I’m a malt fiend and I don’t just mean as an ingredient in whiskey and beer. I always have a container of malt powder in my cupboard and am a dusty road sundae aficionado, too. (I even love the cucumber smell of malting barley outside the soon-to-close Malteurop maltings in West Milwaukee.)
That’s why I’m so excited about the new Racine Chocolate Malt Kringle from Racine’s O&H Danish Bakery, which also released a whisky kringle this summer. The new limited-edition kringle arrives on Saturday, Aug. 7 at a special ice cream social event.
Though malting (the germination of grain to release enzymes) goes back centuries, malted milk powder was invented by the English Horlick brothers – James and William – in Racine in 1887. It quickly became a hit.
Malting money allowed then-Sir James Horlick to buy the Scottish island of Gigha.
Horlicks still exists in England and makes a popular malted beverage there. The Racine maltings closed years ago and are currently being renovated into a mixed-use development.
The Horlick name remains well-known in Racine, where a high school is named in William Horlick's honor.
This new kringle pays tribute to Racine’s malted history, topping the traditional circular pastry with a creamy malt-infused filling, topping it with a chocolate malt frosting and sprinkling bits of malted milk balls on top.
It’s super sweet and nicely malty.
“We feel honored to be a part of the Racine community and thought there was no better way to celebrate that than with a tribute to the city itself by inviting our valued customers out for an afternoon of fun, Kringle and ice cream,” said Eric Olesen, third generation co-owner of O&H Danish Bakery.
“The Racine Chocolate Malt Kringle is really something special and we can’t wait for you all to try it.”
The limited-edition kringle is the excuse for a launch party at the shop at 5910 Washington Ave. in Racine on Saturday, Aug. 7 from 1 to 5 p.m.
The ice cream social event also features Watertown’s classic Mullen’s Dairy Bar, which will serve a special sundae created in collaboration with O&H just for the event.
The Racine Chocolate Malt Kringle Sundae, a riff on the dusty road, will start with scratch-made vanilla ice cream, topped with chocolate syrup, a slice of the malt Kringle and a drizzle of malt powder.
The events will offer games, bakery treats and Mullen’s Dairy Bar ice creams for purchase.
For more information or to order, visit ohdanishbakery.com.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
