In Denmark, we eat Kransekage on New Year’s Eve, right at midnight, while cheering and toasting the year ahead. You’ll sometimes see it at other celebrations too, but New Year’s is where kransekage really belongs.
The cake is made from an almond base and shaped into rings that are stacked into a tower. The texture is chewy, slightly crisp on the outside, and deeply almond flavored. You can make kransekage completely from scratch, but the easiest and most reliable way by far is to start with Danish Marcipan.
Notes
Danish marcipan is very different from most marzipan or almond paste sold outside Denmark. It has a much higher almond content, typically 60 percent or more, and less sugar. That’s what gives kransekage its characteristic flavor and texture. If you’re baking outside Denmark and only have regular marzipan or almond paste, I recommend adding a bit of almond flour to increase the almond content and keep the cake from turning overly sweet.
Kransekage keeps well for several days in an airtight container, and some people even prefer it a day or two after baking, when the texture becomes extra chewy.
Recipe: Kransekage – A Danish New Year’s Eve Classic
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small kransekage tower, enough for 8-10 personsKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
- Kransekage dough
500 g Danish marcipan (about 1.1 lb)
150 g confectioners sugar (about 1¼ cups)
2 egg whites
- Glaze
200 g confectioners sugar (about 1⅔ cups)
1 egg white
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
- Cut the marcipan into small pieces and place them in a bowl. Add the confectioners sugar and mix until combined. Add the egg whites one at a time and knead or mix until you have a smooth, pliable dough. The dough should be soft but able to hold its shape.
- When shaping the dough, make 5–6 rings in gradually decreasing sizes so they can be stacked into a tower. The largest ring should be the base, with each ring slightly smaller than the one below it. Roll the dough into ropes of even thickness, then shape them into circles, adjusting the diameter as you go. It doesn’t have to be perfect, part of the charm of kransekage is that it looks a little rustic.
- Place the rings on a parchment lined baking sheet. If you have leftover dough, you can make smaller pieces of Kransekage to serve on the side.
- Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, until the rings are lightly golden. Keep an eye on them, as they can go from pale to too dark very quickly. Let the rings cool completely on the baking sheet.
- For the glaze, whisk the confectioners sugar and egg white together until smooth. The glaze should be thick and pipeable, not runny. Add a few drops of extra egg white if needed, but go slowly.
- Transfer the glaze to a piping bag or a small plastic bag with the corner snipped off, and pipe a zigzag pattern over each ring. Let the glaze set completely before stacking the rings into a tower.
- Serve it the Danish way, at midnight on New Year’s Eve, with champagne.
