Danish Kringle
This Danish Kringle (AKA Salted Caramel Danish Puff) recipe makes 2 danish puffs, an elegant dessert delicious served for any breakfast, brunch, or afternoon tea! It’s a light, flaky almond dessert that is easy to make, and impressive to serve for the holidays. We love to keep one, and give one away as a holiday gift.
I love a good danish pastry recipe during the winter holidays! And we’ve been making this dessert for over 30 years. This Danish Kringle, otherwise known as a “danish puff” from my mom’s church cookbook, is made with two layers of dough, the first being like a short crust. Then on top of that is egg (choux) pastry dough baked to perfection. The final addition is a salted caramel frosting, topped with almonds.
Danish Kringle
This danish pastry makes 2 “danish kringles,” delicious served for any breakfast, brunch, or afternoon treat! Slice diagnolly or in small squares and serve! It’s easy to make ahead and freeze, too, which makes it easy to pull out for a holiday brunch.
Read more: Danish Kringle
Danish Kringle is a variation of puff pastry. Danish Pastries usually consist of yeast-leavened dough and a type of fat; mostly butter or margarine. But this Danish Kringle recipe does not have any yeast, which makes it so easy to make! It’s a crispy, golden puff with a luscious, surprise frosting.
Why I love this recipe
- It makes 2 pastries.
- There is no sugar in the pastry dough, making it not too overly sweet.
- We love it served for breakfst or a light dessert, served on a platter (beautiful presentation).
Gather these ingredients:
- Flour
- Butter
- Almond extract (this really makes the flavor pop!)
- Eggs
- Powdered sugar
- Dark brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Milk
- Shaved or toasted almonds
- Sea Salt
How do you make Danish Kringle?
- Make the dough: Place 1 cup of flour in a medium bowl. Mix in butter, using a fork or a pastry blender. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water over, and stir with a fork until dough comes together. Divide into two balls. Pat dough into two long strips on an ungreased baking sheet, about 12 inches long and 3 inches wide.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Make the Choux pastry: In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of butter and 1 cup of water. Bring to a rolling boil. Add 1 teaspoon of almond extract and remove from the heat. Immediately stir in 1 cup of flour until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Gradually stir in the eggs until well blended.
- Divide evenly, and spread over the two crusts on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven.
- Allow to cool almost to room temperature before frosting.
- To make the frosting, mix together the 2 sugars, 1 teaspoon each of almond and vanilla extract and a splash of milk in a small bowl until smooth. Add more milk if necessary to make a pourable glaze. Drizzle over the Danish puffs, and salt lightly with sea salt. Sprinkle with sliced almonds.
Tips and substitutions:
- What is choux pastry? Choux pastry is made by cooking milk, butter, water and flour together to form a dough and then slowly incorporating eggs into the paste.
- Optional to leave of the salt if you don’t want to add a “salted” flavor.
- Optional to use regular brown sugar in place of the dark brown sugar, but we really love the “dark” flavor, especially with the salt.
- You can use a regular vanilla frosting on top.
- Don’t like almonds? Use chopped walnuts or pistachios.
Serving a Danish Kringle
We took it a step further and added a salted caramel flavored icing, topped with toasted sliced almonds! It’s amazing, and perfect for Christmas morning, or a holiday dessert (with tea or coffee).
- Slice diagnolly or in small squares and serve!
- For the best holiday brunch, make our Biscuit Breakfast Bake (in a bundt pan), a fruit salad, and this danish puff pastry! Delish!
- It makes 2 danish, so you can serve one to your family, and give one away! I’ve made many of these over the years, and given away to family and friends (I made these at Christmas this year).
- You can buy pretty silver plates at the Dollar Store, that each danish fits perfectly on, for gift-giving.
Storage
You can make these up and freeze (wrap them well) without the frosting, or you can frost (after they are fool), top with the almonds and freeze that way. You can freeze them whole or you can slice into pieces and freeze.
Defrost before serving.
The pastry can sit out on the counter in air-tight containter for up to 5 days.
More holiday desserts to try:
Get the Recipe:
Danish Kringle
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons water
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Make the frosting:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk, or more as needed
- ½ cup sliced shaved almonds, toasted
- Sea salt
Instructions
- Place 1 cup of flour in a medium bowl. Mix in butter, using a fork or a pastry blender. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water over, and stir with a fork until dough comes together. Divide into two balls. Pat dough into two long strips on an ungreased baking sheet, about 12 inches long and 3 inches wide. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a saucepan, combine ½ cup of butter and 1 cup of water. Bring to a rolling boil. Add 1 teaspoon of almond extract and remove from the heat. Immediately stir in 1 cup of flour until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Gradually stir in the eggs until well blended.
- Divide evenly, and spread over the two crusts on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven. Allow to cool almost to room temperature before frosting.
Make the frosting:
- Mix together the 2 sugars, 1 teaspoon each of almond and vanilla extract and a splash of milk in a small bowl until smooth. Add more milk if necessary to make a pourable glaze.
- Drizzle over the Danish Kringles, and salt lightly with sea salt. Sprinkle with sliced almonds.
- Slice diagnolly or in small squares and serve!
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Oh my goodness, I’ve making this since I was 12 yrs old and I’m soon to be 69. My mother’s Norwegian friend had gave her the recipe. My topping is slightly different with only powdered sugar-no brown sugar, so will have to give yours a try. Thank you for sharing.
My mom used to make Danish Coffee Cake every year for Christmas morning, and she would make them as gifts for friends. She would freeze them unfrosted and then frost them when she wrapped them up to give. I love the idea of using a salted caramel frosting to change it up a bit. Thanks for sharing!
love this!! looks amazing :)
What a cool dessert! Love the use of salted caramel :)
Thanks for sharing Sandy and for blessing me today with a good word and a sweet recipe.
You had me at salted caramel! The photo of you and your mother is precious!