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Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary

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Bestemor’s Kransekake

Published on November 26, 2012 • Last updated July 18, 2014 by Elizabeth Atia
kransekake

My partner is half Norwegian and remembers, quite fondly, having Kransekake at Christmas-time when he was a child growing up in Norway. His mother (Bestemor – Norwegian for Grandmother) gave me her recipe and every few Christmases I make one for the family. It’s a bit of a laborious procedure, but well worth it. The leftovers freeze really well so you don’t have to worry about eating the whole thing right away.Traditionally small Norwegian flags are used to decorate this cake, and it is made for any sort of celebration (weddings, birthdays, Norwegian Independence Day, etc.) but this year I went for more of a Christmas tree theme with silver balls instead. There is also a tradition of filling the hollow centre of the cake with a nice bottle of something or sweets.

kransekake-collage

Bestemor’s Kransekake

by Elizabeth
A traditional Norwegian celebration cake.
Ingredients
For the dough
    • 500 grams raw almonds
    • 500 grams icing sugar
    • 3-4 egg white
For the icing
  • 75 grams icing sugar
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 egg white
Instructions
Day 1: Bring a pan of water to the boil. Blanch almonds for 60 seconds only. Drain and plunge into cold water. Drain and remove skins. Spread out on a baking tray covered with a tea towel and leave overnight to dry.
Day 2: Grind almonds and mix with icing sugar and one egg white. Transfer to a large saucepan and heat over a low heat. Slowly add two more egg whites, stirring until the dough is hot to touch. Add enough of the remaining egg white, if needed, to make a not too sticky dough. Place in a bowl, cover in clingfilm and chill in the fridge overnight.
Day 3: Roll dough into finger thick circles, place into a kransekake ring pan and bake at 180 C for 12-14 minutes, until very light golden. Allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Make icing and drizzle or pipe in a zig zag pattern over each ring. Assemble, starting with the largest ring first on the bottom and finishing with the smallest while icing is still wet. Fill kransekake with sweets, if desired.
Details

Prep time: 3 days Cook time: 12-14 mins per tray Total time: 3 daysYield: serves 20

As this cake is made from scratch I’m submitting it to Javelin Warrior’s Made with Love Mondays food bloggers round-up. This week the theme is Holiday Recipes.
Made with Love Mondays, hosted by Javelin Warrior
I am also entering it into Calendar Cakes for December 2012 by Dolly Bakes and Laura Loves Cakes who are asking food bloggers to share their favourite festive treats.
Category: Cake, Recipe

About Elizabeth Atia

Daydream adventurer. Expat Canadian. Foodie. Calls Shetland home.

Previous Post: « Pepperkaker
Next Post: East Coast Garlic Fingers & Donair Sauce »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Norsksmith

    December 3, 2016 at 4:52 pm

    Very interesting. My mother-in-law’s recipe uses almond paste. Hers and other one’s I’ve run across mix the almond paste and slightly fluffy egg-whites cold to make a dough which is chilled before forming and baking. Your approach sounds likely to get some structure in the dough before the baking, keeping the rings more circular in cross section. Ours tend to flatten and often flow to adjacent pan ring. I may need to try your approach for comparison.

    Reply
  2. julie

    December 25, 2015 at 11:00 am

    Lovely!! We have blanched ground alomnd flour available here in stores. I imagine we could use that to save time? Would you agree?

    Reply
  3. Laura Loves Cakes

    December 15, 2012 at 10:29 am

    Wow this is amazing…I’ve always admired these but have never been brave enough to try making one! This looks great…really impressive. Thanks also for entering this month’s Calendar Cakes 🙂 P.S I want one of those counter top grinders!

    Reply
  4. Camilla @Fabfood4all

    November 28, 2012 at 12:31 pm

    I so know these as I am half Danish and had 2 as my wedding cakes, my husband called them Madonna’s bra! I have never made Kransakake but if I did I would just use shop bought ground almonds even though I’m sure your’s would taste far better! You’ve spurred me on to make this now – if people don’t want to make such a huge quantity you can just make individual bars and keep them in a cake tin too!

    Reply
  5. Javelin Warrior

    November 28, 2012 at 1:08 am

    I love this! It’s beautiful and sounds so tasty. And while I’m sure it’s quite a pain to make, the end result looks fantastic. Maybe that’s why it’s for special occasions 🙂 I’m so glad you were able to share!

    Reply
  6. Lisa-Jane

    December 13, 2011 at 10:35 pm

    Good grief this looks like a labour of love!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Food Blogger Shares Passion for Seasonal, Local Produce says:
    January 11, 2016 at 1:52 pm

    […] recipes and spices. His mother also taught me some traditional Norwegian recipes such as kransekake, which is an almond flavoured cake shaped in a […]

    Reply
  2. Risalamande (Danish Rice Pudding) with Cherry Sauce - Fab Food 4 All says:
    December 22, 2014 at 3:09 pm

    […] more sweet Christmas inspiration from far afieild check out Bestmore’s Kransakake from Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary or Cape Brandy Pudding from Cook […]

    Reply

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About Elizabeth

Adventurer. Expat Canadian. Foodie. Loves bikes. Calls Shetland home. Read More…

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“Every day is another chance to get stronger, to eat better, to live healthier, and to be the best version of you.”

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