Tuesday, October 15, 2013

TWD -- Danish, well worth the effort!

Were all the laborious steps required to make this week's Tuesdays with Dorie assignment, Danish, worth the effort? Yes! The end result was delicious. Things got off to a bad start, however.

Boiled-over berries
I chose to use the berry filling, mainly because we grow blueberries and raspberries in our backyard, and we had bags of both in the freezer. I followed the directions in the recipe, using the microwave to boil the berries and sugar. Things were fine after the first 10 minutes. But during the second cooking required, I opened the microwave door to a mess of boiled-over berries.

After scraping the mixture back into the bowl, I proceeded to make the cream mixture, but this time avoiding the microwave and thickening the ingredients on top of the stove.  No problems there. I chose to use half-and-half rather than heavy cream. I next moved on to the dough, using the food processor as suggested.

Putting the berry filling down the middle
After refrigerating the dough for a day, I then attempted the rolling and folding technique. Here was where I had a question. Since the recipe called for half the dough, did the measurements for rolling and folding apply to the whole batch of dough, not just the half? I reasoned that it did, so I made my dough measurements smaller than the instructions stated.

Browning after 15 minutes at 400 degrees
After rolling the dough for the final time after the 30-minute refrigeration, the rest of the Danish was fun and easy. I used all the berries and all the cream and folded the angled ends over the dough with wild abandon. I was nearing the end!! I then applied the egg wash, sprinkled on the almonds, then applied a second coating of egg wash. I picked this tip up at the bakery where I volunteer. If a bread calls for nuts or seeds, we egg wash twice, once before applying the topping, then afterward. That way the topping is sure to stick. I also had some sparkling sugar that I applied with a rather liberal hand.

I thought the baking temperature seemed high, 400, but I baked the Danish at that temp for 15 minutes. By then is was really beginning to brown.

A chose to take my Danish to the bakery, so my fellow volunteers could try it. They all loved it. It was a big hit! I knew I couldn't go wrong with a Beatrice Okajankas recipe. I own two of her books and use one of them almost every week. Thank you Beatrice for a wonderful recipe!



10 comments:

  1. What a professional looking braid! I had so much fun with this recipe and was so pleased with the results!

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  2. Blueberries from your back yard? What a treat! Thanks for your tips!

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  3. Yeah, I shared with friends to rave reviews as well. What a lovely braid!!!

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  4. This is one of my favorites from this book so far. The berry filling sounds really tasty.

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  5. This was a fantastic recipe. Your braid looks great! I even used the other half of the dough to make pinwheels tonight!

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  6. I got good reviews for this recipe as well. Lucky you to have blueberries and raspberries in the garden. I am sure it tasted great!

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  7. Glad to hear good reviews for the cookbooks - I've never used them but will have to check them out now!

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  8. We enjoyed the recipe as well! I believe the rolling/folding instructions are for the full recipe; my book states at the end after all the turns that the dough is now ready to use for the recipe of your choice. However, it seems your pastry turned out just fine the way you proceeded. :)

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