Kransekake Recipe
Yield: 1 CakeRecipe by luhu.jp
Ingredients:
17 1/2 ounce: Ground bitter almonds,
17 1/2 ounce: Icing sugar,
3 tbsp: Potato flour,
3: Egg whites,
ICING
5 ounce: Icing sugar,
1: Egg white,
Directions:
This recipe requires bitter almonds. Bitter almonds
are poisonous if eaten raw but baking destroys the
toxins and produces a more concentrated flavour. If
bitter almonds are unavailable, then ordinary almonds
will suffice.
The Story:
Roal Dahl: (...) Like "krokaan" and "riskrem",
"kransekake" (pronounced kranserkaker) is a totally
Norwegian food, which every Norwegian man, woman and
child knows as well as the British know baked beans
and sausages. Happily, it is a good deal more subtle
than either of those bland old British stand-bys.
It is, in fact, a magnificent many-tiered cake made of
ring upon ring of wonderful macaroon-like biscuit, and
no self-respecting Norwegian house is without a
kransekake on the table for the Christmas feast.
At Easter they do it all over again, except that the
kransekake is turned upside-down to make a basket, and
one of the larger rings is broken in two to form
handles for the basket.
Over there they love their kransekake so much that it
has become a sort of national symbol, which they
bedeck with Norwegian flags on these festive occasions
(...). A kransekake is obviously a bit of trouble to
make, but in Norway every mother, sweetheart and cook
thinks that the trouble is well worthwhile, and with
this I heartily agree. It isnt only the actual taste
that is so seductive; it is the aura of grandness this
great towering cake gives to the table that makes it
so splendid.(...)
The Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 400 oF / 200 oC.
Oil the kransekake moulds if you are lucky enough to
have them; dont worry if they are not available.
Sieve the icing sugar and potato flour into a bowl
with the ground almonds.
Very lightly whisk the egg whites until fluffy and mix
into the dry ingredients.
Knead to a soft but firm dough.
Pipe into the moulds or roll the mixture into
5/8-in.-thick ropes on a worktop lightly dusted with
icing sugar. The small rope should be 5 1/2 in. long
and the next 1 in. longer and so on. Make approx 14-15
ropes.
Join the ropes into rings and place on an oiled baking
tray, allowing plenty of room for expansion.
Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes until crisp and golden.
Leave to cool completely before removing.
To assemble, sieve the icing sugar into a bowl.
Add the egg white and beat until smooth.
Make a greaseproof piping bag and fill with some of
the icing. Snip off the point of the bag. Pipe icing
on top of the largest ring and stick the next sized
ring on top. Continue sticking the rings together in
this way to form a pyramid.
Now decorate each ring with a dropped line forming a
scalloped effect.
Norwegians decorate the kransekake with Norwegian
flags and red ribbons tied into bows at Christmas, and
with flowers and eggs at Easter.
From: Felicity and Roald Dahl, Memories with Food at
Gipsy House, Viking, Penguin 1991, ISBN 0-670-83462-9
Typed for you by Rene Gagnaux @ 2:301/212.19 (or
2:301/707.20)
Source from luhu.jp
are poisonous if eaten raw but baking destroys the
toxins and produces a more concentrated flavour. If
bitter almonds are unavailable, then ordinary almonds
will suffice.
The Story:
Roal Dahl: (...) Like "krokaan" and "riskrem",
"kransekake" (pronounced kranserkaker) is a totally
Norwegian food, which every Norwegian man, woman and
child knows as well as the British know baked beans
and sausages. Happily, it is a good deal more subtle
than either of those bland old British stand-bys.
It is, in fact, a magnificent many-tiered cake made of
ring upon ring of wonderful macaroon-like biscuit, and
no self-respecting Norwegian house is without a
kransekake on the table for the Christmas feast.
At Easter they do it all over again, except that the
kransekake is turned upside-down to make a basket, and
one of the larger rings is broken in two to form
handles for the basket.
Over there they love their kransekake so much that it
has become a sort of national symbol, which they
bedeck with Norwegian flags on these festive occasions
(...). A kransekake is obviously a bit of trouble to
make, but in Norway every mother, sweetheart and cook
thinks that the trouble is well worthwhile, and with
this I heartily agree. It isnt only the actual taste
that is so seductive; it is the aura of grandness this
great towering cake gives to the table that makes it
so splendid.(...)
The Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 400 oF / 200 oC.
Oil the kransekake moulds if you are lucky enough to
have them; dont worry if they are not available.
Sieve the icing sugar and potato flour into a bowl
with the ground almonds.
Very lightly whisk the egg whites until fluffy and mix
into the dry ingredients.
Knead to a soft but firm dough.
Pipe into the moulds or roll the mixture into
5/8-in.-thick ropes on a worktop lightly dusted with
icing sugar. The small rope should be 5 1/2 in. long
and the next 1 in. longer and so on. Make approx 14-15
ropes.
Join the ropes into rings and place on an oiled baking
tray, allowing plenty of room for expansion.
Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes until crisp and golden.
Leave to cool completely before removing.
To assemble, sieve the icing sugar into a bowl.
Add the egg white and beat until smooth.
Make a greaseproof piping bag and fill with some of
the icing. Snip off the point of the bag. Pipe icing
on top of the largest ring and stick the next sized
ring on top. Continue sticking the rings together in
this way to form a pyramid.
Now decorate each ring with a dropped line forming a
scalloped effect.
Norwegians decorate the kransekake with Norwegian
flags and red ribbons tied into bows at Christmas, and
with flowers and eggs at Easter.
From: Felicity and Roald Dahl, Memories with Food at
Gipsy House, Viking, Penguin 1991, ISBN 0-670-83462-9
Typed for you by Rene Gagnaux @ 2:301/212.19 (or
2:301/707.20)
Source from luhu.jp
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Cakes