My husband has a soft spot for Kranzkuchen, an almond-paste and rum-raisin–stuffed sweet wreath. He has tried many Kranzkuchen in his life, but he says that absolutely none come close to Hutzelmann’s version, sold in thick slabs all year long. It is glorious: sticky and rich, winey with rum and almond paste, chewy, and flaky all at once.
I tried many times to re-create their Kranz (which means “wreath” in German) at home and never quite got it right, but in the process I developed this recipe, which is pretty darn good. Forming the wreath requires a bit of moxie because once you roll up the almond-cream-filled dough and slice it lengthwise, you have to wrap the 2 strands around each other without allowing the filling to leak too much. After baking, when the Kranzkuchen is golden brown and shiny from the apricot glaze and topped with a drizzled glaze, it’s as beautiful as it is delicious. I suggest you bake this when you have a lot of people to feed at once—it’s best the day it is made.
Ingredients
Makes 1 (13-inch/33cm) wreath
Dough:
Filling:
Glaze:
To make the dough:
Step 1
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Then add the milk and egg and stir briefly. Add the butter and knead the dough briefly by hand in the bowl. Scrape it out onto a lightly floured work surface and continue to knead it for several minutes. You may need to add 1 to 2 additional tablespoons of flour, but resist the urge to add more; the dough should be quite soft and rich. You won’t be able to knead it as long as other yeast doughs, but try to get it to a point where it’s no longer too sticky and can be formed into a ball.
Step 2
Place the ball back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean dishcloth and place in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour to rise.
To make the filling:
Step 3
Place the raisins in a small bowl and add the rum and lemon juice. Set aside to macerate for 30 minutes.
To assemble and bake:
Step 4
Heat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine the almond paste, sugar, egg white, 1 tablespoon of milk, butter, and salt; knead together by hand until well combined. Knead in the raisins and their macerating liquid. The mixture should be creamy but will still hold its shape when spread. If necessary, mix in the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk. Set aside.
Step 5
When the proofing hour is up, gently tug the dough onto a work surface. Roll out the dough to a 13 by 16-inch/33 by 40cm rectangle. You can pull the edges out to form neat corners.
Step 6
Scrape the filling onto the dough and, using a bench scraper, spread the mixture out evenly over the dough, leaving a 1-inch/2.5cm border on one of the long sides. Starting from the other long side, roll up the dough. Using a sharp bench scraper, cut the roll of dough in half lengthwise, leaving about 1 inch/2.5cm at one end still attached. Working quickly, twist the 2 strands around each other all the way down the length of the roll. Then form the wrapped dough strands into a circle. Next, slice through the end that you left attached and tuck the end pieces at both ends underneath each other to make a neat closure.
Step 7
Transfer the wreath to the prepared pan (you may need someone to help you do this) and bake for 45 minutes at the second-lowest rack position, rotating halfway through. When finished, the loaf will be golden brown all over and should sound slightly hollow when tapped. It will still be quite soft.
To make the glaze:
Step 8
Just before the end of the baking time, heat the apricot jam over medium-high heat until loose and bubbling. When the wreath emerges from the oven, immediately brush it all over with the hot jam. Place the pan on a rack to cool.
Step 9
When the wreath has almost fully cooled, sift the confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl and whisk in the water. Whisk until smooth and lump-free. You want a thick but pourable glaze. Add more sugar or a drop more water as needed. Drizzle the glaze back and forth over the entire wreath. Wait 1 hour for the glaze to set and the cake to cool completely and then slice and serve. The cake is best eaten the day it is made, but it can be kept at room temperature, loosely wrapped in plastic wrap, for 2 additional days.
How would you rate Braided Almond-Cream Wreath (Kranzkuchen)?
Leave a Review
Reviews (5)
Back to TopOh my! I should have followed my gut instinct about this recipe, but I wanted to make something for Christmas with almond paste. This definitely was a flop. Was there supposed to be a second rise of the dough? I ended up with an amorphous blob overflowing the baking sheet even after considering the warning from SFNATIVE65 regarding the amount of liquid in the almond paste filling. I also used a small ramekin in the middle but the dough was too soft to keep a shape and appeared raw in the middle when removed. The filling oozed out in places and burned. Too bad photos can't be uploaded on Epicurious because they would serve as a cautionary tale! I did try to Google different versions of Kranzkuchen but didn't find other recipes that would indicate an alternate method.
Pi1tama2
North Vancouver, BC
12/16/2022
Okay, all you bakers extraordinaire this is a beautiful recipe. The brave baker who posted this and went to the work of breaking her husband's favorite pastry down, deserves many acres in heaven. I applaud you. I have made it 3 times each one taking careful steps to do the braid as I'm uncomfortable with that process but the almond cream held up well in the baking process. I eventually took a greased 2.5"ramekin and placed in middle to keep hole perfectly round, as dough wants to close in on itself. It falls out after cooling easily. PERFECT HOLIDAY WREATH...and did u know it symbolizes good luck.
gannon61909
Gannon Farms, Colfax, Ia.
3/27/2019
I am not new to pastry, as I owned a small industrial bakey in the 80s specializing in cakes for coffee houses, delis and restaurants. That said, I've always had a love of German, Alsatian and Austrian bread and pastry. Having seen this recipe, decided to try it for a brunch we went to today (02/11/17). The HUGE misstep in this recipe regards the raisins and the liquid in which they soak, plus the instruction to dump ALL in with the almond paste. This created a muck, which when spread, rolled up and baked created an almost indistinct spiral, without a void in the center, because it was unbaked and muddy, even with increased baking time. I will not make this recipe as publish again. However, I will make it by placing the raisins in a small saucepan, adding the rum and juice of one half SMALL lemon. I plan to bring this to a simmer and let it do so for 2 minutes, then turn the heat off, place the lid on the saucepan and remove the pan from the heat. The raisin mixture will sit, allowing the raisins to fully plump with rum. Once the mixture is room temp, the raisins will be drained, but only ONE Tbs. of the liquid will be saved to add to the almond paste mixture. *In some cases, even this one Tbs may be too much. Two tsp may suffice. I plan to re-do the kranz some time in the next 2 weeks and am confident that the outcome will be one in which I will not have to increase baking time by 10 minutes, nor cut out the center, which refused to bake.
sfnative65
Portland, OPPortPP
2/11/2017
I made it yesterday and put it in the oven this morning. Outstanding. I cut the raisins in half and added candied cherries. Soaked the fruit longer in the rum and lemon juice. My husband and I really enjoyed it!
Anonymous
Connecticut
12/25/2016
The one review gave it 4/4 and wrote "SOUNDS amazing." Well it's not! Not at all.
christina_wilson
Lake Elsinore, CA
12/25/2016
Well it SOUNDS amazing.
moonmooring
Arkansas
12/20/2016
See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips
-
79 Christmas Desserts Full of Merriment (and Buttercream)
Let these cakes, puddings, pies, and tarts put the joy into your Christmas festivities. -
109 New Year's Eve Desserts for a Sweet Start to 2022
These stunning desserts feel even more festive than a bottle of Champagne. -
101 Ways to Cook With Almonds
They make great cakes. They make tasty bar snacks. They make perfect sense. -
61 Make-Ahead New Year's Day Brunches
Partied too hard last night? Good thing you made your New Year's Day breakfast ahead of time\! -
How to Turn Christmas Breakfast into a Winter Wonderland
Step aside, sugar plums. These old-fashioned German pastries will fill your home with magical scents, no fairy required.
