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Wisconsin kringle
Oval Danish pastry ring filled with pecans and brown sugar
AmericanKringle came to Racine, Wisconsin, with Danish bakers in the 1800s, and the town's bakeries still ship thousands of these flat oval pastry rings at Christmas. Thin layers of buttery laminated dough wrap a pecan and brown sugar filling, and the top is glazed with white icing. It is the official state pastry, eaten with coffee at breakfast. Chef's tip: keep the dough and butter cold at every fold; if the butter melts into the dough you lose the flaky layers.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the dough
- 10 ½ oz plain flour
- ⅛ oz instant dried yeast
- 2 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup cold milk
- 1 egg
- 7 oz cold butter
For the filling
- 4 oz pecansfinely chopped
- 3 ½ oz soft brown sugar
- 1 ¾ oz buttersoft
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
For the icing
- 5 ½ oz icing sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Mix the 10 ½ oz plain flour, ⅛ oz instant dried yeast, 2 tbsp sugar and ½ tsp salt, then the ½ cup cold milk and 1 egg to a soft dough. Knead 3 minutes, wrap and chill 30 minutes.
35 minStep 2: Beat the cold 7 oz cold butter between two sheets of baking paper into a 15 cm square. Roll the dough to a 30 cm square, set the butter in the middle diagonally and fold the corners over to enclose it.
10 minStep 3: Roll into a 20 × 45 cm strip, fold in three like a letter, wrap and chill 30 minutes. Repeat the roll, fold and chill twice more.
100 minStep 4: Mix the 4 oz pecans, 3 ½ oz soft brown sugar, 1 ¾ oz butter and ½ tsp ground cinnamon to a paste. Roll the dough into a 15 × 70 cm strip and spread the filling down the middle third.
10 minStep 5: Fold one long side over the filling, brush with 1 egg white and fold the other side over to seal. Shape into an oval ring on a lined tray, pinching the ends together. Cover and rise 45 minutes. Heat the oven to 375°F (350°F fan).
50 minStep 6: Bake for 25–30 minutes until deep golden and flaky. A common mistake is a pale kringle, which tastes doughy inside. Cool 30 minutes.
30 minStep 7: Mix the 5 ½ oz icing sugar, 2 tbsp milk and ½ tsp vanilla extract to a thick glaze and drizzle over the cooled kringle.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does wisconsin kringle take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 60 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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