Kransekake is the Norwegian wreath cake, a tower of almond rings stacked with royal icing and dusted with powdered sugar. That makes it the centerpiece for Christmas, New Year or a Scandinavian celebration table. It is built from almond flour, sugar and egg white and nothing else.
Roll every rope the same thickness and never thicker than half an inch. The molds fix the diameter of each ring, so thickness is the only thing you control. Uneven ropes bake unevenly and will not sit flat when you stack them.
This would be gluten free if not for one line. The molds are dusted with semolina, which is wheat. Swap it for rice flour or a little extra almond flour and the whole cake is safe for gluten free guests.
Kransekake
Course: DessertCuisine: Norwegian, ScandinavianDifficulty: Medium4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalAlmond flour milled with powdered sugar and bound with egg white, rolled into ropes and baked in graduated ring molds. The rings are piped with royal icing and stacked into a tower.
Ingredients
- For the Rings:
1 pound almond flour
1 pound confectioners’ sugar
3 large egg whites
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Nonstick baking spray
Finely ground semolina, or rice flour for a gluten free version, for dusting
- For the Royal Icing:
1/2 pound confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
3 tablespoons meringue powder
Food coloring, optional
Directions
- Make the dough: Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 300 degrees F. Pulse the almond flour and 1 pound of the confectioners sugar in a food processor about 10 times, add the egg whites and vanilla, then run it about 20 seconds until the dough forms a ball. It should feel slightly sticky. Shape it into a disc, wrap it tightly and rest it at room temperature 20 minutes.
- Prepare the molds: Spray six kransekake molds with nonstick spray and dust them with finely ground semolina, tapping out the excess. Use rice flour or extra almond flour instead if you need the cake to be gluten free.
- Roll the ropes: Working with a quarter of the dough at a time and keeping the rest covered, roll each piece into a rope long enough to line a mold. Keep the width even and never thicker than half an inch, because that is what makes the rings stack flat. Fill all the molds and set them on two baking sheets.
- Bake and cool: Bake about 20 minutes, rotating halfway, until lightly golden. Cool the rings 10 minutes in the molds, then lift each one out onto a rack for another 10 minutes.
- Ice and stack: Whisk the remaining 1/2 pound confectioners sugar, the meringue powder and 4 tablespoons of water to stiff peaks, tinting it if you like. Pipe icing onto each ring with a small round tip and stack them largest to smallest. Dust the tower with confectioners sugar just before serving.
Notes
- The only wheat in this recipe is the semolina used to dust the molds, so rice flour makes it gluten free. Food Network gives no nutrition figure, so the calories here are calculated from the ingredients at 18 servings.
FAQs
Do I really need kransekake molds?
A set of six graduated ring molds gives the tower its even steps, and it is the one piece of kit this recipe assumes. Without them, draw circles on parchment in half inch steps and lay the ropes on those. The rings spread more but still stack.
Can I use almond meal instead of almond flour?
Almond meal is coarser and keeps the skins, so the dough is grittier and the rings bake darker. Blanched almond flour gives the pale, smooth finish you want under white icing. Either one works, so it is a question of looks.
My dough is crumbly, what do I do?
Three egg whites against two pounds of dry ingredients is a tight ratio, so it can land dry. The dough should pull into a ball in the processor and feel slightly sticky. If it stays sandy, add another white a little at a time.
What holds the tower together?
Royal icing, piped onto each ring before the next one goes on, exactly like mortar. Work from the largest ring up and let each one set a moment before adding the next. The same icing glues a gingerbread house together.
How far ahead can I make it?
Bake the rings up to a week early and keep them in an airtight tin, then stack and ice on the day. Assembled, it holds two or three days before the rings soften. Treat it like these red velvet Christmas tree linzer cookies and build it last.
