My Danish Kitchen

Shrimp and Feta Cheese Quiche

October 31, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Shrimp and Feta Cheese Quiche

This recipe is from an old Everyday magazine. I had made this quiche a couple of times and my guests always loved it. It’s the kind of quiche that dissappears from the pie dish in no time at all. Then I lost the magazine and I tried to recreate it from memory but something was missing. I looked everywhere for that magazine, or so I thought, until one day recently I was cleaning out a closet and found a stack of old food magazines. What a find! To me old food magazines are like new food magazines and so I started reading them again and sure enough I found the long lost Shrimp and Fata Cheese Quiche recipe. I absolutely have to share this recipe with you because I know that you’ll love it. The feta cheese gives the quiche a wonderful slight tartness and the combination of shrimp, roasted red pepper and chives is just fantastic. I hope you enjoy this quiche as much as I do. I wonder what else is in that closet?

Ingredients:

1 sheet store-bought refrigerated pie dough, at room temperature

1 tbsp unsalted butter

8 oz large shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 extra large eggs

1/2 cup half-and-half

1 tbsp minced chives

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup jarred roasted red pepper, diced

3 oz crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Press the dough into a 9 inch pie or tart dish. Pierce the bottom of dough with a fork. Place tart dish on a baking sheet and line inside of pie dough with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and weights and reduce heat to 375 degrees F. Continue to bake dough until golden, about 12 minutes. Let tart shell cool on a wire rack.

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Add shrimp to pan and cook for 2 minutes just until opaque, flipping shrimp half-way through. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, chives, salt and pepper. Arrange the shrimp, red pepper and feta cheese in pie shell and cover with the egg mixture.

Bake quiche in the 375 degrees oven for 25 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle of the pie comes out clean. Cool quiche for 10 minutes and serve. Enjoy.

Shrimp and Feta Cheese Quiche

Source: slightly adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine

Posted in Appetizers, Main course, Seafood, Side dish | Tagged cheese, eggs, feta, half-and-half, pepper, Pie, quiche, red, roashed, shrimp, tart | 9 Comments »

Ghost Pretzels and Driver Days

October 24, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Ghost Pretzels

Halloween is almost here and I wanted to sneak in one more Halloween themed post. These Ghost Pretzels are fun and very easy to make and they bring a smile to the faces of children and adults alike. I brought these with me to my husbands Blacksmith demo in Driver, Virginia and they were all gobbled down by the hungry Blacksmiths.

Driver Days

Driver Days is a Fall festival in Suffolk, Virginia and it’s an event which I look forward to each year. Driver is a wonderful, quaint little town which manages to put on a great event every October. There’s good music, arts and crafts for sale, fun activities for the kids, a classic car show, cute Blacksmiths which smile at you (ok, so that’s my husband smiling at me) and lots of good food and baked goods.

Back to the Ghost Pretzels. Of couse there is no real recipe for making the Ghost Pretzels so I feel a little silly posting one. But that’s what foodies do, they photograph and post recipes for everything, so here goes.

Ingredients:

1 bag of pretzel rods

14 oz bag of Vanilla flavored Candy Wafers (or white chocolate morsels)

edible ink marker

Directions:

Melt white chocolate over a warm water bath or in the microwave. Pour melted chocolate into a tall thin glass and dip pretzel rods into chocolate. Place pretzel rods onto parchment paper or stand up in a cup to allow white chocolate to dry. Once chocolate has hardened draw faces using an edible ink marker (which can be found at local craft and baking stores as well as online).

Source: Savory Sweet Life, originally from PBS Parents

Posted in Autumn, Chocolate, Quick and Easy | Tagged autumn, blacksmith, chocolate, Driver, fall, ghost, halloween, pretzel, Virginia | 10 Comments »

Pumpkin Smoothie

October 17, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Pumpkin Smoothie

Fall is filled with beautiful colors, cool air, baked goods and lots of pumpkins. And so here is another pumpkin recipe that I wanted to share with you. It’s a wonderful Pumpkin Smoothie and it can be made with either vanilla yogurt or milk for a thinner version, either way it’s super delicious. If your making it with yogurt I would recommend using a regular yogurt instead of a greek yogurt to avoid that sometimes “dry after-taste” you notice with greek yogurt.

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful season as much as I am. 🙂

Pumpkin Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

6 oz vanilla yogurt or 3/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp light brown sugar

4 ice cubes

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour smoothie into a tall glass and decorate with a dollop of vanilla yogurt or chipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Enjoy!

Source: slightly adapted from familyfun.go.com

Posted in Autumn, Breakfast, Drinks, Quick and Easy, Smoothie | Tagged autumn, cinnamon, fall, halloween, milk, pumpkin, smoothie, yogurt | 2 Comments »

Whoopie Pumpkin Pies

October 10, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Whoopie Pumpkien Pies

Fall is quickly approaching and I am starting to see pumpkins and Halloween decorations all over the place. If you follow my blog then you know that I am a huge pumpkin fan. I love everything pumpkin…pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies and now…Whoopie Pumpkin Pies. I found these little babies in Food Network Magazine and the recipe moved straight to the top of my very long “to do” list. (Do you notice how these “to do” lists never get any shorter) Anyway, these Whoopie pies are wonderful!

When I was making the cookie batter I got a little worried because, after I added the buttermilk, it looked like the batter was starting to separate. But once I started adding the dry ingredients everything came together beautifully, so no need to worry. Also, the flavor of the filling slowly intensifies so these can easily be made a day in advance. I wrapped each cookie in plastic wrap to keep them fresh and to prevent them from sticking together, then in a large Tupperware container and into the refrigerator. I also took half of the finished cookies and stuck them in the freezer. It turns out that they freeze really well, just let them thaw in the refrigerator. I hope you enjoy these babies as much as we have.

Whoopie Pumpkin Pies

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of kosher salt

For the filling:

4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup confectioners sugar

1/4 cup canned pure pumpkin

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of kosher salt

Directions:

Line three baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

To make the cookies: In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside. Using a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then the buttermilk and vanilla. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined.

Drop 2 tablespoons of batter for each cookies to be made, onto prepared baking sheet, spacing batter 3 inches apart. Bake until edges are set but the cookies are still soft, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer cookies to a baking rack and cool completely.

To make the filling: Beat cream cheese and butter with a mixer until smooth. Slowly beat in the confectioners sugar. Add the pumpkin, cinnamon and salt and beat until smooth.

To assemble the cookies, spread a heaping tablespoon filling onto the flat side of one cookie and sandwich with another cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies. Enjoy.

Source: Food Network Magazine, The Neelys’

Posted in Autumn, Chocolate, Cookies, Dessert | Tagged autumn, baking, cookies, fall, filling, halloween, Pie, pumpkin, whoopie | 11 Comments »

Easy Cheese Danish

October 3, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Easy Cheese Danish

I saw Ina make these cheese Danish on Barefoot Contessa. They are easy, quick and very delicious. What’s not to like? They are wonderful served warm as well as the following day at room temperature. After the pastries are filled and folded, Ina tells you to refrigerate the pastries for 15 minutes before baking…which I failed to do. 😦 So the first four pastries I baked opened up during baking, not a pretty site (still tasted fantastic though). The next four I put in the refrigerator, as instructed, and these pastries stayed folded after baking. So I can only guess that the refrigeration of the pastries is an important step to keep the folded pastries closed during baking. I’ll remember this for next time 🙂

Ingredients:

2 sheets puff pastry (1 box)

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature

2 tbsp ricotta cheese

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp kosher salt

zest from 1 small lemon

1 egg, beaten, for egg wash

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking pans with parchment paper.

Mix together cream cheese and sugar with an electrical mixer on low-speed. With the mixer still on low, add egg yolks, ricotta cheese, vanilla, salt and lemon zest, mix just until smooth. Place in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface. If needed, roll it to a 10 x 10 inch square. Cut pastry into 4 smaller squares. Brush borders of each square with egg wash and then place a heaping tablespoon of cream cheese filling in the centers. Fold one corner gently over the filling, brush this corner with egg wash. Fold the opposing second corner over the first corner allowing the egg wash to seal the two corners together. Finish brushing the top of pastry with egg wash. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry. Makes a total of 8 pastries.

Using a spatula, place pastries on baking pans and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Then bake pastries for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy!

Cheese Danish

Source: Barefoot Contessa

Posted in Breakfast, Danish, Dessert, Pastry, Quick and Easy | Tagged breakfast, cheese, Danish, dessert, easy, pastry, puff pastry | 9 Comments »

Pot Roast

September 26, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Pot Roast

Fall has finally arrived and the temperatures here in Virginia are so much more comfortable. We have gotten quite a bit of rain lately, which I love, and with the gloomy dark skies comes a desire for comfort food. And Pot Roast is just that. Inhaling the sweet aroma while the roast is cooking and tasting the delicious fall-apart meat and tender veggies…it’s a little piece of heaven!

Ingredients:

4-5 lbs beef chuck roast, tied

Kosher salt and black pepper

Flour

Olive oil

5 carrots, chopped

1 1/2 yellow onions, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 large leek, white and light green parts chopped

1 large potato, chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup white wine

2 cups chicken stock, homemade prefered

28 oz whole plum tomatoes in puree

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

1 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Pat beef dry with a paper towel, Season the roast all over with 1 tbsp salt and 1 1/2 tsp pepper. Dredge the roast in flour and set aside. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the roast and brown all sides, each side should take about 4-5 minutes. Remove the roast to a large plate.

Add 2 tbsp olive oil to Dutch oven and add carrots, onions, celery, leeks, potatoes, garlic, 1 tbsp Kosher salt and 1 1/2 tsp pepper. Cook over medium heat for 10 – 15 minutes until tender but not browned. Add wine and bring to a simmer, Add chicken stock, 2 tsp Kosher salt, 1 tsp pepper. Break up whole plum tomatoes a little and add the remaining 28 oz can of tomato juices. Put the roast back into the pot and bring to a simmer. Cut thyme and rosemary into small pieces, place on a small piece of cheese cloth, close cheese cloth ends into a bundle and tie closed with butchers string. Place herb bundle into pot and submerge into liquids. Cover Dutch oven with lid and place into oven. Cook in oven for 2 1/2 hours until meat is tender or about 160 degrees internally. Note: turn the heat in the oven down to 250 degrees after about 1 hour of cooking.

Remove the meat to a cutting board. Remove herb bundle and discard. If needed, skim off fat from the sauce. Place half the sauce into a food processor and puree until smooth. Pour the puree back into the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer on the stove top.

Place 2 tbsp flour and butter in a small dish and work them together using a fork. Stir into sauce and simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring until thickened. Taste for proper seasoning.

Remove string from roast and slice the meat. Place on serving platter and pour some of sauce over. Serve warm and enjoy!

Source: adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Posted in Beef, Comfort food, Main course | Tagged beef, carrots, celery, chicken stock, garlic, leeks, onions, pot roast, roast, vegstable, wine | 7 Comments »

Almond Coconut Mousse Cake

September 19, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Almond Coconut Mousse Cake

Friday was my husband Joseph’s birthday and he loves coconut. I have been wanting to make a layered cake and I have been wanting to make mousse, so when I saw this cake I thought it was perfect. And it was! Coconut flavor, a slight crunch from the ground almonds and delicious cold mousse….wonderful! I must say that this cake was a little complicated and I had doubts, serious doubts, that it would turn out good. I feared that the mousse would be a big pile of goop, mainly because I have never worked with powdered gelatin before, but my faith in powdered gelatin has been restored. Yeah. 🙂 Joe and I had a wonderful evening together complete with incidental fireworks (fireworks that should have been shot off on 4th of July but was cancelled due to rain) and a this delicious Almond Coconut Mousse Cake.

Almond Coconut Mousse Cake

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

1 1/4 cups slivered almonds

1 cup cake flour

1/4 tsp kosher salt

8 extra-large eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the Mousse:

2 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream, divided

1 tbsp powdered gelatin

2 cups coconut milk

1/2 cup whole milk

6 extra-large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp coconut extract

Other:

ice cubes and water for ice-bath

For decorating:

1/2 to 1 cup seedless raspberry jam

2 cups sweetened coconut flakes

Directions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of two round 9 inch pans with cut-to-fit parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray.

Spread slivered almonds out onto a baking sheet and toast in oven for 8-10 minutes, shaking the pan every couple of minutes to ensure even toasting. Remove almonds from baking sheet and set aside to cool.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine almonds, cake flour and salt. Process until almonds are finely ground. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks and 1 cup of sugar until thick and light in color, about 2 minutes. Transfer egg mixture to a large bowl and set aside. Throughly clean bowl and whisk attachment of stand mixer to ensure they are completely clean and dry, re-attach to stand mixer.

In the clean bowl of stand mixer, beat egg whites at medium speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar while beating on high until stiff, glossy meringue peaks form.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add almond and vanilla extract and set aside.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold 1/3 of meringue into egg yolk mixture, then fold in 1/3 of dry ingredients. Continue gently folding, alternating ingredients until all meringue and dry ingredients are combined. Now take 1 cup of cake batter and fold into melted butter, then fold this butter mixture back into the remaining batter. Divide batter equally between the two prepared pans and bake for 17-22 minutes until golden brown. Test cakes with a toothpick for doneness, toothpick should come out clean. Cool the cakes on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Invert and unmold cakes onto racks and cool completely.

For the Mousse:

In a microwave safe bowl, pour 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Sprinkle cream with gelatin powder while stirring with a fork. Set aside for 5 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, bring coconut milk and whole milk to a gentle boil. Remove pan from heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until blended. In a very thin stream, slowly mix in 1/2 cup of coconut milk mixture. Return the entire egg mixture to coconut milk mixture in the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is slightly thickened and covers the back of a spoon. Strain mixture through a sieve set over a medium bowl.

Microwave the cream and gelatin mixture on high for 15 to 30 seconds until the cream is hot. Stir with a small spoon until all cream and gelatin has come back to a liquid state and is smooth. Add gelatin mixture, through a sieve, to the coconut mixture and stir to combine.

In a large bowl add ice cubes and cold water half-way for an ice-bath. Gently set the bowl with the coconut mixture into the ice-bath, careful not to get any water from the ice-bath into the coconut mixture. Stir occasionally until chilled, about 20 minutes. Stir in vanilla and coconut extract.

In a clean medium bowl, whisk the remaining 1 3/4 cup heavy cream to soft peaks. Pour the chilled coconut milk mixture into the whipped cream and mix well until completely combined. Refrigerate the mousse for 30 minutes, but no longer as it may begin to set.

Assembling the Cake:

Using a serrated knife, cut each cake in half horizontally (you will only need three layers for this cake) Place one cake layer into the bottom of a round 9 x 3 inch springform pan. The springform pan must have a tight-fitting bottom so mousse don’t seep out. Spread a thin layer of raspberry jam over the cake and then pour 2 cups of mousse over the cake. Gently spread mousse to ensure it runs down between the edge of pan and cake side. Top with second cake, spread a thin layer of raspberry jam and top with 2 cups of mousse. Top with the third and final cake layer and remaining mousse. Refrigerate the cake for 1-2 hours allowing the mousse to finish setting.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread 2 cups of coconut flakes out onto a baking sheet and toast in oven for 5-15 minutes, making sure to stir coconut every 4-5 minutes for even browning. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool.

Carefully remove the side of springform pan and pat the golden coconut flakes onto the sides of the cake. Enjoy!

Source: slightly adapted from thegalleygourmet

Posted in Cake, Dessert | Tagged almond, cake, coconut, dessert, mousse | 8 Comments »

Kaja’s Corn Salad (borrowed from Henriette)

September 12, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Kaja's Corn Salad

My Danish friend Kaja served this wonderful salad for our last get-together, which she in turn got from my other Danish friend Henriette. It is simple, refreshing and good for you. Kaja served it with walnuts which was very delicious but my favorite kinda nut is pine nuts and so I choose pine for this presentation. The raspberry walnut vinaigrette adds a perfect finishing touch. I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I do.

Kaja's Corn Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup red bell pepper, diced

1 cup cucumber, diced

3/4 cup dried cranberries

Pine Nuts for topping

Ken’s Lite Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette

Directions:

Dice red bell pepper and cucumber to size of corn kernels. Mix together corn, peas, bell pepper, cucumber and cranberries. Drizzle with Raspberry vinaigrette and top with pine nuts. Enjoy!

Source: slightly adapted from Kaja Mosley

Salad in the making

Posted in Appetizers, Lunch, Quick and Easy, Salad, Side dish | Tagged bell pepper, corn, cranberries, cucumber, peas, pine nuts, raspberry, salad, vinaigrette | 3 Comments »

Øllebrød med Æggesnaps – Rye Porridge with Creamed Egg topping

September 5, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Øllebrød med Æggesnaps

Øllebrød, an almost forgotten old Danish dish? I have not had Øllebrød since I was a child and it’s a dish that I remember being served on a cold winter morning and a dish that I absolutely love. I think we may also have had it for dinner on rare occasions. It’s a dish that is great for using up the leftover end-pieces of Rye bread, but of course it doesn’t have to be leftover bread. It is high in fiber, low in fat and it has a slightly tart taste. It’s a solid meal which leaves you with a sensation of fullness and you often see it feed to babies. Ideally you want to use Rye bread without kernels but all I could find was Whole Rye bread, so in that case you simply just press the Rye Porridge (Øllebrød) through a sieve to remove the kernels. As for the topping used with this dish, it can range from milk, cream, whipped cream (flødeskum) to creamed egg topping (æggesnaps). My mother either served it with æggesnaps or milk.

Øllebrød and Æggesnaps

Now for the æggesnaps you are supposed to use pasteurized egg yolks, however, the stores around here only sell pasteurized egg whites and egg beaters. You CAN make æggesnaps with egg beaters BUT I feel weird about it because there are egg whites in egg beaters. I tried it out and the taste is different from a real egg yolk, more perfumed if that makes any sense. Why don’t they sell pasteurized egg yolks? If anyone out there has more information on pasteurized egg yolks, please let me know. Anyway, I decided to live dangerously for this one and I used a real egg yolk. I know, you’re not suppose to do that….but I did and it was fabulous. Do as I say, not as I do 🙂

Ingredients:

Øllebrød (Rye Porridge):

4 slices Rye bread, broken into pieces

cold water to cover

2 tbsp sugar

Æggesnaps (Creamed Egg):

1 egg yolk (pasteurized)

2 tbsp sugar

Directions:

To make Rye Porridge:

Break Rye bread into pieces, place in a bowl and add cold water just until covered. Cover with plastic wrap and let soak in refrigerator anywhere from 1 hour till overnight.

Pour rye bread and water into a cooking pot, simmer, stirring occasionally, until it starts to thicken. Remove from pot and place in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Note: if you’re using Whole Rye bread you’ll need to strain it through a sieve to remove the kernels that don’t break down. Place back into pot and keep warm until ready to serve. If the porridge gets too thick, simply just add a small amount of water.

To make Creamed Egg topping:

Whip together egg yolk (pasteurized) and sugar until it’s thick and pale yellow (1-2 minutes). Serve Egg topping on top of warm Porridge. Enjoy.

Source: My mother Åse

Posted in Bread, Breakfast, Danish | Tagged Øllebrød, æggesnaps, øllebrød, bread, Danish, dansk, porridge, rugbrød, rye | 13 Comments »

Kransekage and celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary

August 23, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

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 🙂