There are pastries and then there are Danish pastries. Those pretzel-shaped or oval delights, depending on which part of the state or country you’re in, can make even the most strong-willed amongst us cave in to sugar pleasure.

Close to noon on a recent Saturday is when Calabasas Patch succumbed to sweet surrender. Hunger pangs are hard to ignore at that time of day, not to mention the inviting stall (and samples) of Kringlela.

Pastry evolution

Kringle is the generic name of the Danish pastry. Kringlela is a combination of kringle and L.A., the birthplace of the business.

The family-owned pastry start-up came into fruition at the beginning of 2011.

“Growing up in the Midwest, I was surrounded by Danish traditions, pastries and bakeries,” said owner Steve Naczinski, who moved to California 30 years ago.

His particular branch of the family did not own a bakery, but some extended family members did. “So it’s a family recipe,” he said of the evolutionary Danish-American pastry.

Historically, Danish pastries are breakfast treats, but lately, some people have been having them for a snack, to go with dinner or to serve to guests. “It has definitely evolved,” said Naczinski.

Danish delights

Currently, there are four flavors available: pecan, raspberry, cream cheese and apple, with the prices ranging from $9 to $11 each.

“The prices fluctuate depending on the availability and seasonality of certain ingredients,” said Naczinski, who swears by the top-notch ingredients that they use including pure molasses, crystal sugar and fine pecans.

Unknown to many pastry-lovers, the treats require at least a dozen layers of pastry dough. “It’s very labor-intensive,” said Naczinski.

Father-and-son team

While Kringlela was the father’s vision, the son is heavily involved too. Nick, the younger Naczinski is in charge of sales and operations, and a full-time student as well.

When he moves up to North California this fall for school, he hopes to launch Kringlela in the Bay Area area too.

“I also want to at least double the number of farmers markets that we are in before the end of the year,” Nick Nacszinski said, noting that they are in five locations right now, including Calabasas.

The “no-middleman-no-retailer” marketing strategy seems to be working well for the father-and-son visionaries. “It’s a win-win situation at the farmers market,” he said. “It’s an untapped market segment.”

“People are discovering it on their own,” Nick Nacszinski added.  “We’re enjoying fantastic sales at the farmers markets.”

In Calabasas, they have been bringing more and more pastries every week since they started in July. At Pacific Palisades, the pastries have reportedly been selling out by 11 a.m.. In Brentwood, the pastries are all gone by noon.

“It also depends on the market,” said the younger Naczinski. “Here in Calabasas, the cream cheese and pecan flavors are top-sellers week after week.”

Pastry prospects

Around Halloween and definitely before the December holidays, the Naczinskis are anticipating that the pastries will be available for online ordering too.

Watch out for seasonal specials too like cherry, turtle and other avant-garde flavors.

The Calabasas Farmers Market is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday at 23504 Calabasas Road, across the street from the Sagebrush Cantina.