rings on a single baking sheet.
   
9. After you have baked all of the rings that you were able to make from the dough, construct the icing. In a mixing bowl, mix together the confectioner's sugar, lemon juice, almond extract, and egg whites using a wire whisk. When the icing mixture becomes thick and smooth add it to a pastry bag (or you can use a plastic freezer bag with one small corner cut). Pipe the icing onto the top of each ring. This will help to cement or secure the next ring that is placed on top. Start with the largest ring on the bottom and then add the ring that is 1/2 inch shorter next, until you have used all of your ring. You can add additional icing and candy garnish as you see fit.
10. Serve and enjoy! Store this cake in an air tight container with a couple of slices of apple to keep it moist and chewy.

Norway [ print this recipe for Kransekake (Ring Cake) ]