Danish pastry

I've made this twice before, and failed to take decent pictures on both occasions. Here it comes with crappy pictures taken with my cellphone camera.

Ingredients
dough:
0.25 cup warm water
0.25 cup warm milk
1.75 tsp yeast
2 cups flour
3/8 cup sugar
0.5 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
1 egg
0.5 cup butter
1 tbsp flour
0.25 tsp cardamom

filling:
1 egg
8 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
1 pint blueberries

Preparation
Heat milk and water to a scald. Melt in 1 tbsp butter. Add in the beaten egg and the yeast to bloom.

In a bowl mix the sugar, flour, cardamom and salt. Pour in the bloomed yeast, mix and knead for 5 minutes until elastic.

Wrap into a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the butter sheet, rolling out the 0.5 cups of softened butter mixed with 1 tbsp flour between two sheets of plastic wrap (4x8 inch). Refrigerate.

Roll the dough out into a 6x12 inch rectangle. Place the butter sheet onto the bottom two thirds.

Fold the free third onto the butter, then fold again in a letter fold. Press the air out and seal the edges. Turn the dough at a 90 degree angle, and roll into a 6x12 inch rectangle again. Fold into a letter fold, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Fold three more times, keeping the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes between each fold. Allow to sit overnight in the fridge (or at least for 1 hour).

Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a 10x15 inch rectangle. Move onto a piece of parchment paper, which will help with transferring it onto the baking shape later. Dry the blueberries as much as possible. Mark off three inches on each side of the dough and fill the middle with the whipped cream cheese filling and drop in the thawed blueberries on the top. Cut the edges at an angle to the filling into 1 inch strips.

Fold up the ends, then braid the strips on top. Cover with plastic foil and allow to rise for 60 more minutes. brush with egg wash.

Preheat the oven to 350F, and bake without the baking paper for at least 40 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Serve cold!

For the individual Danishes pictured on the top, slice the dough into strips, twist and roll into the above shape. Press a hole in the middle and fill. Allow to proof as the braid, then bake for ~20 minutes.

Comments