Butter Cookie Almond Wreath Cake

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, almond paste, and sugar until very smooth. Blend in the almond extract and egg yolks. In a separate bowl, stir together the salt and flour, then blend into the butter mixture. Chill the dough for 30 minutes. Preheat over to °F. Cover several cookie sheets with parchment paper. Cut off portions of the dough and shape into ropes about the thickness of your thumb, each 1 inch longer than the previous, beginning at 4 inches and ending at 18 inches. You will have 15 strands. Shape each strand into a circle and place on the parchment-covered baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or until pale gold. Cool.

To make Royal icing:
Place the powdered sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Add one egg white and the almond extract. Mix until smooth and well blended. If necessary, add part or all of the second egg white. The icing needs to be thin enough to press through the fine tip of a pastry bag. (In place of a pastry bag, you can use a cone made from waxed paper. Snip off the bottom of the cone to form a fine-tip opening.) Spoon the icing into pastry bag (or waxed paper cone).

To assemble cake:
Place the largest cookie ring on a serving plate. Press the Royal Icing through the pastry bag in a zigzag pattern all the way around the ring. Top with the next largest ring. Repeat the zigzag piping procedure. Continue stacking and frosting the rings to form a balanced tower. Decorate the top with a fresh rose and the sides with flags, flowers, marzipan candies, or cracker bonbons, using the Royal icing to adhere them to the cake.

Author's Comments

To serve cake:
Life the top part of the tower off, and break the remaining rings into 2- or 3-inch pieces.

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