Cherry Cheesecake Kringle
As soon as I heard the word ‘Kringle’ in my chat with Martin Sorge (winner of The Great American Baking Show) on Bakeology, I was immediately fascinated by this giant pastry I’d never heard of. Originating in Northern Europe and popular in the US, a Kringle is a large sheet of flaky pastry wrapped around a delicious, sweet filling, which is then shaped into a large ring, baked, and perfect for sharing.
After researching more Kringle recipes than I care to count, I found that most were quite complex and time consuming, largely due to the yeasted pastry that needs an overnight prove to be at its best.
So to make things a little easier, my version is a delicious cheat’s edition! I’ve simplified things by using store-bought frozen puff pastry, all while keeping the delicious flavours of cherries and cheesecake. The fillings themselves are nice and simple to prepare. The trickiest part of the recipe is assembling and shaping the Kringle into a circle. I’ve been as detailed as possible in the recipe below, so be sure to read it all the way through before you begin and check out the photo gallery at the end for step-by-step images of how I did it.
Here are some tips:
I’ve used three squares of frozen puff pastry, each measuring 24cm. Once they are trimmed and assembled, the combined pastry should measure roughly 18cm wide and 65-70cm in length.
When using frozen puff pastry start assembling while the pastry is thawed but still cold. And be generous with the flour on your bench and on the pastry itself. This ensures the pastry doesn’t stick to your bench as you assemble.
If you’re in the mood for an even easier time, you could instead keep the three trimmed sheets of puff pastry separate and make three individual Kringle logs. Just make sure you seal the ends well, so the filling doesn’t come out while baking.
You can use home-made rough puff (check out my recipe here) or go fully traditional with a yeasted dough.
Watch my how-to video on Instagram
INGREDIENTS
Cherry & Amaretto Compote (watch my how-to video here)
650g jar Morello Cherries
65g caster sugar
15g corn flour
Pinch of salt
Juice of half a lemon
100ml amaretto
Cheesecake filling (inspired by Erin McDowell’s cheesecake Kringle filling)
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
125g icing mixture (or sieved icing sugar)
2 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
35g plain flour
Pastry
Three 24cm square sheets of frozen puff pastry
Icing and decoration
100g icing mixture (or sieved icing sugar)
30ml liquid from the cherry compote
30-50g flaked almonds, toasted (optional)
METHOD
Cherry and Amaretto Compote
Place a sieve over a medium bowl and drain the cherries. Measure 185ml of the drained cherry liquid and discard the rest, or use it for cocktails.
Add the sugar, cornflour and cherry liquid in a medium saucepan and whisk to combine. Place the mix on a medium heat and bring to a gentle boil, constantly stirring. Reduce the heat to low, and keep stirring until the mixture thickens and becomes viscous, with a ruby-coloured translucency. It took me about 5 minutes to get to this point Remove from the heat.
Place the syrup into a medium bowl, and then stir through the cherries, lemon juice and amaretto until combined and place in the fridge until needed.
For the cheesecake filling
Place the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl. Beat with hand beaters until well combined – about 5 minutes.
Add the egg yolks (reserve the egg whites for the egg wash) and vanilla and beat to combine. Finally, add the flour and beat on low until combined.
Put the cheesecake mix in the fridge until needed.
To assemble (see the image gallery at the end of the recipe to see these instructions in action)
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C and line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Take your three sheets of square puff pastry and lay them on your bench, covered in clean tea towels to thaw for 5 mins, or until the sheets are flexible, but still chilled.
With the pastry still on its plastic backing, use a ruler to measure 18cm from the top edge of each pastry square and use a sharp knife to nick the pastry at the 18cm mark.
Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, trim the pastry squares so they are now equal rectangles.
You’re now going to stick these pieces of pastry together to create one long pastry piece. To do this, generously sprinkle each piece of pastry with flour and gently rub it in so the entire surface is lightly covered. Sprinkle more flour on your bench. Flip one piece of pastry so the floured side is now facing down on the floured bench. Remove the plastic on the back.
Brush some of the reserved egg whites on the right-hand short edge of the pastry – about 3cm will do the trick. This is where you will stick the next rectangle of pastry.
Take the second piece of pastry, flip it, floured side is down so it overlaps the first piece where you brushed the egg whites. Gently press down on the overlap to stick the pastry together and then remove the plastic backing.
Repeat the previous two steps for the final piece of pastry. Your pastry should now measure about 65-70cm in length
Now it’s time for the filling. Spoon the chilled cheesecake filling along the centre of the pastry, leaving a gap at each end.
Run a dessert spoon gently along the centre of the cheesecake filling to create a trench. Spoon some of the cherries in a single line along the trench, being careful not to add too much liquid (you’ll use this later when you serve the kringle!)
Fold one of the long edges over the cheesecake and cherries. Brush the folded side with egg wash, and then brush the unfolded side with egg wash. Fold the remaining side over, so the brushed sides meet and the filling is now sealed in like a long sausage roll
Gently shuffle the pastry into a circle. To seal the circle, imagine a snake eating itself - unfold and open one end of the sausage and place the other end into it, and then re fold the pastry to seal.
Carefully transfer to a lined baking sheet and the brush all over with the egg wash.
Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden. Leave on the tray to cool completely.
To make the icing, place the icing sugar and the cherry liquid into a bowl and whisk until smooth. Gently spread the icing over the cooled Kringle and sprinkle with toasted almond flakes, if using.
Slice up and serve with extra cherry compote drizzled over.
This is best eaten on the day, but you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
