Kringle
intro
Flaky, buttery layered pastry filled with sweet almond paste, drizzled with vanilla icing, and topped with toasted almonds: a beloved cold-weather holiday treat.
Ingredients
Steps
Mix and chill dough
In a large bowl, cut 226g cold cubed unsalted butter into 320g all-purpose flour and 1 tsp fine sea salt until butter pieces are the size of peas. Stir in 7g active dry yeast, 50g granulated sugar, 120ml full-fat sour cream, 1 large room-temperature egg, and 1 tsp vanilla extract until a shaggy dough forms. Divide dough into 2 equal disks, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour at 4°C (40°F) to firm up.
Roll and fold pastry
Remove one dough disk from the fridge, roll on a lightly floured surface to a 30x20cm (12x8 inch) rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter, rotate 90 degrees, roll again to the same 30x20cm size, and fold into thirds once more. Wrap and chill for 20 minutes, then repeat the exact roll-and-fold process with the second dough disk, chilling for an additional 20 minutes after folding.
Shape and add filling
Roll each chilled laminated dough disk into a 40x15cm (16x6 inch) long rectangle. Crumble 100g of almond paste down the center third of each dough rectangle, leaving a 2.5cm (1 inch) border on all ends. Cut 2.5cm (1 inch) wide diagonal slits down the long sides of each dough strip, then fold the strips over the filling in a crisscross braid pattern, pinching the ends tightly to seal. Shape each braid into an oval loop, tucking the ends under to form the classic ringed kringle shape.
Proof shaped pastries
Transfer the two shaped kringles to parchment-lined baking sheets, cover loosely with a clean cotton kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot (24°C/75°F) for 30 minutes until puffy and slightly increased in size. While proofing, preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F) with a rack positioned in the middle of the oven.
Bake to golden flakiness
Remove the kitchen towel from the proofed kringles, bake for 22-25 minutes at 190°C (375°F) until the pastry is deep golden brown all over and flaky, with no pale raw dough spots in the braid crevices. Remove from the oven, carefully slide the kringles on their parchment paper onto a wire cooling rack to cool for 20 minutes before icing.
Ice and finish pastries
While the kringles cool, whisk 120g powdered sugar, 15ml whole milk, and 1 tsp vanilla extract in a small bowl until a smooth, thick but pourable icing forms. Drizzle the icing evenly over the fully cooled kringles, then sprinkle with 30g toasted sliced almonds. Let the icing set for 10 minutes at room temperature before slicing into wedges and serving.
Tips
2.Avoid overfilling the kringle with almond paste, as excess filling will leak out during baking, burn on the baking sheet, and prevent the dough from sealing properly; stick to the measured 100g of filling per pastry.
3.Wait until the kringle has cooled for at least 20 minutes before drizzling icing, as hot pastry will melt the icing, causing it to run off instead of setting into a smooth, sweet coating.
OMG this buttery almond kringle turned out SO good for our Sunday family brunch! I was nervous about the laminated dough since I’m pretty new to baking, but the instructions were super clear. My kids loved it so much they devoured half the pan before I even set out the mimosas, total game changer. Already planning to make it again for my office potluck next week!
Made this yesterday for a quick weekend treat and wow, the almond paste filling is perfectly sweet without being cloying! I did add a tiny extra drizzle of almond glaze on top and a sprinkle of sliced toasted almonds, and it paired so perfectly with my morning latte. 10/10, will be in my regular rotation now.
Y’all, I brought this to my neighborhood block party last weekend and people were begging me for the recipe! I was worried the 3 hour cook time would be too much for a weeknight prep, but I split the dough prep across two nights and it was totally manageable. Only note: I wish I’d made a double batch, it was gone in 10 minutes flat!
Has anyone tried making this with a gluten free all purpose flour blend? I’m dying to make it for my sister’s birthday brunch, she’s celiac and kringle is her all time favorite pastry, but I don’t want to waste all that butter on a flop!
Solid recipe, the flaky layers are unreal. I will say, this is definitely a medium difficulty bake like the page says — don’t go into it thinking it’s a 30 minute throw together dessert, the 3 hour timeline is accurate if you don’t cut corners. I pre-sliced mine and froze individual pieces for quick breakfasts all week, they reheat perfectly in the toaster oven!
Tried this last night and the flavor is incredible, but my layers didn’t puff up quite as much as the photos show. I think I rushed the chill time between folds because I was running late for my kid’s soccer game, oops. Still tasted amazing though, even with slightly less flaky layers!