Kransekake - a Scandinavian tradition

As there was not a lot of time for my normal Christmas preparations, working in Scotland this autumn, I had to find some easier solutions that in addition to being relatively easy to make, looked nice when our family came for dinner on Christmas Eve.
While still in Scotland, I had seen Paul Hollywood making Kransekake with Mary Berry on BBC and was reminded that Kransekake in addition to tasting fantastic looks festive and fun.

It is also quite easy to make as long as you are a little patient. To make it you will need kransekake moulds to help you make the rings the correct size to make the cake tower.

Ingredients - cake
250 g blanched almonds
250 g almonds
500 g icing sugar
3-4 egg whites
melted butter
semolina

Ingredients - icing

2 egg whites1.8 dl sifted icing sugar1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Blanch half of the almonds and leave to dry for a while to make them easier to grind. Then grind all the almonds and mix the ground almonds with the icing sugar. Gradually add the egg whites and knead the dough. Continue adding egg whites until the dough comes together. (The amount of egg whites needed might vary). When the dough has come together, wrap it with cling film and place in the fridge for a couple of hours or leave it over night.

Pre-heat the oven to 210° C. Lightly brush the inside of the moulds with melted butter. Drizzle a little of semolina in each mould and tip the moulds to distribute the semolina evenly, shake out any excess.

Divide the kransekake dough into six even sized pieces. Take one of the pieces and divide into three pieces. Slightly dust your work surface with flour and roll the dough into finger thick lengths that are long enough to be wrapped around the karansekake mould. One of the six pieces should make 3 rings, one large, one medium and one small. Try to make the rings as even in width as possible as that will give the best result when you assemble the cake. I alays make the two largest rings last, If I do not have enough dough (that is I have made the other rings a little too thick), at least I can still make the cake tower.

Bake the Kransekake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. It should still be fairly pale when you remove it from the oven, if you bake them for too long, they will become dry.
Let cool in the moulds until firm and then remove and continue cooling on a wire rack.

To get the best consistency, you can freeze the cooled rings for 24 hrs or longer, then remove from the freezer and assemble the rings the day you plan to serve the cake.

Sort the cake rings after size. Make the icing by whisking the egg whites until frothy, gradually add the sifted icing sugar and cram of Tartar. Whisk until the icing is glossy and forms peaks when removing the whisks. Spoon the icing into a piping bag with a small nozzle.
Start by piping 4 dots of icing on the largest ring and fasten the ring to the tray. Pipe a zig-zag pattern (see picture) covering the ring and place the second largest ring on top of the largest ring and continue the process until the cake is assembled.

This time I decorated my cake with flowers that I made of sugar paste. It looks nice and festive I think.