Passion Kneaded: Eggnog Kringel - Foodie Extravaganza

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Eggnog Kringel - Foodie Extravaganza

I have a confession to make. Up until last week, I had never tasted eggnog. No, no. I promise that I'm not (that) sheltered and eggnog is enjoyed in Jamaica. It's just that I don't drink milk and that "embargo" extended to all milky drinks. I'm not lactose intolerant either. I just have zero interest in the substance . Well, not zero, I do bake with it but otherwise it's never used.

My mother said that I stopped drinking milk when I was a baby. I loved it. Then one day I would scream bloody murder if it was brought near me. She suspects that my nanny is responsible somehow. But she never made a big deal out of it. She doesn't drink milk or milky drinks either so she wasn't about to force her daughter. This means there was never milk around. Well, that's not true. There was always condensed milk available for coffee and hot cocoa. I don't think you'd ever find a Jamaican fridge without condensed milk. There are stories of children eating the stuff on bread and there's a desert made with just fruit and condensed milk. I can't vouch for the taste though because I pretty much ignored the condensed milk too.

But back to eggnog. December is eggnog month and Foodie Extravaganza (through our host, Alexis) chose eggnog as the theme this month. So it was time to drop my eggnog "embargo" and have a sip. Luckily, the day I was brainstorming ideas, my grocery store had eggnog trifle samples. That was some good stuff. I was tempted to just replicate that until my bread baking side reminded me that I've been meaning to make another kringel for a while.

The Estonian kringel is a beautiful braided bread that's filled with sugar, spices and often dried fruit. I took some liberties and used eggnog as the liquid and added nutmeg to the filling.Oh, this was some good bread. The eggnog flavour shone through and there was a lovely hint of rum. That's right - you really want to use a spiked eggnog. Plain eggnog will be good. Spiked eggnog will be amazing. This is best enjoyed warm and is at it's best on the first day. I probably will never pour myself a glass of eggnog but I'd be happy to use it as an ingredient in dessert. If you're looking for ways to use eggnog, be sure to scroll down and check out all the amazing recipes this month.

Eggnog Kringel

Recipe by: Kelster

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

Dough

375 grams all purpose flour

7 grams active dry yeast

28 grams oil

24 grams sugar

1 large egg yolk

5 grams salt

200 grams eggnog (See notes)

Filling
3 tablespoons softened margarine

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Combine all the dough ingredients except the eggnog in the bowl.Start adding the eggnog and kneading. Add enough eggnog to form a soft, non-sticky dough. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let rest until dough has doubled. This could take from 1 to 2 hours.

After dough has risen, remove dough from the bowl and roll out into a 15" x 13" rectangle. If dough resists, let rest for a few minutes then continue rolling. Spread the dough with softened butter. Mix the remaining filling ingredients and sprinkle evenly over the dough.

Starting along a longer edge, roll up the dough into a tight log. Gently, stretch the log out a bit. Using a sharp knife, split this log lengthwise. With the cut sides facing up, twist these two new pieces into a rope then form the rope into a circle. Seal the two ends together.

Cover and let rise until almost doubled (30 minutes - 1 hour).

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake for 10 minutes then reduce temperature to 325 F. Bake for another 20 - 30 minutes or until the kringel registers 190 F. If the kringel is getting dark too quickly, cover with foil.

Notes