The Leaning Tower of ... Kransekake

"I think the kransekake is starting to slide a little bit."

If Siri hadn't glanced over at that very moment, our kransekake would have very shortly looked like one of this holiday season's rain-soaked California hillsides.

CRACKS AND BULGES ARE IGNORED

From the start, the kransekake looked nothing like last year's.  The rings were much more "cake-like."  They had expanded in their trays while baking and we had to carefully cut them apart.  The taste was wonderful, but they were kind of puffy and had a very rough texture.  They really should be hard and chewy, and smooth.  Miraculously, Jerry was still able to assemble them into their tower.  What we didn't realize was that the tower was immediately irregular and had already begun it's "slide" just a few minutes later.

I hope you noticed that I've included myself in the making of the kransekake.  I don't deserve much credit or, again, blame, but I did help skin the almonds after Jerry blanched them.  And I did remove most of the rings from the pans.  As a matter of fact, I did more than just help "cook" the kransekake.  After dinner, I also "cooked" tea for our friend Mark.  I placed the mug in the microwave and placed the teabag in the cup.  I did so twice.  Of course, when I made the first cup, I heard the microwave beep and asked Jerry what he had the timer set for.  It was very stressful.

A SLIGHT DIP GOES UNNOTICED

By the time Siri made her comment about the kransekake's sideways momentum, it already resembled the shape of the Christmas tree in Whoville.  But we had all had a few glasses of Siri's Swedish Christmas glögg, so everything in the house had that same basic look. 

FULL-TILT BOOGIE

Jerry carefully carried the kransekake back into the kitchen.  It continued to change it's shape.  So, he  separated it into two sections that we proceeded to pick apart and enjoy.  It wasn't pretty but it still tasted good.

PERHAPS A LITTLE OBSCENE?

So, Christmas cookies and kransekake were not successes this year.  But, Jerry's famous lemon meringue pie and Norwegian Christmas bread (Bergensk julevørterbrød) were both perfect.  Next year, we'll start some of our own Andalusian traditions.

Most importantly, thanks to Siri, we now know that everything looks better after a glass of glögg.

JERRY & MITCHELL'S ORIGINAL WHOVILLE KRANSEKAKE