Veiled maiden

When guests are asked about the desserts of Norway, the prevailing thought and fan favorite is the School Bread.  We’ve been known to enjoy, also known as devour, the pastry ourselves, but there are many other options in Norway that are just as sweet and just as worthy of being enjoyed, or devoured. Today we’re looking at one such dessert, the Veiled Maiden.

The Veiled Maiden, served out of the cooler case of Kringla Bakeri og Cafe, falls into the parfait category of desserts. The layered dessert of apple and cream is so thick that I was able to stick my spoon into the top layer of the parfait, turn it upside down, and the spoon didn’t so much as shimmy! The layers alternate between an apple puree, filled with apple bits and cinnamon, and a vanilla cream, with a topping of toasted crumbles.

The heavy cream tiers are smooth and very rich, while the hint of vanilla makes an excellent embellishment to the dessert. The concoction of apple pieces, juicy applesauce-like slush, and cinnamon almost has the taste of a homemade pie filling. Almost, but not quite. Meanwhile, the crumbs on top, while few in number, adds the slimmest hint of crunch. What makes the Veiled Maiden is that ever so slight interplay between the cinnamon and vanilla, two very strong flavors that find a way to play nice here.

As with most parfaits, how you eat the Veiled Maiden is up to you. You can swirl and mash your spoon through the cup until you have a thoroughly blended creation. Of course, you could also choose to very carefully scoop out and eat layer by layer. As for me, I tend to try to get a bit of both components in each bite, but not mix it all up in the process.

No matter how you choose to eat it, or if you decide to try something else from the expansive dessert offerings of Kringa Bakeri of Cafe, just remember that while we have our favorites for a reason, that doesn’t mean if there isn’t another sweet treat worth our time and taste buds!