Kransekage
On August 23rd Joseph and I will be celebrating our Silver Wedding Anniversary, 25 years together with my Soulmate, my Best Friend and the Love of my Life. When I first met Joseph on that bus stop in Danmark and he looked at me and smiled, my life changed forever. Our lives together has been an adventure that I could never have imagined, not even in my wildest dreams.
Our wedding was held in Denmark and it was a small intimate affair filled with Danish customs, lots of singing , great food and drinks. It was a really fun wedding and the last of the guests did not leave until 4 am the following morning. The wedding cake we had was not anything like the big, beautiful American style wedding cakes you see today but rather a simple, yet elegant, classic Danish festive cake. The cake is called a Kransekage and it is used for festive events like weddings, baptisms and it is typically also served on New Years Eve. It is made with Marzipan and it’s crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.
My husband Joseph was the one who suggested that I should make our wedding cake for our 25th Wedding Anniversary. My first instinct was “no way! that’s much too complicated and involved”. But of course, then I got curious and so I started looking around to see what I could find and eventually I saw Mette Blomsterberg’s TV show “Det Søde Liv” and she made it look soooo easy. And really when you think about it, it’s not that complicated, but all technique and a lengthy process.
Ingredients:
Cake:
500 gram Marzipan (cut into slices)
150 gram confectioners sugar
40 gram pasteurized egg whites
Glaze:
75 gram confectioners sugar (sifted),( plus more if needed)
30 gram pasteurized egg whites
Directions:
For the Cake: In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, place 150 grams confectioners sugar and half of the pasteurized egg whites. Start the mixer on low and add marzipan pieces one by one and the remaining egg whites. When the cake mass is homogeneous, remove from mixer and place in a zip lock bag. Store in refrigerator for at least 2 hours but preferably until the following day.
Double up two large baking sheets for extra insulation to avoid burning the bottom of cake. Use parchment paper.
Note: when rolling out marzipan, wash and dry your hands as often as needed to avoid them getting sticky. Divide marzipan mass into 250 grams portions. If marzipan feels a little sticky use a small amount of confectioners sugar to roll is into logs. Roll each portion into an 80 cm long log that’s even in thickness. Lightly tap the log with the palm of your hand along the edge towards you, to form a slight soft triangular-shaped log. Using an icing spatula or a regular spatula loosen marzipan from tabletop by pressing down hard while sliding spatula under the log. Measure off marzipan into exactly 8 cm, 10 cm, 12 cm, 14 cm etc until all marzipan is used up. Don’t forget to make sure there is a little leftover marzipan to form the round top for the cake.
Each measured out piece of marzipan is now formed into rings, pressing gently at the seam. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using the left over marzipan, roll a small ball that fit on top of the smallest ring, and press it slightly flat. When all rings are formed, use another baking sheet to gently press down on top of all ring to ensure they have the same height. Bake in a preheated 200 degree C (390 degree F) oven for 14 to 18 minutes. Carry in mind that the larger rings may need a little more baking time. Place rings on a rack to allow cooling completely.
For the glaze: Beat together sifted confectioners sugar and pasteurized egg whites on high-speed for at least 5 minutes. The glaze should be pretty thick and no longer flow together when beaters are stopped. Add more sifted confectioners sugar as needed. Load glaze into a decorating bag fitted with a size 2 round tip or make a cone out of parchment paper or use a plastic bag and cut a very tiny hole at the tip.
Place the largest ring on your serving plate. Begin decorating, moving the tip back and forth across the ring making sure to extend the tip out over the edge of ring to allow the glaze to droop down the outside in a loop style fashion. Place the second largest ring on top of the first ring and continue decorating, repeating until the smallest ring. Top cake off with the flattened ball on top. Allow glaze to dry at room temperature for a couple of hours before covering with plastic if cake is to be served in the following days. Enjoy.
Kransekage
My uncle Harald made the bride and grooms wedding clothes from tiny glass pearls. To this day he still gives me small pearl figures and designs. Amazing 🙂
Kransekage
Source: Det Søde Liv – Mette Blomsterberg
My Danish Kitchen 
How long would this cake keep for? Freezing not an option.
Hi Abi, I asked around and since freezing is not an option for you the cake should keep approx 5 days.
Thank you very much! I’ll let you know how I get on :xl
Guess what I’m making next week? Yup a Kransekage for a friends wedding next week. His grandmother was Danish, so he loves the idea of it. My sister Gitte, gave me the Kransekage forms a couple of years ago, and I’ve been looking for an excuse to make one. Happy Thanksgiving.
Sid, it’s a really fun project. Happy Thanksgiving 🍁
Happy Anniversary, I love the pictures!
Thank you Lisa 🙂
Tillykke! Nice job on the cake! My husband and I had the traditional American style wedding cake, but I so wish we could’ve had both styles of cake at our reception – the guests would have loved to have seen that.
Not sure where in the world you are now, but I live in Karup, so Viborg is just around the corner 🙂
Pattie, you made my day!! It is such a small world that we live in. I am from the next town over Kølvrå and part of my school was in Karup where I also played håndbold (handball) in KKIK. I now live in Virginia Beach, VA. I hope you are fairing well in Denmark, I know it is a huge adjustment. Btw, I checked out you blog and it’s great, I’ll have to go back and read some more.
Oh the pressure … now I have to write some more in my blog! I’ve fallen into the laziness trap of never writing. I go to Zumba at the Jethallen!! I hope you did okay through the recent earthquake!
They have Zumba now? That sounds like fun!
And yes we did fine in the earthquake. Thank goodness it was just a little one.
Happy Anniversary. What a lovely cake a so fitting to celebrate with. I have never heard of this cake before. Simply beautiful.
Congratulations !!! You are a Beautiful Bride and I love how your weddings do not end till 4am, that’s the Polish way too. I love Marzipan it is one of my favorites, even though I am not sure I will be making your wedding cake soon, maybe only a little ring 😉
Wow congratulations! That is such a sweet story… so romantic! The cake is beautiful too and looks delicious. Congrats again and enjoy your anniversary!
happy anniversary lovely dessert to celebrate
how did I wind up with the pink thing as my tag line!?! hahaha
I specifically made sure that the pink icon got assigned to you Vince, you look good in pink 🙂
Happy Anniversary! Cake looks great – you should make one for your husbands hammer grunges. hahaha. too much work. Hope you had a great day!! You guys are great together. See ya at the forge!!!!
Happy Anniversary! this is such a thing of beauty:) i love it.
Thank you everyone for your very nice comments on this post. It was a real challenge making this cake but also a lot of fun and boy did it dissapear quickly 🙂
That cake is something that I’ve never seen before, but I would seriously looooove to make it!
And look at that gorgeous bride!
Happy aniversary, Gitte! You look so beautiful in your wedding dress 🙂 I have never tried this kind of cake before but it does look so tempting 🙂
Happy Anniversary. When I got married, a friend of my mothers’ made the Kransekage for our wedding, and we also had a Canadian style cake, which my sister decorated. And now, between she and my brother, they are responsible for all the wedding cakes in our family, since my brother makes the most amazing Kransekage’s, and my sister makes the Canadian style cakes. My brother made one for my 25th wedding anniversary and I shared it with my sister for her 50th birthday. It was great. One side was the Anniversary and the other was the birthday side.
First: Congratulations!!! 25 years is a great anniversary to celebrate 🙂 The hubby and I celebrated ours, but only 2 years on our side 🙂
Also, very beautiful wedding photos, both seem so happy and excited!
As for the cake: wow! First time I see such a cake — it’s really nice and original! I love it 🙂 it must have required much patience though!
Many congratulations on your milestone anniversary! It’s a lucky couple who can make it together for that long these days. Enjoy your special day, and thanks for sharing!
Happy Anniversary, Gitte! Nice wedding photos. I have eaten the cake before, but never got up enough nerve to make it myself. The taste is amazing and it makes for a wonderful presentation. Thanks for sharing and enjoy your special day with Joseph!