Chocolate

Chocolate Pecan Kringle

by:
November  3, 2023
4.7
3 Ratings
Chocolate Pecan Kringle
Photo by Food52
  • Prep time 15 hours
  • Cook time 25 minutes
  • makes 1 kringle
Author Notes

Have you ever heard of kringle? This large, sliceable Danish ring is wildly popular in Wisconsin, where it is actually even the official state pastry. It’s popularity is thanks to a high concentration of traditional Danish bakeries in the state, where this treat is a top seller. In Wisconsin, you can even find kringle at most grocery stores, no to mention gift shops and even truck stops. Sweet, icing-topped kringles are everywhere, and come in a huge assortment of flavors. Traditional flavors often include almond or fruit fillings, but this version is for the chocolate lovers out there. Rich bittersweet ganache fills the flaky pastry crust, plus plenty of sweetened toasted pecans for crunch.

The best part about kringle is that while it’s still a project, it keeps extremely well. You can keep it at room temperature for up to four days, in the fridge it will keep for up to a week, and it can even be frozen, thawed, and refreshed easily. For me, that makes it a perfect make ahead baking project. It’s worthy of your holiday baking spread and makes a great gift (Wisconsin bakeries even ship it around the country). So join me in my Kringle Krusade! Let’s spread the word about this tasty pastry by baking as many kringles as we can! —Erin Jeanne McDowell

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Chocolate Pecan Kringle
Ingredients
  • For the dough:
  • 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon (14 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon (3 grams) instant dry yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) fine sea salt
  • 1/3 cup (78 grams) whole milk, warmed to about 110°F/43°C
  • 2 (40 grams) large egg yolks, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick / 113 grams) unsalted butter, frozen
  • —
  • For the filling:
  • 6 ounces (170 grams) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup (118 grams) heavy cream
  • 1 (35 grams) large egg white
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6 ounces (170 grams) toasted pecans, finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons (40 grams) light brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) fine sea salt
  • Egg wash (1 large egg (56 grams) + 1 tablespoon water (15 grams) + pinch fine sea salt)
  • —
  • For the icing:
  • 1 ounce (28 grams) bittersweet chocolate
  • 1 tablespoon (15 grams) heavy cream
  • 1 pinch fine sea salt
Directions
  1. The day before you want to make the kringle, make the dough: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, and butter to combine. Pulse until the butter has been completely incorporated. Add the yeast and salt and pulse to combine.
  2. Add the warm milk and egg yolks, and mix for 1 minute until a smooth dough forms around the processor blade.
  3. Transfer the dough to a large piece of plastic wrap, forming roughly into a square using floured hands, and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for 2 hours (or up to 24 hours), until well chilled.
  4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to be 8x15 inches and about ¼ inch thick. Grate the frozen butter evenly over the surface of the dough, and use your hands to gently press the butter into the dough.
  5. With one of the longer sides of the dough facing you on the work surface, visually divide the dough into thirds. Fold the left third of the dough over itself, resting on the center third of the dough. Then, fold the right third of the dough over, resting on the portion you just folded.
  6. Roll out the dough to 8x15 inches and about ¼ inch thick. Repeat the folding process, again, folding the dough into thirds. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  7. Repeat step 6. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough overnight.
  8. The next day, heat the oven to 350°F/175°C with the oven rack in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  9. Make the filling: Place the chocolate in a small, heat safe bowl. In a small pot, bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for 20 seconds undisturbed. Then, mix with a silicone spatula until the mixture is smoothly combined. Set aside.
  10. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg white and vanilla to combine. Add the pecans and toss well until evenly coated. Add the brown sugar and salt and toss well to combine.
  11. Unwrap the dough and roll it out to 7x28 inches. Spoon the ganache down the center of the kringle, and spread into in a fairly even layer in the center portion. Spoon about ¾ of the pecan mixture over the chocolate in an even layer. Reserve the remaining pecans to use on top of the kringle.
  12. Fold one of the excess portions of dough over the filling to partially enclose it, then do the same with the other portion of excess dough. This will leave a visible seam around the top of the kringle—there is no need to seal further or pinch this seam closed—just leave it as is.
  13. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet, and form it into a long oval shaped ring. When you get the shape how you like it, gently unfold one end of the kringle (about 1-inch deep), and place the other end inside it. Re-fold the excess dough around the stacked dough - this way there is just one portion that is slightly taller than the rest.
  14. Loosely cover the kringle with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes, until visibly puffy. Uncover, and egg wash the surface of the kringle. Transfer to the oven and bake until the outside of the kringle is golden brown and the ring looks slightly puffed, 20 to 25 minutes.
  15. Remove the kringle from the oven and let the pan cool to room temperature. As it cools, the kringle will collapse slightly, and no longer look as puffy.
  16. While the kringle cools, make the icing: In a microwave safe container, combine the chocolate and cream. Microwave in 10 second bursts, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is fully melted and combined. Add the salt and stir to combine. Drizzle the icing in the center of the cooled kringle ring. Let the icing set completely to firm up before slicing and serving the kringle. Store the kringle at room temperature for up to 4 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw the kringle for 4 hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator (note that the icing may be sticky after thawing). Refresh slices of kringle in the toaster oven or in a 300°F degree oven for 5 to 8 minutes.
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Erin Jeanne McDowell
I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!

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8 Reviews

Meg
Meg December 22, 2023
I’ve been thinking about trying puff pastry for a long time, but watching Erin’s YouTube video inspired me to finally do it. It wasn’t hard! It came out great!! I’m so happy I finally got over my ridiculous fear of puff pastry. I’m going to make another one or two for some houseguests that are from Wisconsin. Thank you!
 
Smaug
Smaug December 22, 2023
That's great, though this isn't actually puff pastry, it's pretty much a standard Danish dough; the proceess is similar, but puff pastry will have a lot more turns. It really isn't particularly difficult, but it is a lot of rolling. The main problem with Danish dough (it seems to me) is getting the temperature cold enough for the butter and warm enough for the yeast.
 
Meg
Meg December 22, 2023
I hear you on the “puff pastry”. Better to say I’ve not laminated dough in this manner before. For those out there, like me, who have feared the process for whatever reason, I found it to be quite easy, and the dough was far easier to work with than I had anticipated. Re: the yeast with the cold butter - much like a brioche, after getting activated with the warm ingredients, the refrigerator-temperature butter won’t kill it.
 
Smaug
Smaug December 23, 2023
No, refrigerator temperature won't kill or even inconvenience yeast, but it will slow its rise to practically nothing. I'm almost always using this type of dough out of the refrigerator, and bringing it up to a temperature where it will rise properly without over warming the butter is tricky, though mostly just a matter of patience.
 
Jill
Jill November 21, 2023
Grew up going to Racine and eating Kringle. Thank you. Now I'll make it!
 
FitzBaker
FitzBaker November 10, 2023
I think the initial flour measurement (by weight) is wrong. I tried making this dough with 260 grams flour and found it nearly unworkable...incredibly dry. Perhaps i should have done some mental math first, because 1 cup of flour is around 120-130 grams...multiplying that by 1.5 leaves you at 180-195 grams...way short of the 260 called for above. I'll have to scrap the dough and start again. C'est la vie! (but adjust the recipe plz)
 
Smaug
Smaug November 9, 2023
Alright, I went with the 200g. flour and it seemed to be right, at any rate the dough came out well and was easy to handle. The trick with the grated frozen butter has become quite popular but I hadn't tried it before- it worked well enough, but I found it clumsy and messy, and I ended up washing quite a bit of butter down the drain- something I go to some lengths to avoid- off of my hands and the grater. Grating it mechanically might be better, but I think I'll stick to the more conventional butter block in the future. Not to say that that doesn't have plenty of downside. Also, it's not mentioned what to do with the reserved nuts; I assume because of the egg white that they're meant to be baked on top of the Kringle; I decided to leave them and the frosting off, as the filling seemed quite enough; I might use a light sugar glaze, perhaps with citrus, in future.
I divided the dough into three parts; I only baked 1/3 with the ganache filling; I'm going to try a more conventional jam filling and an apple/pineapple filling that I've been using in turnovers
and rugelach for the others. This was not enough to make a ring; I just made a straight piece with sealed ends. The seam on the top mostly held, but it was clearly stressed and popped open in one small spot; I did dampen it where it overlapped, but I might do a bit of crimping in future.
The result was very good; I used 72% chocolate, and the filling could maybe have been a tad sweeter (I find myself trending a bit in that direction in my old age). I would recommend this recipe as a good introduction to laminated doughs for those who haven't made them, or just as a good recipe.
 
Smaug
Smaug November 8, 2023
Hm-just started on this recipe, and already there's a problem- 1 1/2 c of flour, with minimal fluffing is right zround 200g, not 260. I think I'll go with the volume, which looks about right. First step in the instructions, I presume the butter referred to is the 1 tsp. of soft butter. I won't be using a food processor.