OK so I have included these in a post before, talking about the seven kinds of christmas biscuits they make in Norway, but I thought now they deserved a post all to themselves. My grandmother always had these in her house, and I never realised she made them herself until I asked how they made them and she produced an amazing cast iron krumkake iron with a great floral pattern - I was in love.
So she got me my very own iron...weighing about a tenth of hers and no where near as gorgeous, but I did have to take it on the plane...and had to explain what is was at security, but I loved it all the same. So she taught me how to make them and shared her recipe with me (next pic on the right). I love it when we can do these things together, being in different countries I try to soak up as many baking tips I can when I see her, and raid her recipe file. I do realise many of you don't have these irons...so I guess this may be more aimed at my Europeans readers! I have found one you can buy in the UK but it's a little pricey,
here.
The recipe is very similar to a pancake recipe, with a secret ingredient, ground cardamom - which isn't that secret if you're from Norway but we went all over the country looking for the stuff and couldn't find it so had to grind it from the pods, that is how important the flavour is....grinding enough is brutal so I bought about 4 packs when I visited last. It always feels like I'm back in Norway when the house smells of baking and cardamom.
So here is the best recipe in the world.
Ingredients
3 eggs
150g caster sugar
150 melted and chilled butter
150 plain flour (sifted)
1/2 tsp vanilla sugar/essence
1/2 ground cardamom
2-4 tbsp water
Mix eggs and sugar until big and fluffy like eggnog. Then add the butter, flour, vanilla and cardamom. Leave batter to swell for 30 minutes (optional). I needed to add a few tablespoons of water, you don't want to batter to thick or they stay soft even when set. It usually takes about 5 tries to get the right consistency...you'll just know. Turn on iron when ready to bake and butter plates for the first cone. Add a tablespoon of batter in the middle and press the lid of the iron down. Cook until golden brown, remove and wrap around the cone roller (krumkaker pinne), or around a self made one. Set for 20 seconds and leave to cool. I then had some chocolate left over so I melted it and drizzled it over the krumkaker to give them an extra bit of sweetness, and mixes up the traditional bake a bit. Store them in an airtight tin and they keep for a good while. They are often served with freshly whipped cream too and with some coffee. Eat! Nom!
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