Danish fruit and custard Pastry

Danish Pastry is a favourite of many of us including myself.

I made these and they are sooo delicious its worth putting in the effort to make them. They do take 2 days to make as you need to let the pastry sit. However they are simple enough to make.

Give them a try, they will become one of your favourite recipes for sure!!

                          

Creme Patisserie
1 Vanilla Bean
1 3/4 cup milk
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup cornflour
2 tbsp butter

1.With a sharp knife, slice the vanilla bean in half length ways. Using the tip, scrape the interior to remove seeds. Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the vanilla pod and seeds. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover immediately and allow to infuse for 15 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until slightly pale.
Incorporate the cornflour. Remove the vanilla pod from the saucepan and reheat the milk bringing to a simmer. Pour a third of the hot milk over the egg yolk, sugar and cornflour ( to temper the yolks ). Whisk to gether and pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan. Bring to boil while stirring with a whisk, making sure to scrape down the sides of the pan with a spatula.

3. Remove from heat and pour the cream into a clean bowl. Allow to cool for 10 minutes so that it is still hot but not boiling. Incorporate the butter while stirring. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap until ready to use.


Danish Pastry
60ml warm water
125ml milk
1 large egg
350g plain flour
7g yeast
1 teaspoon salt
25g caster sugar
250g unsalted butter cut into cubes

Pour the water and milk into a measuring jug and add the egg, beating with a fork to mix. Put to one side for a minute. Get out a large bowl, then put the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in the processor and give a quick whizz to mix. Add the cold slices of butter and process briefly so that the butter is cut up a little, although you still want visible chunks is at least 1cm.Empty the contents of the food processor into a large bowl and quickly add the contents of the jug. Use your hands to fold the ingredients together  but don`t over do it. Expect to have a gooey mess with some butter lumps pepping through. Cover the bowl with cling wrap, put in fridge  and leave overnight or up to 4 days.

To turn it into pastry, take it out of the fridge, let it get to room temperature and roll it out to a 50 x 50 cm square. Fold the dough square into thirds, like a business letter, turning it afterwards so that the closed fold is on your left, like the spine of a book. Roll out again to a 50 cm square, repeating the steps above 3 times.

To assemle use half at a time as it makes alot, if you want to freeze the other half it is fine to use within 2 months.

Roll out pastry on a sighty floured surface. Cut into squares of a desirable size. Place the custard in the middle and add your choice of fruit. Fold either side into the center as seen in the photo.
Bake in a moderate oven until golden.

ENJOY