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What marvelous masterpiece for a special occasion from the kitchens of  indigothecat

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Here's one online recipe I found, but I used a slightly different one and method to create my Kransekake.
http://scandinavianfood.about.com/o.....kransekake.htm

Even though some of the rings broke a bit and I ran out of frosting in the tube towards the end, this cake still came out pretty well, considering it's the first time I've made this myself!

Kransekake literally translates from Norwegian to mean "Wreath Cake." I made this one myself! With a bit of assistance with construction (as a few of the rings started breaking), I rolled out, baked, and prepared this for the first time.

The recipe is incredibly simple. 1 pound of skinless, crushed (to almost a powder) almonds, 1 pound of powdered sugar, and 4 egg whites. You bake the rings for about 10 to 20 minutes at about 400 degrees until the rings are very slightly browned, but firmed somewhat like a cookie. You can also cook them at a lower temperature for a bit longer duration if you're worried about burning the rings.

The frosting I used here is just store-bought, but you can make your own with a mixture of lemon juice, powdered sugar, and egg whites. This acts as the glue the will hold the rings together while you stack them. In reality, you could use any frosting you want and add various flavors to it and the dough you created to make the rings. There's several variations of flavoring agents I've seen used, but generally speaking, what makes the cake Scandinavian is the use of ground, skinless almonds for the base. You can easily find pre-skinned, cut almonds at most grocery stores, but the above link I posted will also teach you how to "blanch" the almonds yourself. While most recipes call for chilling the dough overnight once it's prepared, I've found it's not really necessary.

The finished cake is more like a giant cookie, and it tastes pretty good. This cake is normally only made for very special occasions, such as Weddings, baptisms, and very major holidays. In this case, I made it for Christmas, New Years, and my parents' 33rd Wedding Anniversary.

There are some variations of the Kransekake, one of which is the Overflødighedshorn (most often used for weddings), this roughly translates to "Horn of Abundance," but I think a more literal translation is "Over-Flowing Horn." This variation, the rings are tipped to the side and held together with more frosting and other ingredients, and the "horn" is filled with chocolates, sweets, and other miniature cookies. This is an example: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8Eof5eM-E.....0/CIMG4433.JPG
Sometimes, a bottle of wine or something else may be placed hiding inside the rings, so there's another treat waiting after the Kransekake is eaten. I've also seen a variation where the cake only uses about 1/3 to 1/2 of the rings (18 normally), and the rings are stacked upside down, and the open space is filled with pudding. You can also use this construction method to create Kransekake Baskets, using half of one ring to serve as the handle.

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Recipe based from the following

Kransekake, or "Ring Cake," is the signature cake of Norway, earning pride of place on wedding, birthday, graduation, and holiday banquet tables. Traditionally made from almonds, confectioner's sugar, and egg whites, it is a splendid flourless, gluten-free alternative to standard celebratory cakes.

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients:
•For Cake:
•5 cups water
•1 lb. raw whole almonds
•1 lb. confectioner's sugar
•3 egg whites
•2 tsp. almond extract
•2 Tbsp. potato starch flour
•.
•For Frosting:
•.
•3-4 cups confectioner's sugar
•2 egg whites
•1 tsp. almond extract
•1 tsp. lemon juice

Preparation:
Bring water to boil in large saucepan, then add 1/2 of the almonds. Blanche until the nuts rise to the surface and the skins loosen, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and rinse the almonds in cold water, then remove the skins. Spread them to dry on a paper towel-lined cookie sheet (Note: you can speed this process by putting them in the oven at low heat (about 170º) for 15 minutes, but be sure not to let them roast). The nuts need to be completely dry before grinding.

Grind the unblanched almonds in a coffee or spice grinder to form a fine flour (Note: do not use a food processor, which will over-process the nuts). Next, grind the blanched almonds.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the two almond "flours" together along with the confectioner's sugar. Then, grind this combined mixture a second time.

Once the almond flour is ground, place it in a large saucepan, stir in the 3 egg whites and almond extract, and place over a burner on low heat. Use a wooden spoon to knead the dough over the heat until it pulls away from the sides of the pan and shapes itself into a smooth, shiny mass (this step is exactly like making homemade play dough; the resulting almond paste is also the consistency of play dough).

Place the almond paste in a bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat your oven to 400º. Flour a pastry board or clean counter with potato starch flour; butter and dust six kransekake forms (if using) with potato starch flour.

Roll the almond paste into 18 1/2"-wide "snakes," descending in length - in 1/2-inch increments - from about 20" long to 14" long. Fit the snakes into the forms, pinching the ends together tightly to form rings (Note: this dough is very forgiving, so you can easily reroll a few snakes if you've miscalculated the lengths so that they are evenly divided to fit the graduated rings of the kransekake forms).

Alternatively, if not using kransekake forms, shape each of the 18 lengths into a ring and place on a parchment- or silpat-lined baking sheet.

Bake in the center of oven about 15 minutes, until the rings turn a light gold. Watch carefully, as they will burn quickly if unattended.

Remove from oven and allow rings to cool in pans.

Rap the pans lightly on a counter to loosen, running a knife between the rings if necessary to separate. Then, carefully remove the largest ring, invert it, and place it on a serving or cake plate.

Mix together the confectioner's sugar, 2 egg whites, almond extract, and lemon juice to make a thick frosting. Place into pastry bag (small tip) or in a plastic freezer bag with the end snipped off. Pipe the frosting in a wavy pattern around the circumference of the bottom ring (the frosting, while decorative, also serves as the glue that will hold the cake together).

Repeat this step for each of the remaining rings, working from the largest up to the smallest. The finished cake will look like a Fisher-Price ring toy (but will taste far better!).

Decorate the completed cake with flags and candies, as the Norwegians do, or with ribbons and edible and / or crystallized flowers for a special occasion like a birthday or wedding.

Kransekake, like fine wine, improves by "aging" a day or two before serving. Store in a tightly sealed container with a slice of apple or bread in order to maximize this cake's unique soft-yet-chewy texture. It can also be made ahead and frozen.

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Allergy warning – recipe contains tree nut & egg products