Sunday Brunch: The Norwegian Churro
by Reuben Gutierrez
24 March 2013
I have been craving a churro since I saw all
57 churro carts at the Disneyland Resort last
month (more on that another Sunday). Cinnamon
and sugar bursts in every bite of this both soft
and crispy snack. So last Tuesday after work, I
journeyed to Epcot to join my friends for a
limited time egg hunt with the hopes of
highlighting the evening with a sweet and
cinnamon reward. Epcot is the home of a pavilion
that pays homage to creator of the sweet treat,
so what better destination? Wrong.
The Mexico pavilion does not offer the churro
most are familiar with. In lieu of the feet long
fried dough treat, they offer churritos, little
dough circles fried and prepared the same way as
the much superior churro. Mexico's food and
beverage locations
offer quality food,
they did not offer the traditional Disney parks churro I was expecting. My hopes and dreams of a
churro were crushed. As my friends and I
continued to look for a snack to close the
evening, we decided the one place we can never
go wrong: Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe.
I cannot write enough about this place. While
only my second article exploring this fantastic
bakeshop (and several hundredth time visiting),
I foresee more stories and visits in the weeks
to come. This is simply because not only does
Kringla offer delicious desserts, it continues
to epitomize quality products and service Disney
is known for. Unlike the other popular bakery in
World Showcase, Walt Disney World owns and
operates Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe, ensuring the
Disney seal of freshness and quality, thus
resulting in repeat visitors.
Fresh from my sudden depression of missed
churros, I threw myself at an old favorite: the
School Bread. This sweet, custard filled roll
topped with coconut and more custard is a
genuine traditional Norwegian favorite.
Norwegian children often found a roll of school
bread packed with their lunch for school. Also,
the bread is a common baked good used at bake
sales.

In my experience, this pastry more often than
not becomes an instant favorite to anyone who
tries it. The bread itself is a soft and fluffy
sweet roll enhanced with cardamom, a strongly
aromatic and fragrant sweet spice originating
from South Asia and heavily used in Nordic
baking. Though the bread portion of the school
bread is delicious by itself, the vanilla
custard filling really completes the pastry,
adding a moist and creamy component. Toasted and
glazed coconut flakes garnish the dessert and
add an additional exotic flavor.
After brightening my spirits with a school
bread, another treat caught my eye: the Lefse.
We read on the menu that this long, rolled up
pastry was actually potato flat bread rolled
with a sweet cinnamon sugar butter spread. My
friend Ashley had commented that it actually
seemed like the Norwegian version of a churro.
Were my evening snack dreams suddenly made true?


I ordered one, but it looked like I was
getting two upon receiving the Lefse. Lefse
actually is a lot like the Norwegian version of
a churro in that it's a long pastry with a sweet
cinnamon flavor. My friend Aaron had said he
remembers eating a longer version of the pastry
in his youth, so I suspect what looked like two
pastries was one cut in half to fit in the box.
Still having two pastries in a box is a nice
surprise and terrific value, since the dessert
is already priced at $1.99, preposterously low
for a Disney treat! While not the crispy, doughy
fried goodness that is a churro, the Lefse was a
suitable substitute. It actually is used a lot
like a tortilla is used in Latin cuisine, as
both a savory or sweet wrapper. Lefse is a broad
term for the flatbread itself and the lefse
served at Kringla is commonly known as tynnlefse
(thin lefse) in Norway. I enjoyed it for what it
was, though served cold, I wondered how it would
taste if warm, like a churro.
Our Norwegian snack adventure was rounded out
with the crowd-pleasing waffle. While waffles
are popular worldwide, they are indeed most
popular in Belgium as well as Scandinavia. The
Norwegian waffle is no different than most,
though here at Kringla, a hot waffle is folded
over with a strawberry preserves filling. What I
like most about this waffle is the ensured
freshness as whenever ordered, it is baked fresh
and delivered hot off the iron, enhancing the
goodness of any waffle dining experience.


Most do not think of Norway when looking for
a global sample of baked goods. While I have not
yet fulfilled my churro craving, I certainly am
happy to snack at Kringla in the meanwhile. The
quality and freshness associated with Kringla
Bakeri og Kafe helps to bring Norway's fantastic
pastries out of obscurity and into the hearts,
minds, and bellies of snackers around the Disney
World. With still a half dozen more Norwegian
pastries to try, the churro can continue to wait
its turn for my next snacking adventure.