Are you a brunch - or breakfast - lover? If that is the case, then you know a good Danish pastry recipe is a must.
No, do not worry, you do not need to attend a French pastry school in order to make Danishes worthy of any Danish Pastry House!
However, I would strongly encourage you not to limit yourself to making these Danishes for breakfasts only. I have made them for pot-lucks and picnics - as a dessert - with great success and wonderful reviews.
When it comes to finding a Danish pastry recipe, you certainly do not want to reproduce the rubber like texture of the store bought varieties...laden with ingredients you cannot pronounce and infused with enough preservatives to let the pastries last for days - if not months - on the store shelves.
No, you want a dough that will be flaky, tender and that will melt in your mouth in an explosion of flavors.
This recipe for Danishes is easy and delicious and will produce flaky and flavorful Danishes. The dough for these Danishes will be just like you want it...it will just melt in your mouth.
You can make these breakfast Danish pastries with either a simple jam filling or more elaborate cream cheese filling or - to accommodate all taste buds - both varieties.
If the task of making this Danish pastry recipe seems difficult...be assured that it is actually very easy. The main trick is to remember that you need to set enough time aside in order for the dough to rise before baking.
In all kindness I must warn you that every time you make this Danish pastry recipe - and after the Danishes are long gone - you will be asked for the recipe. But all in all...that is a nice problem to have!
Ingredients For This Danish Pastry Recipe
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm milk - 110 to 115 degrees
4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup melted butter cooled - no substitute
4 egg yolks gently mixed
2 egg whites - optional
Jam of your choice or cream cheese filling recipe
Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
Breakfast Pastry Recipe
In your stand mixer bowl, place the warm milk, sugar and yeast. Let the mixture sit until the surface becomes foamy - about 5 minutes.
Add the flour, salt, melted butter (cooled a tad. If too hot, it will kill the yeast), and the egg yolks. Mix well until your dough is elastic.
Your dough will still be sticky and that is okay.
Now, there are two methods which work equally well:
1. Put a plastic film over the top of the bowl and place the whole thing overnight in the fridge.
2. Cover the bowl with some plastic wrap and let the dough stand at room temperature for about one hour - up to one hour and a half.
Then place the whole bowl in the fridge for an additional hour.
Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick.
With a biscuit cutter - about 3 inches in diameter - I cut some circles in the dough and I place them on a greased cookie sheet.
Note: I use stainless steel cookie sheets as I do not like aluminum for health reasons.
Let the Danishes rise for 30 minutes to one hour.
Then with the back of a soup spoon - or your fingers - make some wells in the middle of the pastries. Fill them with either jam or the cream cheese filling.
Wait about 10 minutes and place the Danishes in an oven heated to 350 degree for 14 to 16 minutes.
Note: Before placing in the oven, you can brush the Danishes with the egg white to make them more golden in color as they bake.
While the Danish pasties are baking make the glaze by blending all the ingredients together.
Pour over the hot Danishes.
This recipe will yield about 2 dozen Danishes.
Cream Cheese Filing Recipe
12 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup white sugar
1 egg
Cream the cream cheese and sugar.
Add the egg and blend some more.
Place in the "well" of the Danishes and bake as usual.
