When Craig and I first met (and our diet and lifestyle were quite different than they are today), we adored camping up on the south shore of Lake Superior in the adorable town of Bayfield, Wisconsin. Every morning we went to a cute bakery in town and ordered the almond kringle. It was ooey and gooey and stuffed with a decadent cream cheese mixture. It has been more than a decade, but this keto-friendly kringle reminds me of those early-morning trips to the bakery in Bayfield. My recipe is named after my mother-in-law, Sue (my boys call her Grandma Suzie), who also makes an amazing kringle.
This recipe may seem daunting, but let me tell you some tricks that I learned while working at coffee shop
bakeries, where I needed to get multiple confections ready and into the display case before 5 a.m.:
- You can make the dough, fillings, and glaze up to 2 days ahead and store them in the refrigerator. Then all you have to do is assemble and bake the kringle on the day you want to consume it.
- You can make multiple batches of the dough and store them in airtight containers in the freezer for future use.
- You can bake the kringle and freeze it, but it is much better fresh!
prep time: 15 minutes, plus 1 hour to chill dough, if needed
cook time: 15 minutes
yield: 8 servings
INGREDIENTS
DOUGH
- 1 ¾ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 ounce cream cheese (2 tablespoons)
- ¾ cup blanched almond flour
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
CINNAMON FILLING
- 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons Swerve confectioners’-style sweetener or equivalent amount of liquid or powdered sweetener
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup Swerve confectioners’-style sweetener or equivalent amount of liquid or powdered sweetener
- 1 large egg yolk
GLAZE
- ¼ cup Swerve confectioners’-style sweetener or equivalent amount of powdered stevia or erythritol
- 1 to 2 tablespoons unsweetened cashew milk or heavy cream
OPTIONAL GARNISH
- Crushed almonds
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- To make the dough, place the mozzarella and cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, until the cheese is entirely melted. Stir well.
- To the bowl, add the almond flour, egg, and salt and combine well using a hand mixer. Use your hands and work it like a traditional dough, kneading for about 3 minutes. (Note: If the dough is too sticky, chill it in the refrigerator for an hour or overnight.)
- Grease a 14-inch-long piece of parchment paper and place it on a pizza stone (or a baking sheet, but a pizza stone will bake the bottom of the kringle better). Place the dough on the greased parchment and use a rolling pin or your hands to form it into a large oval, about 12 inches by 8 inches. Position the oval so that one of the short sides is facing you.
- To make the cinnamon filling, place the melted butter, sweetener, and cinnamon in a small bowl and use a fork to combine well. Place this mixture on top of the dough and spread it out, covering as much of the surface of the dough as possible.
- To make the cream cheese filling, place the softened cream cheese, sweetener, and egg yolk in a bowl and mix well to combine. Starting 3 inches from the top of the dough oval and working your way toward you, pour this mixture down the middle of the oval, ending 3 inches from the edge nearest you. Now spread the filling into an oval shape, leaving 1 ½ inches along the left and right edges exposed.
- Cut 1 ½-inch long, ¾-inch-wide flaps along the long sides of the kringle, cutting only into the part that doesn’t have any cream cheese filling on it. Fold the top and bottom ends in, on top of the cream cheese filling. Then, starting at the top of the oval, fold the right flap over the cream cheese filling, then the left flap; continue folding the flaps over the filling until the whole kringle is wrapped and a zipper-like kringle is made. Some of the cream cheese will be exposed.
- Place the pizza stone with the kringle in the oven to bake for 15 minutes or until the kringle is golden brown and the dough is fully cooked. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the stone for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the glaze: Place the sweetener in a small bowl and add just enough cashew milk to make a thin glaze. If it gets too thin, add a tablespoon of sweetener, and if it is still too thick, add another splash of milk.
- Once the kringle is cool, drizzle the glaze over it and sprinkle with crushed almonds, if desired. Store
extras in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat on a baking sheet in a pre heated 350°F oven for 5 minutes or until warmed through.
