Рецепт Kransekage (Danish Wreath Cake) part one
I made my first Kransekage for a friend's wedding recently. And had so much fun with it.
And yes it's a trifle over the top, but hey, it's a WEDDING CAKE!!!
The ribbons on the cake are for the separate heritages of the bride and groom. A little Danish, a little Italian, a little Polish and some American. The flags are for their favorite football teams, there was a game that day. They both love football.
A Kransekage or Danish Wreath Cake is a traditional cake made for celebrations in a Dane's life. They're made for weddings, birthdays, special events, celebrations and Christmas.
I had one at my wedding, many years ago. A friend of my parents, Anna Hansen made it. She was known for her Kransekage back then. My sister made my other wedding cake, which was a traditional Canadian cake, a wonderful moist fruitcake covered in fondant. And the tradition continued. Although my brother took over making the cakes. He's one amazing baker.
If anyone is getting married or having a major life celebration, he's got the cake for it. He also makes his own almond paste. I'm not that ambitious. I bought mine.
I got the basic recipe from My Danish Kitchen, and then looked in all my Danish cookbooks (I've got a few and some are even in English). And basically got a consensus. (OK so I averaged it out)
The basic recipe is Almond Paste, Egg Whites and Confectioners Sugar. You can also use regular sugar, but I choose not to. I'm just not that ambitious.
Yet.
This recipe makes 18 rings, which is exactly how many I needed for the cake. And did I mention I have special pans to bake them in? No, well I do, thanks to one of my sister's gifting me them a couple of years ago.
Recipe: Kransekage
750 grams Almond Paste (3 boxes of Solo Almond Paste 8 oz or 227 gram boxes)
2-3 egg whites, lightly beaten (I used Extra Large Ones)
4 cups Confectioners sugar
Using a stand mixer, if you have one, add the egg whites and half the confectioners sugar to the bowl. Start it on low, and mix, as soon as it is mixed add the remainder of the sugar. Mix well. Open the packages of Almond Paste and chop them up into smaller pieces. Or crumble them using your fingers. Add to the mixing bowl a little at a time, letting it incorporate, (not all at once like I did. sheesh). Mix it well. Once it's all incorporated, dump it out onto a clean work surface. Divide the dough in half. Wrap it well, and put into the refrigerator for a couple of hours. It needs to rest and get over the strenuous activity. You can even leave it in the fridge overnight. The next day or a few hours later, take out the dough and knead it a little. Then divide half of it into thirds and the other half into quarters. (We're doing some math here, sorta). This is kinda tricky here. You're going to be making 18 rings, but those rings are not all the same size.
I used rings that are made for Kransekage, which is kinda cheating, but not. It has graduated sizes so that when the Kransekage is baked, they can stack properly.
Grease the pans with some cooking spray and sprinkle a little semolina in, this helps them to release from the forms. Once you have the dough divided you want to roll it out into ropes about as big around as a finger. I like to roll out all the dough, and make sure it's all the same size.
This is a very sticky dough and you'll need to wash your hands a lot while handling it. Trust me on this, it loves to stick to the fingers. Although, and pardon me purists, I took a little confectioners sugar and sprinkled it on the dough as I was rolling it into ropes and it made it a lot easier to work with. Not a lot, just enough to stop the major sticky part. Take each rope, and coil it around on the pans, starting with the largest ring first. Pinch the ends together to make the ring. I started with the largest and worked my way down to the smallest.
As you put each ring into the form, smooth it out as best you can so that it looks even (ish). Once you're finished with them all, you need to bake them.
I put them on a rimmed baking pan, and was able to fit three rings on each one.
Bake at 390 degrees for about 15-18 minutes or until the rings are done. Take them out and let them cool a little in the ring forms. Tomorrow I'll tell you how to assemble and decorate and will also share a few pictures of some of the Kransekage which graced various weddings and celebrations I've attended. I think I might even have a few pictures tucked away pre-digital age, and I'll see if I can find those and scan them in.