Raspberry White Chocolate Almond Kringle

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by California Giant Berry Farms as part of an ongoing partnership. As always, all opinions here are my own. 

I have nothing but love for my girl Julie Andrews, but I have to be honest and tell you that I do not love her list of "favorite things." I mean, "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens" are all fine and dandy, but they're not really my style. {Though I must say that the "bright copper kettles" sound like a welcome addition to my kitchen.}

My personal list would sound something like, "Spa days on repeat and luxury travel, really good cheese and great wine by the barrel, bowl-fulls of ice cream that's calorie-free, these are the things you should buy just for meeee."

{Julie, I won't be mad if you update your list now that you've heard mine.}

I may have gone off the beaten path a bit with my version, but I think Julie may have been onto something with the "crisp apple strudel", because who doesn't need something sweet and delicious to devour with a nice cup of coffee on Christmas morning??

This Raspberry White Chocolate Almond Kringle may not be a crisp apple strudel, but it is definitely a beautiful, holiday-worthy pastry that everyone will enjoy.  I discovered this recipe for a classic Kringle pastry a few years ago and have since then adapted it and made several variations that have never let me down.

The key ingredients are pretty basic -- flour, butter, water, eggs, salt -- but the two distinct techniques used for the main part of the ring give it a unique texture that makes it far from boring. To add a little something extra for the holidays, I added some vanilla bean paste to the dough and hid plump, fresh California Giant Raspberries right underneath the first layer so that you get a little surprise burst of color, not to mention that sweet-tart berry goodness along with the rich dough with each bite. Although it may seem like overkill to drizzle the top with both melted white chocolate and an almond-scented sugar glaze, it actually lends the perfect amount of sweetness to the pastry since the dough itself contains no sugar whatsoever. It's all about balance!

Some crunchy slivered almonds and a few extra berries adorn the top of this gorgeous thing, making it quite a holiday sight to behold if I do say so myself.

I may just have to add this Kringle to my "favorite things." Would you blame me??

Speaking of Favorite Things... I have some really exciting news from my friends at California Giant that may just help you cross a few items off your own Wish List! They've gotten into the holiday spirit and are giving away some really great prizes including:

• A $100 Visa Gift Card for last minute holiday shopping
• A Cast Iron Skillet Set for making comforting berry desserts
• A Kitchenaid Mixer to inspire you to mix up your own berry creation
• A blender for creating energizing berry smoothies
• A Fitbit to help you reach your health goals in the New Year
• The Farm, Family & Food Cookbook filled with our secret family recipes!

But that's not all... because CalGiant knows that you're all my favorite readers, they're also letting me give away one of my absolute favorite kitchen items: A set of OXO Non-Stick Pro Pans! {The pan in the Kringle picture is one of them. They're probably one of my most used kitchen tools, and I think you'll love them as much as I do.}

You don't even have to worry about if you've been naughty or nice, all you have to do to enter is click the box below!

Whether you win a prize or not, this kringle recipe is a winner, so give it a try!

Raspberry White Chocolate Almond Kringle

The Kitchen Prep

This Raspberry White Chocolate Almond Kringle may not be a crisp apple strudel, but it is definitely a beautiful, holiday-worthy pastry that everyone will enjoy. 

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

  

Bottom layer:

• ½ cup {8 tablespoons} cold unsalted butter
• 1 cup flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup cold water
• 1 6 ounce container California Giant Raspberries rinsed, dried and halved

Top layer:

• 1 cup water
• ½ cup {8 tablespoons} unsalted butter
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour
• 3 eggs room temp
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste {or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract}

For White Chocolate Drizzle

• ½ cup white chocolate chips
• 1 ½ teaspoons coconut oil {or neutral oil like canola}

For Almond-Scented Glaze

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons half and half cream or milk
• 2-3 drops almond extract
• ¼ cup sliced almonds
• Optional: Extra raspberries for garnish

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Make bottom layer of kringle:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer {or in a large bowl}, beat together cold butter, flour and salt until it becomes crumbly. Add cold water and beat until it forms a smooth, soft dough.
• Now comes the tricky part: Wet your hands and scoop out about ¼ of the dough. Mold it as well as you can into a "rope" and place on the lined baking sheet. Keep in mind, the end goal here is to form an oval ring shape that is about 12 inches long and 8 inches wide.
• Wet your hands {it really makes a huge difference in handling the dough} and scoop out another ¼ of the dough and do the same thing, attempting to connect to the previous piece and slowly forming that oval ring shape. Continue to wet hands and arrange the dough until it forms a completely closed oval, then pat it down slightly to flatten it out to about 1 ½ inches wide. Top it with the halved raspberries, as evenly distributed as possible, pressing lightly to adhere them to the dough.

Make the top layer:

• In a small saucepan, heat the water, butter and salt over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil.{Be careful, once it boils it'll bubble over quickly if you're not paying attention.} Dump in the flour all at once and stir it in quickly until it comes together into a dough.
• Scoop the mixture into a large bowl {you can use the same one that you used for the other bowl} and beat it for about 30 seconds to let out some of the heat, then add the eggs one by one, stopping after each addition is fully incorporated. Add the vanilla bean paste and mix to fully incorporate.
• Scoop the batter out and spread it over the top of the bottom layer ring shape with your spatula, covering the raspberries and the dough completely. {You can also scoop the batter into a zip top bag and snip a large opening to easily pipe the dough out over top to make it easier to distribute it evenly.}
• Bake for about 50 minutes to 1 hour until the kringle is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely. While the kringle is baking, prepare your drizzle and glaze.

For white chocolate:

• Simply place the white chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small, microwave-proof bowl and heat in 15 second intervals, stopping to stir. Continue to do so until completely smooth. Set aside.

For the glaze:

• Beat together the confectioners' sugar, half & half and almond extract until a thick, but pourable, consistency is reached. {You may want to pour in a little bit of the liquid at a time until you get the right consistency. If it becomes too runny, just add more sugar.}
• When the kringle is completely cool, drizzle with the melted white chocolate, followed by the almond glaze. While the drizzle is still slightly wet, sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top. Allow the drizzle to set, if desired. Garnish with extra raspberries before serving.