Krumkake
My family is extremely Scandinavian so every year around the holidays we used to go to my great grandparent's house for a day where the guys would watch football and the girls would all make lefse and krumkake. I loved hanging out with all of my aunts and cousins and grandmas and making goodies all day. I remember the kitchen filled with laughter and amazing smells and at the end of the day we would have a huge potluck complete with our warm lefse and lacy krumkake. This tradition was something I looked forward to every year. However, with my great grandpa passing and my great grandma moving into assisted living and then a nursing home, it has been years since we have all gotten together and made krumkake.
I didn't think much of this missing piece until I got married. My husband and I are starting to make our own traditions and now that we have our little girl I feel that carrying these traditions on are more important than ever! So, last year I decided that I wanted to restart our delicious tradition. I asked for a krumkake iron for Christmas and I got one! My nana's recipe has been lost in the moves so this year I made it my job to make my own krumkake recipe!
As I was researching what a standard krumkake recipe consisted of I found that it is really similar to a waffle. I also remembered that my nana's special ingredient was cinnamon. I have no idea if that is traditional or not but I wanted to make sure that nostalgic flavor was a part of my recipe. As I tested out this recipe I also found out that my husband likes a thicker krumkake with filling while I like a thinner one adorned with powdered sugar.
My final recipe makes a lacy krumkake that still has a little bit of substance so it can still hold a solid filling. I start of my krumkake by beating my eggs until they are fluffy, not stiff, then adding sugar and beating again until very well combined. Next, I added my milk and slowly mixed in my melted butter while continually mixing so that the hot butter does not cook my batter. I then added my vanilla and cinnamon, once again mixing until well combined. I finished off my batter by mixing in my flour bit by bit. I wanted to make sure that there was no lumps in my batter but I also was careful to not over mix. You can adjust the amount of milk based one how you like your krumkake. More milk makes a thinner and lacier result while less milk makes a thicker krumkake that is more like a waffle cone.
When my batter was finished I spread it on my hot krumkake maker and pressed it shut. A lot of krumkake makers have a latch so that you can really press your dough flat and get a lacier finished product. My krumkake maker works a lot like a waffle iron where you can adjust the temperature and the little light turns green when it is ready. I adjust the temperature so that my krumkake has a beautiful design with a mix of tan and golden brown colors.
When the krumkake is finished baking I IMMEDIATELY transferred them from my iron to my wooden cone form. This is really hard to do so I like to have a friend who has already burned the nerves of their fingers so that they can form the krumkake. If I am making these by myself I use a spatula to transfer the disk to a plate and then use a fork to hold one end of the krumkake onto the wood cone and roll it up. Then, I let it cool on the cone with the seam down to hold it shut. This can be kind difficult to do because you need to do this very quick. Krumkake comes out of the iron very hot and flexible but it cools and hardens very fast.
Once my krumkake was cool I removed it from the wooden cone form I like to dust it in powdered sugar and eat it plain. However, like I mentioned earlier, my husband likes his krumkake with a filling. The easiest filling is a plain whipped cream. Krumkake is not very sweet so I like to make it with an extra tablespoon of powdered sugar and overwhip it just a tish so that it does not deflate as I pipe it in. If you want a little extra flavor you can put a little bit of flavored extract into your whipped cream as you are whipping it. One of my favorite fillings is to whip 2c heavy whipping cream, 3 tbsp powdered sugar, and orange juice and zest to taste. Then I fill a piping bag and fill my krumkake from end to end and finish off in a dusting of powdered sugar.
Krumkake is similar to cannoli with a festive and Norwegian twist. It is the perfect desert to make with family by creating an assembly line of deliciousness. You have one person filling the krumkake maker, one or two people shaping the krumkake around the cones, and the final person filling the cooled krumkake. I am so excited to invite my family and friends over every year to make this!
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