Danish Pastry With Filling Variations Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking pans with parchment paper.
• Beat the whole egg with 1 teaspoon of water in a small bowl; set aside.
• Beat the egg yolk, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth.
• Lay out the 2 sheets of puff pastry and cut each into 4 squares. Fold the corners of the squares over by about 1 inch to make octagon shapes. Spoon the cream cheese mixture evenly into the center of each (about 2 tablespoons per); do not spread the cream cheese. Brush all of the exposed pastry with the egg wash, then dust generously with sugar.
• Bake until puffed and golden brown all over, about 18 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Steps:

• FOR THE DANISH PASTRY: In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add a pinch of sugar and let stand 5 minutes, until the yeast foams. Stir in the remaining sugar, the egg yolks, and whipping cream, then set aside.
• In a large bowl or in the work bowl of a food processor, combine the flour and salt. Cut in the butter until pieces are the size of kidney beans.
• Turn the flour-butter mixture into the bowl with the liquid ingredients. Fold together just until dry ingredients are moistened throughout. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days.
• Prepare the filling of your choice (below).
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and dust with flour. Using a rolling pin, pound the dough until it is smooth and about 3/4 inch thick.
• Roll out to a 24-inch square. Fold the dough into thirds to make a long, narrow strip. Cut lengthwise into two parts.
• Working with one part at a time, roll the dough into a rectangle, about 24 by 6 by 1/4 inch.
• Spread half the filling in a 2-inch strip down the length of each dough strip.
• Brush the uncovered edges with egg white and fold over to seal in the filling, making a filled roll 24 inches long and about 3 inches wide.
• Brush the outside of the roll with egg white and press the sugar and sliced almonds on all sides. Repeat with the second half of the dough. Cut filled rolls into 12-inch lengths.
• Lightly grease a baking sheet or cover with parchment paper. Place the rolls on the baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes; they will not double.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Remove from the baking sheet onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.
• Makes four 12-inch-long pastries.
• FOR THE APPLE-ALMOND FILLING: In a large bowl, mix the apples, sugar, almonds, and cinnamon.
• FOR THE RAISIN ALMOND FILLING: In a small saucepan bring the water to a boil over medium high heat and add the raisins. Remove from the heat and let stand 5 minutes; DRAIN.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter until soft, then add cardamom, confectioners' sugar, and enough cream to make a smooth, spreadable mixture. Mix in the raisins and almonds.
• FOR THE MARZIPAN FILLING: Crumble the almond paste into a mixing bowl and blend in the almonds, confectioners' sugar, egg white, and almond extract until well mixed. You can do this quickly in the food processor.

Steps:

• Pulse together the dry ingredients plus 2 tsp salt in a processor, then pulse in the milk and egg, plus 100ml water, until you have a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Knead for 1 min, using a little flour, until just smooth. Put into an oiled bowl, cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hr until doubled in size (overnight in the fridge if you like).
• Flour your surface, then pat the dough out to a rectangle, 1cm thick. Lay the butter slices out over the middle of the dough, in a rectangle. Fold the pastry over the top, bottom and then sides until the butter is completely hidden. Press the edges down.
• Roll the dough out to a 50 x 30cm rectangle, first tapping out the dough with the rolling pin in gentle ridges, so that you can tell the butter is being squashed out evenly inside the pastry, before rolling properly. Turn dough 90 degrees, then fold the right third over and the left third over that. Do this three times, chilling for 15 mins after each roll.
• Cut the dough in half, into 2 squares. Roll one piece of dough to 35 x 35cm. Cut into 9 squares, then follow the instructions below for each filling and shape. If you want to make more than one shape, it's easy to divide the filling quantity. Don't worry if your squares rise as you work, just roll them out a bit again.
• To make 18 pecan pinwheels, whizz 85g pecans until fine, then stir in 50g light muscovado, 1 tbsp maple syrup and 25g softened butter. Cut each square of pastry almost to the middle from each corner, spoon on 1 tsp filling, then fold each point over and press into the middle. Scatter more chopped pecans and a little sugar over before baking. Drizzle with a little maple syrup to serve.
• For 18 apricot custard turnovers, you will need 150g tub custard, 2 x 320g cans apricots and a few tsps apricot jam. Put 2 tsp custard in the middle, sit two apricot halves on top, dot with jam, then pull 2 corners over and pinch to seal.
• To make 18 raisin swirls, mix 50g raisins, 25g caster sugar, 1 tsp mixed spice and 50g soft butter. Instead of cutting the dough into 9, leave it whole and spread the filling over. Roll up, slice into 9 rounds, then squash each one. Blend 50g icing sugar and a few drops of water to drizzle over once baked.
• Once shaped and filled, let the pastries rise for 30 mins until puffed and doubled in size. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Brush with beaten egg, make sure you pinch any edges together again, then bake for about 20 mins until golden and risen.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, 1/4 cup/32 grams confectioners' sugar, the egg yolk, the salt and the vanilla until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a resealable plastic bag; set aside.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 12 1/2-inch square. Trim 1/4 inch off each edge. Cut the dough into nine 4-inch squares. Brush the corners of each square with a bit of the beaten egg, then fold each corner into the center and press down gently. Transfer the squares to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets.
• Cut the tip off one corner of the filled plastic bag so you have a 1/2-inch hole. Use the bag to pipe the cheese filling onto the center of each dough square. Loosely cover the pastries with plastic wrap and let stand until slightly puffed, about 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Remove the plastic and gently brush the top and sides of the dough with the beaten egg. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Continue to bake until pastries are puffed and deep golden brown, another 6 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining 1 cup/128 grams confectioners' sugar and the milk. Let the Danish cool slightly on the sheet then drizzle with the glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.