Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Kringle Weinerbrod

Give this Dane some butter, some cardamom, a little almond paste and some flour and LOOK OUT!!!

Just kidding, but honestly, I can do so much with all those ingredients, including the following.
Kringle

I've been wanting to make a proper Kringle for a long time, and finally had the excuse to make it this past weekend.

Not that I needed an excuse, just a reason, and from now on I won't need a reason, just a hint from someone that they might want a Kringle in their life, and I'm good to go. 

I used the recipe that O & H Bakeries out of Racine, WI had on Food Network, and it worked out quite well.

I did do my own twist or two to it as well.

I am the baker here, and if I can't have fun in the kitchen, I don't want to play anymore. 

So there!

Luckily for me I also talked to my brother who makes an incredible Kringle, and he gave me a couple of tips which I used. 

I've been making my version of Kringle, which is more properly called Stænger met Fyld for years now.  But collectively aka as Kringle as well.   And it's always been well received (eaten with relish) when I've brought it to gatherings.   

But I wanted more, and I got it with this recipe.   

First the recipe, and be warned that this does take a little planning to make properly.   As in, start this 2 or 3 days before you're going to bake it. 
The recipe and directions follow, but I took lots of pictures of the process and left the directions as is.

Directions
Soften butter with a potato masher or something similar. Spread the butter on waxed paper to an 8x16 rectangle.  Or just do what I did.   My brother told me to just use my cheese slicer and slice the butter when it came time to roll out the dough.  Saves you a lot of mess, time and fridge space. 

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.  Add the milk, sugar, salt (if using), lemon or vanilla extract and egg.  Mix well.  Add the flour and mix smooth by hand. 
I just use my stand mixer, cause gee, why not?   I also played with my Danish Dough Whisk to see how that would work, and I think I'll just use my stand mixer from now on. 
Take the dough out of the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap and then chill.  Overnight is best, really. 

Roll the dough on a well-floured board to an 8x12 rectangle.  Divide the butter into two equal parts.  Place one part of the butter on 2/3 of the dough, fold the uncovered piece of dough over the middle third (on top of half the butter layer), then fold the remaining third over the top.  Chill for at least 2 hours, or throw into the freezer for about 20 minutes, if you're in a hurry.

Kringle Dough
See the two bottles of water in the upper left corner, they're frozen and help to keep my stainless steel worktop cool as I'm rolling out the Kringle dough.

Roll dough again to an 8x12 rectangle. Place the remaining piece of chilled butter on 2/3 of the dough.  Fold in the same method as the first piece of butter.
And here is where I used my brother's hint.   I took my cheese slicer out and then used it to slice the butter up, and layered that into the dough.  Much easier then make a butter layer and chilling it, and ...
Kringle Dough with butter

Gently roll dough to an 8x16 inch rectangle being careful not to break the layering of the butter.  Fold into thirds again.  This will make 24 layers of butter.   Cover and place into the fridge to chill and rest.  (I used one of my large cutting sheets for this as it made it a lot easier to handle)

Cut the dough into two equal pieces.  Lightly, very lightly roll one piece out at a time, until it's about 6x20 inches.  
Kringle Dough
 After folding and before rolling out.
Kringle Dough

 Not that you can see it clearly here, but there are layers and layers of butter and dough here.

Mix the filling ingredients until smooth.  Spread center third of dough with filling (whichever one you like), then add the fruit or nuts or in my case, the custard. 
Remonce
Remonce  Filling
 Custard, which I got way too firm/stiff, but next time...


 Custard on top of Remonce filling

Fold one of the long edges to the middle, moisten other edge and fold over top to cover filling.  Seal well.  And I do mean well, cause, umm the filling leaked out of one of mine.

Put Kringle on lightly greased baking sheet and form into oval shape, pressing ends of kringle together to form a continuous oval.  (And next time I do this, I'll be forming this on parchment paper or my Silpat as I think it would be a lot easier to transfer it to a baking pan that way, this sucker is hard to manage otherwise).  Flatten entire oval with hands.  Cover kringle and let set at room temperature for one hour.  This is called proofing.  And it lets the kringle rise a little as well. (You want it nice and relaxed before it goes into the oven).
Kringle before baking

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown in color.  And you can tell how well you sealed it by by how much of the filling leaked... (the filling that leaked out, tastes really good. giggle).
Cool, then frost with a mixture of confectioners sugar and water.    
Icing:  
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. + more water, sufficient to make a fluid frosting, that isn't runny, but not too thick to drizzle on top of Kringle.  I got smart this time and put some in a frosting bag, snipped off the end, and used that to 'pynt' the top.  
Stænger met Fyld


Kringle showing the layers and filling

Kringle

Sprinkle some sliced almonds on top after the icing is done if desired.  I did desire, so I sprinkled some sliced almonds gaily on top.

Personally, I don't think I did too badly for my first try but I think I will need lots and lots of practice making these.     

Anyone have a birthday coming up?  
Or a celebration or ....
 
I'm open to suggestions.


yield: 2 Kringles or one large pretzel shaped one.print recipe

Kringle

prep time: 4 hourcook time: 25 MINStotal time: 4 hours and 25 mins
This is adapted from the O&H Bakery recipe. It does take 2-3 days to make a proper one, as the dough needs cooling time in between workouts. However, it is worth every minute.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 1 package dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup lukewarm water
  • 1/4 cup lukewarm milk
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
  • 1/2 tsp. lemon extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 cups sifted flour
Butterscotch Filling (enough for two Kringles)
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup salted butter
  • pinch cinnamon
  • 1-2 egg whites
  • fruit, nuts, raisins or jam of choice
Remonce Filling
  • 5 oz. Odense Almond paste, diced
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • Mix together the almond paste, butter and sugar together and set aside.
Custard Filling
  • 1 cup cream
  • 2 tablespoons Birds Custard Powder or 2 tablespoons Cornstarch or Potato Starch
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • Mix and cook until thickened, place plastic wrap over it and let cool.

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Soften butter with a potato masher or something similar. Spread the butter on waxed paper to an 8x16 rectangle. Or just do what I did. My brother told me to just use my cheese slicer and slice the butter when it came time to roll out the dough. Saves you a lot of mess, time and fridge space. 
  2. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the milk, sugar, salt (if using), lemon or vanilla extract and egg. Mix well. Add the flour and mix smooth by hand. Take the dough out of the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap and then chill. Overnight is best, really. 
  3. Roll the dough on a well-floured board to an 8x12 rectangle. Divide the butter into two equal parts. Place one part of the butter on 2/3 of the dough, fold the uncovered piece of dough over the middle third (on top of half the butter layer), then fold the remaining third over the top. Chill for at least 2 hours, or throw into the freezer for about 20 minutes, if you're in a hurry. 
  4. Roll dough again to an 8x12 rectangle. Place the remaining piece of chilled butter on 2/3 of the dough. Fold in the same method as the first piece of butter. And here is where I used my brother's hint. I took my cheese slicer out and then used it to slice the butter up, and layered that into the dough. Much easier then making a butter layer and chilling it.  
  5. Gently roll dough to an 8x16 inch rectangle being careful not to break the layering of the butter. Fold into thirds again. This will make 24 layers of butter. Cover and place into the fridge to chill and rest. (I used one of my large cutting sheets for this as it made it a lot easier to handle)
  6. Cut the dough into two equal pieces. Lightly, very lightly roll one piece out at a time, until it's about 6x20 inches. Mix the filling ingredients until smooth. Spread center third of dough with filling (whichever one you like), then add the fruit or nuts or in my case, the custard. Fold one of the long edges to the middle, moisten other edge and fold over top to cover filling. Seal well. And I do mean well, cause, umm the filling leaked out of one of mine. 
  7. Put Kringle on either a lightly greased pan or onto a piece of parchment paper,  and form into oval shapes, pressing ends of kringle together to form a continuous oval. (And next time I do this, I'll be forming this on parchment paper or my Silpat as I think it would be a lot easier to transfer it to a baking pan that way, this sucker is hard to manage otherwise). Flatten entire oval with hands, lightly.
  8.  Cover kringle and let set at room temperature for one hour. This is called proofing. And it lets the kringle rise a little as well. (You want it nice and relaxed before it goes into the oven). 
  9. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown in color. And you can tell how well you sealed it by by how much of the filling leaked... (the filling that did leak out, was very tasty by the way) 
  10. Cool, then frost with a mixture of confectioners sugar and water. 
  11. Icing: 1 cup confectioners sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 2 tbsp. + more water, sufficient to make a fluid frosting, that isn't runny, but not too thick to drizzle on top of Kringle. I got smart this time and put some in a frosting bag, snipped off the end, and used that to 'pynt' the top. Sprinkle some sliced almonds on top after the icing is done if desired. I did desire, so I sprinkled some sliced almonds gaily on top.
Created using The Recipes Generator
Sidsel Munkholm - Author
Sidsel Munkholm - Author

Sid loves to cook, feed people and have fun in the kitchen. She shares her successes and the involuntary offerings she sometimes gives the kitchen goddess as well. And she's still looking for the mythical fairy to help her clean the kitchen after a marathon cooking session. Currently working on a cookbook showcasing the recipes from her Danish heritage.

4 comments:

  1. Thank you for your notes on this recipe - the cheese knife for the butter is genius. I want to make a turtle version (like I see listed over at O&H), but perhaps I should try the original first. Do you make other versions?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't make any other versions, I like the original one the best.

      Delete
  2. I found kringle at a bakery in WA state the day before I moved back to Hawaii. It's been a few years and hard to remember but I believe it had a layer of custard filling and it was almond paste too, but I'm not sure if it was both inside. I know the custard was inside.
    I would love to be able to recreate. Any tips?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can put both the remonce and the custard filling inside if you like. I prefer it with just the custard. This recipe is pretty darn close to most bakery kringles, and is based on the O&H recipe. My brother makes this and his is spectacular, better than most bakeries.

      Delete

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