Danish pretzels Buttery, flaky, sweet and best enjoyed with a cup of coffee or tea! Just like the famous kringles you can buy at Trader Joe's, it's all homemade and absolutely delicious!
Why You'll Love My Danish Kringle Recipe
- Texture! It's light and flaky, and topped with the perfect amount of sweet vanilla icing. Paired with a cup of coffee, these homemade pastries are the perfect way to start your day!
- Trader Joe's scam! I don't know about you, but if you've ever bought a Danish kringle at Trader Joe's, you'll understand the level of obsession. Knowing how to make a version at home is both amazing and terrifying! I usually have to pay half of it because I will eat the whole thing myself!
- Classic(ish)! I'm not Danish, so I can't claim it's a family recipe passed down through the generations. It took me a lot of effort to get this recipe right. I hope you enjoy my version because I worked hard to make it as traditional as possible!
What is a Danish kringle?
A Danish kringle is a Danish pastry traditionally made of multiple layers of butter dough and topped with icing. Some people like to put nuts and fruit inside the layers before baking, but I like to top the whole thing with chopped walnuts at the end.
What you need / materials
Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for the full recipe! You can print it too!
- All purpose flour. You will need this for both the pastry and the filling.
- butter. You will use butter in all steps of this recipe: pastry, filling, and icing. I use salted butter, but you can use unsalted if you prefer.
- the egg. You will need eggs for the filling part of this kringle recipe. I use large eggs in this recipe, as I do in all my baking recipes.
- the icing: For the icing you will need the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract, walnuts and butter that I mentioned above. Pastry alone isn't sweet, so it's up to the icing to add that tempting sweetness!
concept of variation
This Danish coffee cake recipe is sweet but has a subtle flavor. The dough becomes a buttery, pastry-like base, with a slightly homemade flavor Chaotic cover. It is then topped with a filling made of butter and egg, baked in wide strips and drizzled with sweet vanilla icing. When you mix in the walnuts each bite has a delicious nutty crunch, which ties the whole thing together!
I love the plain vanilla flavor when enjoying this pastry with a cup of coffee, but there are other flavor combinations you can try! Here are a few ideas:
- Orange: You can make an orange-flavored ice cream with a little orange zest. Same thing can be done with lemon juice/lemon zest.
- Chocolate: add Chocolate chip On pastries, or make a chocolate glaze instead of vanilla.
- Add-ins: Toss some pecans, almonds, raisins or other fruit into the pastry dough.
Tips for the Best Danish Kringles
- Kringle Composition: Traditional kringles usually take an oval shape, but I like to bake the dough instead. You're going to cut it anyway, so why not make life a little easier?
- Have a mixer on hand: You need to combine the flour and cubed butter to make the base layer, which is a pain to do by hand, so I recommend having an electric mixer handy.
- For a light cake: If you want to cut some calories from this coffee cake, spread thin lines of icing over the kringles, instead of spreading it all over the thing.
How do you serve a kringle?
I love enjoying these Danish kringles with coffee, obviously, or a cup of tea. If you have kids, I recommend serving this pastry with a glass of milk. Kringles can be served cold, at room temperature or warm – add caramel or a little cinnamon if you like!
How to Store Danish Kringles
Store kringles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Since the icing is made of milk, you don't want to leave it at room temperature.
description
This Danish kringle recipe is a flaky pastry, filled with custard and topped with sweet sugar icing and nuts!
Pastries:
- 1 cup All purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Cold butter, cubed
- 2 tbsp the water
Filling:
- 1 cup the water
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup All purpose flour
- 3 big egg
Icing:
- 2 tbsp Butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 – 2 Tablespoon of milk
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet Parchment paper. Set aside.
- Pastries: Place the flour in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or fork, mix in the cubed butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add in the water and bring the mixture together until it forms a ball. Divide the dough into three equal parts.
- Lightly flour a clean work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll each portion of dough into a 9×6-inch rectangle. Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet. Keep aside while making the filling.
- Filling: through a strict Over medium heat, bring the water and butter to a boil. Add the flour and stir until a smooth ball is formed. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer the chilled dough to your bowl Stand mixer fitted with Paddle attachment And with the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, mixing until smooth (about 30 seconds), scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Spread the egg mixture evenly over each roll out dough and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Custard will swell while cooking, but will settle again as it cools. Let the pastry cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
- the icing: In a medium bowl, beat together the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon milk until smooth. If you want a thinner icing, add the rest of the milk. Stir in the walnuts until combined and spread the icing over each pastry while they are still warm.
Comment
Serve hot, at room temperature or cold.
Store airtight in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Freeze airtight for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
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