Why should the dough be beaten so long?

The eggs, cream and sugar are beaten together for half an hour to work air and good structure into the dough. Then washed butter and sifted flour are kneaded in alternately.

How are the cakes shaped?

The dough is rolled out thin and cut into oblong bars, about 4 cm wide. These are baked pale golden.

How is the topping made, and how are the cakes dried?

The bars are cooled slightly before the almond mixture is gently spread on: 1/4 kg powdered sugar is mixed with 1/4 kg blanched, ground almonds, and 3 stiffly beaten egg whites are folded in. The cakes are then dried in the oven at very low heat.

What is "washed butter"?

It is butter that has been kneaded/washed in cold water to remove the salt and buttermilk – a common practice in finer baked goods in Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" of 1914.

Bordstabelbakkels (Stacked Christmas Cakes)

Name: Bordstabelbakkels (Stacked Christmas Cakes)
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 40 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 2 pcs eggs; 2 tbsp cream; 250 g sugar; 500 g wheat flour (sifted); 250 g butter (unsalted, "washed"); 250 g powdered sugar (for the almond mixture); 250 g sweet almonds (blanched and ground); 3 pcs egg whites (stiffly beaten)

Erken's bordstabelbakkels are a classic Norwegian stacked Christmas cake: a tender base of egg, cream, sugar, butter and flour rolled thin and cut into 4 cm wide bars, baked pale golden and topped with an almond meringue of ground almonds, powdered sugar and stiffly beaten egg whites, dried at low heat.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 552 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

Bordstabelbakkels is a classic Norwegian Christmas cake that is stacked in tall piles on the cake platter. Erken's version has a tender base of washed butter and a layer of almond meringue that is dried in the oven.

How to make it

1
Beat the batter
Beat the eggs, cream and sugar together for half an hour until the mixture is light and airy.
2
Knead in butter and flour
Knead in the butter and the sifted flour alternately until you have a smooth dough.
3
Roll out and cut
Roll the dough out thin and cut it into oblong bars, about 4 cm wide.
4
Bake the bases
Bake the bars pale golden at about 190 °C (375 °F), and let them cool slightly.
5
Make the almond mixture
Mix the blanched, ground almonds with the powdered sugar and gently fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites.
6
Top and dry
Spread the almond mixture gently onto the cakes and dry them in the oven at very low heat, about 100 °C (210 °F), until the topping is firm and pale.

Changes from the original

Measurements have been converted to grams and modern units, and the fractions in the unclear original column have been interpreted according to traditional proportions (1/4 kg sugar, 1/2 kg flour, 1/4 kg butter). "Washed butter" has been replaced with unsalted butter. Baking temperatures are estimated: about 190 °C (375 °F) for the bases and about 100 °C (210 °F) for drying the almond topping.

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Time machine – what changed?

Pick two editions and see what Henriette Schønberg Erken added, removed or changed between them.

From1914 1949 Modernised

To1914 1949 Modernised

Modernised → 1949 (proofread, p. 644)~88% of the text changedremovedadded

2 ~~stk egg.~~ egg 2 ~~ss fløte. 250 g sukker. 500 g~~ spiseskjeer fløte ¾ kg. sukker ¾ kg. hvetemel ~~(siktet). 250 g smør (usaltet, «utvasket»). 250 g melis (til mandelmassen). 250 g søte mandler (skåldet og malt). 3 stk eggehviter (stivpisket). Rør egg,~~ ¾ kg. utvasket smør. Egg, fløte og sukker røres sammen ~~i en halv time til blandingen er lys og luftig.. Elt inn smøret~~ ½ time, heri eltes smør og det siktede ~~melet vekselvis til en jevn deig.. Kjevle deigen~~ mel vekselvis. Kjevles tynt ~~ut og skjær den~~ ut, skjæres i ~~avlange stenger,~~ langaktige, ca. 4 ~~cm brede.. Stek stengene lysegule ved ca. 190 °C,~~ cm. brede stenger, stekes lyse gule. Avkjøles litt, og ~~la dem avkjøles litt.. Bland de~~ følgende røre legges forsiktig på: ¾ kg. flormelis, ¾ kg. mandler, 3 stivvispede eggehviter. De skåldede, ~~malte mandlene~~ malte, støtte mandler blandes med ~~melisen og rør forsiktig inn~~ sukkeret, irøres de ~~stivpiskede eggehvitene.. Legg mandelmassen forsiktig på kakene og tørk dem~~ stivvispede eggehviter. Kakene tørkes i ovnen ved ytterst svak ~~varme, ca. 100 °C, til massen er fast og lys.~~ varme.

Note on Modernised

Mål er omregnet til gram og moderne enheter, og brøkene i den utydelige originalkolonnen er tolket etter tradisjonelle proporsjoner (1/4 kg sukker, 1/2 kg mel, 1/4 kg smør). «Utvasket smør» er erstattet med usaltet smør. Steketemperaturer er anslått: ca. 190 °C for bunnene og ca. 100 °C for tørking av mandelmassen.

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Frequently asked questions

Why should the dough be beaten so long?: The eggs, cream and sugar are beaten together for half an hour to work air and good structure into the dough. Then washed butter and sifted flour are kneaded in alternately.
How are the cakes shaped?: The dough is rolled out thin and cut into oblong bars, about 4 cm wide. These are baked pale golden.
How is the topping made, and how are the cakes dried?: The bars are cooled slightly before the almond mixture is gently spread on: 1/4 kg powdered sugar is mixed with 1/4 kg blanched, ground almonds, and 3 stiffly beaten egg whites are folded in. The cakes are then dried in the oven at very low heat.
What is "washed butter"?: It is butter that has been kneaded/washed in cold water to remove the salt and buttermilk – a common practice in finer baked goods in Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" of 1914.

Equipment for this dish

Stand mixer →Erken kneaded and whisked by hand for ages – a stand mixer does the work for you.Engrospris.no

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