One of my co-workers is retiring. She is the librarian for our Assistive Technology-Instructional Materials library at the Special Education collaborative I work for.
Not only is my friend super amazing, we spent some fun times outside of work going swing dancing so I wanted to do something extra, extra special for her retirement. It helped that we had two parties for her.
Our first party was at the office. I made her a Kransekaka (I have made it before, see the link here for Rings of Glory for more information). I tried a different recipe, nearly identical to this link from Artic Grub.
The difference from the online recipe is that I made chocolate icing and put on little flower shaped sprinkles. Traditionally you put a bottle of wine inside. But I didn't want anyone to get in trouble at work, so there is a small bottle of lemon flavored Perrier inside.
Later in the month we had a party outside of work at a local bar and grill. Here is where I got more creative. Since she is a librarian, I made books on a stick!
Here is how I made them:
1. I made a from scratch, yellow cake in a cookie sheet (or jelly roll pan, which is what we called them growing up) and cut them into rectangles
2. I melted a few candy melts in a bowl. I dipped the sticks into the candy and then poked
the rectangles. I froze the cake pops for 30 minutes.
3. I dipped the cake pops in white candy melts and let them dry. Sorry no picture of that.
4. Then I cut the sugar sheets into rectangles with a kitchen scissors.
I wrote on a few of the sugar sheet rectangles with Wilton writing pens (food coloring). Treating the candy melts like glue, I spread a little of melted candy on the cake pop. I wrapped the cut sugar sheet around the cake pop like a book cover.
5. Then I rolled out some shape-n-amaze edible dough and cut out book mark shapes with a knife. I used a little melted candy as glue again to keep the bookmark on the cake pop.
Ta-da!
Then I ran out of sugar sheets! Here is the bad part about baking at 11pm at night. No store with sugar sheets would be open. So I had to improvise. I rolled out some of the shape and amaze and used it as book covers. I used scraps of yellow sugar sheets to make yellow bookmarks.
The best was that my friend LOVED the the cake pops and they were completely personalized to her.
Now Bake That!
It's a bird, it's a plane, its a cookie beehive!
Okay, it's not a cookie beehive.
It's a Kransekaka.
Not a kreme-de-la-kaka. Not a krala-la-lala. Not a krans-a-what-do-you-call-it.
It actually has several spellings: Kransekaka/Kransekake/Kransekage
It has several translations: Scandinavian wreath cake, Danish/Norweigan wedding cake, ring cake, ring tree cake, or ring pyramid cake.
What is a Kransekaka really? It's a concentric ring of stacked, iced almond cookies.
It tastes like a French Macaroon. However, unlike a macaroon, you can hide a half bottle of wine or liquor under this little beauty. It's from Scandinavia, so it's beige. Like the other Scandinavian foods I remember: Sandbakkels, Rosettes, Krumkake, Lefse, and Swedish Meatballs. All beige. I'm not saying Scandinavian only eat beige foods. No no no. They just have a lot of them.
Traditionally it is made in Scandinavia for special occasions (mostly weddings, but it is not strictly a wedding cake). It's decorated with flags. You are supposed to take off the top tiers to reveal the wine bottle. Then serve the largest rings first, breaking into pieces. If there is no bottle, obviously you can serve it top down.
As I mentioned in blogs past, I'm a Minnesota native. Minnesota is full of hockey loving, beige colored food eating, blue eyed, blonde haired Scandinavians. So it was typical for me to go in a local bakery (even some grocery store bakeries) and see a pretty, beige kransekaka in the display window. My sisters and all had them at our weddings. Now I live in Missouri. I brought one of these suckers to a party and suddenly people are perplexed. What's that?!?
The one I made above was for a medal party. A friend of mine is a two time, bronze medal winner for paralympics in track. So I made her a kransekaka for her party because:
A. It's circular, like the medals she just won in London.
(I am an occupational therapist, and we just love themes.)
B. She was finally eating sugar again.
C. It's awesome.
Okay! On to making one.
First you need the tins. Technically you could make them without the tins, but I think it would be hard to judge the sizes. You get them online. One place is through Ingebretsen's Scandinavian Gifts, which is a shop in Minneapolis that I love going to.
I have two recipes: my Grandma's (well her friend Bertha's) and the one from the box of tins (which is gluten and dairy free by the way)
Bertha's Ring Tree Cake (Kransekake)
2 c butter, softened
1 8oz can almond paste, cut into chunks
2 c sifted powdered sugar
2 tsp almond extract
4 egg yolks, beaten
5c flour
Icing (recipe follows)
Preheat the oven 350 degrees. Grease the tins. Using an electric mixed, blend together butter, almond paste, sugar and almond extract until smooth. Beat 4 eggs in well. Measure flour and then sift. Add flour in gradually. With your hands roll 1/2 inch diameter strands of dough (width of index finger) or use a pastry bag with #6 tube. Place in well greased tins. Bake 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until delicately browned. Prepare frosting and place into pastry bag. Place rings on a plate. Assemble the cake by starting with the largest ring, frosting as you go, and stacking one on top of the other.
Frosting:
1 c powdered sugar
2 tbsp whipping cream
2 tbsp vanilla
*Tips: I use either a food processor a stick blender to make the initial dough (before the flour). Then I use a hand mixer to mix in the flour. Then I use a cookie press with a pastry holder (no tip) to get the dough in the tins. It's easier. Trust me.
Kransekage
3 c almond paste
1 1/2c granulated sugar
3 egg whites, slightly beaten
Break almond paste into small chunks, add sugar and egg whites. Mix thoroughly with an electric mixer (or food processor/stick blender). Fill a pastry bag with a number 6 tip. Grease the tins (really well). Bake 325 degrees for 20 minutes until surface is crusty and golden brown. Remove cookie from the rings as soon as they are cooled. Use the point of a knife to loosen the outer edge of the cake ring and then loosen the inner edge. It will come out if baked thoroughly.
Frosting
1 egg white
3-4 drops vinegar
confectioner's sugar to make a thin icing
Mix ingredients until smooth and well blended. Place icing in decorating bag with icing tip. Starting with the largest ring, make drizzels and scallops on the top/sides, stack the next size ring on the top and repeat.
Now Bake That!
