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Kransekake (Macaroon Wedding Cake)
Prep time: 40 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Total time: 1 hour 20 mins
Serves: Lots
Ingredients
665g pure icing sugar
665g ground almonds
4 egg whites
10 drops almond essence
Royal icing
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 egg white
Special Equipment
eye dropper (for essence)
Kransekake ring pans (set of 6 with three ring tracks each)
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Using a food processor, grind together the icing sugar and almond meal (in two batches).
Tip into a large mixing bowl and then add egg whites and almond essence.
Mix together until the mixture becomes a smooth dough.
Break off approximately a quarter of the dough and wrap the rest in cling wrap to stop it from drying out.
Roll the dough into a long rope until its the thickness of your thumb.
Fit the ‘rope’ to the tracks of the ring pan and pinch off. Smooth the join as best you can by pressing the ends together. Repeat for the remaining tracks to create three dough rings.
Carefully turn dough rings out onto baking paper lined tray. Repeat with remaining pans.
Bake rings for approx 12-15min until slightly coloured. They should be dry and firm on the outside but slightly chewy on the inside.
Allow to cool on tray for five minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Royal icing
Sift or whizz your icing sugar in a food processor and place into a mixmaster bowl.
Add the egg white and mix on low speed until egg white is incorporated and then on medium speed until icing is smooth.
Fit a piping bag with a small plain piping tip.
Load up your piping bag with icing,
To assemble
Arrange your rings on a large workspace in the correct ascending order.
Glue your largest (bottom) tier to your cake stand.
Pipe a scalloped garland of icing along the top of the ring and attach the next ring (the icing sticks it together).
Repeat with remaining rings.
Decorate as desired.
Allow to set for at least two hours, then sit back and get ready for all the compliments to roll in!
Notes
The recipe is simple enough – almonds, icing sugar and egg whites. I cheat and use ready-ground almond meal and use a food processor to whizz the icing sugar with the almond meal so I don’t have to sift it (purists would grind the nuts themselves and sift it with the icing sugar).
IÂ’ve added almond essence to imitate the taste of bitter almonds.
The quantity of dough is deliberately generous. This means you can bake a test ring to work out optimum baking time (and taste test it!) Left over dough can be made into small cookies and frozen.
Kransekake should have a firm crust and chewy texture.