Danish Wedding Tower Kransekage Food

PAUL'S KRANSEKAKE

Steps:

• Place the ground almonds and icing sugar in a large electric mixer. Add the egg whites and almond extract and mix with a dough hook. This could be done by hand but is easier with a mixer due to the large quantities. Cover the bowl with cling film and chill in the fridge for a minimum of two hours, or preferably overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/400G/Gas 6.
• Lightly brush the insides of the kransekake moulds with vegetable oil. Sprinkle a little semolina into each mould and tip the moulds to distribute the semolina evenly around the inside, shaking out any excess.
• Divide the chilled dough into six equal-sized pieces.
• Divide one of the pieces of dough into three different-sized pieces: one small, one medium and one large. Dust a work surface lightly with flour and roll each piece out into finger-width lengths that are long enough to wrap round the kransekake moulds.
• Fit the longest piece of dough inside the largest kransekake ring, pressing the ends together to seal. Do the same with the medium-sized and smallest pieces of dough. Repeat this process with the remaining five pieces of dough.
• Bake the kransekakes in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until golden-brown, then remove from the oven and set aside to cool in their moulds until hardened. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, for the icing, whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until frothy. Gradually whisk in the icing sugar a spoonful at a time, until stiff, glossy peaks form when the whisk is removed.
• Spoon half of the icing into a separate bowl and add the red food colouring. Whisk until the icing is bright red, then spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a small plain writing nozzle. Spoon the white icing into a separate piping bag fitted with a small plain writing nozzle.
• To assemble the kransekake, sort the cooked rings into size order.
• Pipe a few dots of white icing onto the base of the largest ring and stick it to a large serving plate.
• Pipe zig-zag patterns onto the largest ring using first the white, then the red icing, overlapping the two. Sprinkle with red, green and silver edible glitter.
• Place the second-largest ring on top of the largest ring and repeat the icing and decorating process.
• Continue to stack the rings in decreasing size order until you have a tower of 18 iced and glittery rings. Allow the icing to set (this will stick the rings to each other), then serve.

KRANSEKAKE

Steps:

• Arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F.
• Add the almond flour and 1 pound of the confectioners' sugar to a food processor. Pulse about 10 times to combine. Add the egg whites and vanilla extract. Run the processor for about 20 seconds until the dough forms into a ball; it will be slightly sticky. Remove the dough from the food processor and form it into a disc. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
• Spray the kransekake molds with nonstick spray and sprinkle with semolina, tapping off any excess.
• Working with a quarter of the dough at a time, roll it out into a rope long enough to wrap into each mold. The width should be even and no thicker than 1/2 inch. (Keep the unused dough covered with plastic wrap.) Repeat the process until all the molds are filled. Transfer the molds to 2 baking sheets.
• Bake until lightly golden, about 20 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the molds. Carefully remove each ring from the molds onto cooling racks for 10 minutes.
• To make the royal icing, add the remaining 1/2 pound confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 4 tablespoons water to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk until stiff peaks form. If desired, stir a few drops of food coloring into the icing with a rubber spatula. Put the royal icing into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe icing onto each ring and stack them, largest to smallest. Dust with confectioners' sugar right before serving.

DANISH WEDDING TOWER (KRANSEKAGE)

Steps:

• Box of 25 flags on little sticks (1-1½ inch size).
• Platter size paper dollies.
• Using a stand mixer combine marzipan, sugar till it has formed on large ball. Add egg whites little by little.
• Test dough by rolling a small cigar-size ball and form as a ring, if the dough does not crack, you have enough egg white inches.
• The dough will be very dense and sticky.
• Place in refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours, or even better over night.
• Pre-heat oven at 400 degrees F or 200°C.
• Divide dough into 8 pieces or by weight
• 1 10g, 2 20g, 3 30g 4 40g etc.
• Rolling each into finger thick sticks.
• Making the first piece into 3.5 inches,
• Then the next into 5, inches,
• Then the next into 6.5, adding 1.5 inch in length for each piece.
• Make at least 8 pieces.
• Shape them into rings.
• Joining the ends with a little egg white or water.
• Press gently to pitch the middle of the ring a little, like roof tops pointing upwards.
• Place on floured or parchment papered baking sheets.
• Tip: I draw circles on the parchment papers back with a compass, and then place the rings on top side, where I can still see the circles, to make them as even a possible.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes till they are light brown on top.
• Leave to cool off completely, then.
• If freezing, wrap in freezer bags and place in freezer for up till 3 months.
• Defrost the day before intended use.
• Decorations:.
• Draw 24 small hearts, and 24 small wedding circles, or butterflies or other theme items (max. 1 inch in diameter) on the back of parchment paper with a medium to large marker.
• Turn paper over and.
• Melt chocolate in the micro-oven or in a double boiler.
• Fill into a decorator bag with a small fitting.
• Trace chosen patterns with the warm chocolate and let cool completely. Save a little chocolate for attaching the
• Icing:.
• Do icing several hours before you plan to assemble the tower.
• Combine powdered sugar and egg whites for the icing, and fill into a decorator bag or a Ziploc bag, using a very small whole to make a criss-cross pattern from outside edge to inside edge and back again,
• Start with the largest ring, creating the zigzag pattern continue in unbroken pattern all the way around the ring.
• hen do the next biggest ring, and while icing is still wet on the biggest one, place the slightly smaller ring on top. Icing will bind them together.
• Then keep going till you have a small tower.
• Icing takes about 40-60 minutes to harden.
• Melt 2/3 of the chocolate
• Pour into zip lock bag, and carefully cut the one corner, so a very small stream of chocolate comes out at the time.
• Make your chocolate designs on parchment paper or buy plain chocolate rings.
• Place one dollies on a serving platter.
• Place the largest ring on the dollies
• Place 3 small globs of chocolate on the bottom ring.
• Carefully place next biggest ring on top, and place 3 globs of chocolate on it.
• Placing the next biggest ring on top, continue till you have a tower.
• Heat the last chocolate.
• And place a small glob of chocolate on the bottom ring on the side.
• Attach chocolate designs (wedding rings or what you desire) by pressing gently into chocolate globs and holding for a second.
• Move up the rings placing your chocolate designs up the tower.
• Attach flags in between chocolate designs.
• And a bridal figure on top.
• Your wedding tower is ready.
• Enjoy.
• Reverse the tower and make a bassinet for a baby shower. See additional pictures.

KRANSEKAKE

Steps:

• Dough: Place almonds in a food processor and process to form fine crumbs, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and salt and process until well combined and powder-like, about 1 minute. Add egg whites and process until a dough forms (it will have the texture of cookie dough). Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 300°F with oven rack in the middle. Brush a set of 6 kransekake molds with butter. Divide dough in half. Working with one half of dough at a time, cut into small portions and roll into ropes that are slightly thicker than the diameter of a pencil (about 3/8-inch-to-1/2-inch thick). Fit ropes into rings of 3 molds, trimming to fit. Place molds on an unrimmed baking sheet and bake until puffed and lightly golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• Transfer molds to a wire rack and let cool completely on baking sheet. Repeat shaping and baking process with remaining half of dough and remaining 3 molds. Carefully remove rings from molds.
• Royal Icing: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine confectioners' sugar and egg whites. Mix on medium-high speed until combined and thickened, about 8 minutes. If decorating with more than one color, divide icing into batches. Using the end of a toothpick, add food coloring until the desired shade is achieved.
• To Assemble: Sort rings in order of size. Fill a piping bag with icing and pipe a few dots onto the base of the largest ring and adhere to a cake plate. Pipe icing onto the base of next largest ring, and stack on top of the first ring. Repeat process, continuing to stack rings in decreasing size to form a tower of 18 rings. Decorate as desired. Allow icing to set before serving.