2024, Family, Food, Gatherings, holidays, Uncategorized

Kransekake

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While my parents have predominantly British and German ancestry, you wouldn’t know it from my upbringing.  No culturally relevant foods,  no traditions, no nothing.  It wasn’t a void that I ever looked to fill, but it does mean I’m a bit of a tabula rasa where culture and tradition are concerned. 

There are just a few things that I’ve carried from my childhood to my adulthood; most of the traditions that YA and I observe are things we made the decision to do, not things that I did growing up.  I was going to list a bunch, but the list is too long!

I’ve lived in the heart of Scandinavian culture here in the Twin Cities for 44 years.  I’ve taught myself how to make aebleskivers and Swedish pancakes, visited the Swedish American institute.  One year we did a Saint Lucia observation at our church (UU); I made YA  a white dress and we fashioned the candle wreath for her head, although none of the kids actually had their candles lit (phew!).  We have a nisse watching out over our garden and I have a few heavy Scandinavian sweaters. 

But for some reason, I have never gotten around to making a kransekake, the stunning tower of cake/cookie rings that you see on the covers of many Scandinavian cookbooks.  It’s called a crown cake and sometimes a wreath cake as well.   Well, this turned out to be the year.  I knew our Anna had the rings/pans that you need to make the individual rings/wreaths and she graciously offered to let me borrow them.  I found several recipes and decided on one that I could pipe out of a bag rather than roll out the dough in log forms.  It turned out to be ridiculously easy… truly the hardest part was figuring out which of the two largest pans was actually the biggest one.  My recipe made way more dough than I needed… next time I attempt this, I’ll have a plan for this.  Maybe save it until after the first batch is baked and make a smaller tower.  I know purists would not have added sprinkles but I just had to. 

It made a lovely party centerpiece and if I do say so myself, tasted really good.  The only problem is that people were afraid to mess with it.  I’ve had this problem before with pretty cakes or rice krispy trees; I usually end up cutting them up so they don’t look too daunting.  I did this with the kransekake as well.  About ½ of it got eaten at the party and I’ve been nibbling away at it since then.  This turned out to be a fun attempt for me; it may get added to my stable of traditions.

When was the last time you pushed yourself to try something new?  How did it turn out?

19 thoughts on “Kransekake”

  1. I can’t call it “pushed” but researching the family tree is my new thing. Until last Spring my interest in was minimal. The Internet has made matters quite simple and interesting. Just this week I found a photo of a painted portrait of great grandpa x7 Tucker. He looks like a typical Massachusetts Puritan and now I get to blame him for my fat belly.

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  2. It seems like new stuff is coming at me all the time, as issues land in my inbox when I’m playing my UU Board pres. role. Luckily this fall, they’ve all been resolvable fairly quickly.

    A few of us have organized Christmas Caroling at the Arts Center for tonight. I have no idea how many people will show up, and I’ll be leading the songs. I’ve led singing before, but not in this format and not much since Covid. I’ll let you know tomorrow how it turns out.

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  3. VS, that kransekake looked amazing. I didn’t try it, and now I’m sorry I didn’t. It looked so perfect! Your peanut butter blossoms (my fav) and snickerdoodles were yummy though.

    Knitting is my new thing. I know some of you are knitters and to you it’s no big deal. I have been crocheting for most of my life. I can’t let go of my long habit of holding the yarn between the fingers of my left hand in order to hold the tension. I’ve been told this makes me a “continental” knitter. (What does that mean?) I think I waste less time and effort looping the yarn around the needle with my right hand. I can’t knit at all if I don’t hold it that way, so I’m sticking with it.

    Knitting has been challenging for me. I’m used to counting in crochet but keeping track of where I am (k2/p1 – which stitch did I just do?) has been hard. I really have to focus. I can’t do it with the tv on, so I listen to an audiobook and try very hard not to get distracted. I drop stitches, then can’t figure out how to repair my mistakes. Learning has been slow. I did make a pair of socks, but I needed a lot of help.

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  4. years ago i plugged into franklin planner and it is a good idea for me because it helps to keep things from disappearing. i have a garbled mess in there and franlikn planner helps me track progress and keeps me from burying something until its forgotten. one of the good things it taught was about how to push beyond your comfort zone. it described it as a set of stuff youd do or not do because it was comfortable. i have lots of that. half assed is doable in many things but getting it right requires a lot more effort commitment focus and its good to have a reminder pick at you. i am a forgiving but relentless analyst. i have many items on my new ideas list that i intend to get to. i could hunker down and become a luthier or a sculptor but i have concepts i have visualized that need me to get them checked off my to do list.
    i saw that tower on the table and i think i saw vs cutting it into half circles to make it inticing but i just not a bread or sweets person. i love it when it makes it into my mouth but the gluten issues and the sugar buzz/droop may subconsciously deter me. plus the cone quesadilla. taco burger thing, brie with pepper jelly, olives, cheese tray and cookies veggies w dip… ill try the tower next year

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  6. I like the kransekake that is most like shortbread. I have had the meringue style ones in the past but never liked them much. I have never made kranaekake. I make lots of other Scandinavian goodies, though.

    I tried to learn crocheting but just couldn’t get it and it got tighter and tighter.

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    1. Renee, if you’re still interested in learning, try using a crochet hook one size larger than the recommended size. This will keep your stitches looser until you get more proficient.
      ~Kristanon

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