Danish Kringle
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By Alyssa Rivers
on Dec 03, 2023, Updated Oct 22, 2024 |
This Danish Kringle is full of almond flavor, baked until golden, and then drizzled with a vanilla glaze. This can be eaten for breakfast or dessert; everyone will love it!
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Cultural Tradition: A Danish Kringle is a delicious pastry that comes from Denmark. It is made with a buttery dough filled with a creamy filling. Yum!
- Trader Joe’s Copycat: You are missing out if you haven’t tried the Trader Joe’s Kringle. This recipe, in my opinion, is even better!
- Crowd Pleaser: Everyone will rave at how beautiful and delicious this Danish is. You will be the talk of any party, get-together, or brunch!
Ingredients in a Danish Kringle
These ingredients are classic; you probably have most of them in your pantry! Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all of the exact measurements.
Dough
- Bread Flour: This helps give this Danish Kringle the perfect texture.
- Sugar: This is what makes the recipe sweet!
- Active Dry Yeast: 1 packet is just the right amount!
- Salt: The salt enhances all of the flavors in the dough.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter in this recipe. Keep it in the fridge so it stays cold until you use it.
- Milk: I use whole milk in this recipe.
- Egg: This helps bind all of the ingredients together.
Filling
- Marzipan: You can make this from scratch with this marzipan recipe, or you can buy it pre-made from the store to save time!
Egg wash
- Egg White and Water: Mixing these two ingredients will create an egg wash to make this Danish Kringle nice and golden brown.
Frosting
- Powdered Sugar: This creates a sweet flavor that dissolves easily, making it nice and creamy.
- Water: This helps turn the sugar into a glaze.
- Vanilla and Almond Extract: These flavor the frosting, adding to that almond flavor.
- Sliced Almonds: These are optional and can be used as a topping on this Danish Kringle.
How to Make A Danish Kringle at Home
This recipe makes TWO kringles, so it’s perfect for serving a crowd. You can even make the dough ahead of time and bake it fresh when you are ready!
Make the Dough
- Mix Dry Ingredients with Butter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Pour the flour mixture, along with the cubed butter, into a food processor fitted with the blade attachment.
- Pulse: Pulse the food processor until the butter has been evenly distributed and nearly broken down. You should still see some small chunks of butter throughout.
- Combine: In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and egg. Add the flour mixture to the liquids and mix the wet and dry ingredients thoroughly using a wooden spoon, stiff spatula, or your hands.
- Knead and Chill: Knead the dough and shape it into a long rectangle. Cut the dough in half lengthwise. Place the dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Roll the Dough: Once the dough has chilled, place it on a lightly floured surface, and using a rolling pin, roll each section of dough out into a long rectangle, about 6 x 24 inches.
Add the Filling
- Prep: While the dough is chilling, preheat an oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
- Roll Marzipan: Separate the marzipan in half, then roll each half out to the length of the dough and smash it slightly flat. Lay the marzipan into each section of dough. If it is too long after flattening, you can trim it to fit inside the dough.
- Fold: Fold one side of the Danish kringle dough over the marzipan and the remaining section of dough over the top of that, then use a bit of water to secure the seam. Flip the kringle over to place the seam on the bottom.
- Shape into Oval: Shape each length of the kringle into an oval. Join the ends together by fitting one side into the end of the other, and seal the seam with a bit of water. (My ovals were about 12 x 9 inches from longest to widest points).
- Bake: Place each kringle on its own sheet pan, egg wash the top of each kringle, and bake them one at a time for 20-25 minutes until the kringle is golden brown. Keep the kringle in the fridge while it waits to bake.
Make the Glaze
- Whisk: Once the Danish kringles are fully baked, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool to room temperature. While they are cooling, make the frosting by whisking together the powdered sugar, water, almond, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
- Drizzle: Once the kringles are cooled, drizzle the frosting across each kringle, sprinkle the sliced almonds across the tops, and enjoy!
Kringle Tips and Variations
This Danish Kringle is so delicious as is, but you can easily change it up to make it your own!
Storing Leftovers
This Danish Kringle can last a few days (if you don’t eat it all in one night!), and here is how you can store it properly.
- Storing your baked Danish Kringle: Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the fridge for a week.
- Can I make this ahead of time? Yes! You can assemble the kringle and keep it covered in the fridge overnight, then bake it fresh the next day.
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Make the Dough
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Pour the flour mixture, along with the cubed butter into a food processor fitted with the blade attachment.
Pulse the food processor until the butter has been evenly distributed and nearly broken down. You should still see some small chunks of butter throughout.
In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and egg. Add the flour mixture to the liquids and, using a wooden spoon, stiff spatula, or your hands mix the wet and dry ingredients together thoroughly.
Knead the dough together and shape it into a long rectangle. Cut the dough in half lengthwise. Place the dough on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Once the dough has chilled, place it on a lightly floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll each section of dough out into a long rectangle, about 6 by 24 inches.
Add the Filling
While the dough is chilling, preheat an oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit and prepare 2 baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
Separate the marzipan in half, roll each half out to the length of the dough and smash it slightly flat. Lay the marzipan into each section of dough, If it ends up being a little too long after flattening you can trim it to fit inside the dough.
Fold one side of the dough over the marzipan and the remaining section of dough over the top of that, using a bit of water to secure the seam. Flip the kringle over to place the seam on the bottom.
Shape each length of the kringle into an oval, joining the ends together by fitting one side into the end of the other, and seal the seam with a bit of water. (My ovals ended up being about 12 by 9 inches from the longest points to the widest points).
Place each kringle on its own sheet pan, egg wash the top of each kringle and bake them one at a time for 20-25 minutes, until the kringle is golden brown. Keep the kringle in the fridge while it waits to bake.
Make the Glaze
Once the kringles are fully baked, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool to room temperature. While they are cooling, make the frosting by whisking together the powdered sugar, water, almond and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
Once the kringles are cooled, drizzle the frosting across each kringle and sprinkle the sliced almonds across the tops, and enjoy!
Store the kringle at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.
The kringle can be assembled and kept covered in the fridge overnight and baked fresh the next day.
Store bought marzipan can be used in place of homemade marzipan.
This recipe is for a classic almond kringle, but you can get creative and use other fillings such as cherry, maple, pumpkin, cheesecake, and more!
Calories: 257kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 4gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 171mgPotassium: 88mgFiber: 1gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 256IUVitamin C: 0.001mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.