Braided Almond-Cream Wreath (Kranzkuchen)

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.