Ingredients
Units
For the danish dough:
- 2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- Large pinch salt
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into medium pieces
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast (not instant)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) tepid water (not hot)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) cream, barely warm (not hot)
- A few gratings nutmeg
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons (30g) sugar
For the filling:
- 1 1/2 cups (230g) fresh strawberries, sliced
- 1/3 cup cream cheese
- 2/3 cups almond paste (recipe below)
- Zest of 1/2 lime
For the almond paste:
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) whole almonds, lightly toasted if you like
- 1 1/2 cups (250g) powdered sugar
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1-2 teaspoons corn syrup (if needed)
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- Juice of 1 lime
- Fresh strawberries (to serve)
Instructions
For the quick danish dough:
- Put 1 ¾ cups flour and salt in the work bowl of a food processor, fitted with the steel blade.
- Add the cold butter, cut into chunks, and process until the butter is the size of kidney beans.
- In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let stand 5 minutes until foamy, and then stir in the cream, nutmeg, egg, and sugar. Mix very lightly with a fork.
- Transfer the flour and butter mixture to a large bowl; add the yeast mixture and mix lightly with a fork or spatula just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Similar to scone mixing.
- Shape into a square, it will be very irregular, transfer to a plastic, wrap and refrigerate 4 hours or up to 4 days.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board; dust with a little flour. Flatten with a rolling pin to make a 16 to 20-inch (40x51cm) square.
- Fold into thirds, top 1/3 down and remaining 1/3 up, making 3 layers. Turn dough a quarter to your right, as if it were a book, so that the large open part it on your right, and roll again.
- Repeat the three folds two more times for a total of three times. Like puff pastry. This should result in a sort-of square. Wrap and chill the dough 30 minutes or as long as overnight.
- When ready to bake, take the dough out of the refrigerator and transfer to a floured surface.
- Roll into a 12x6-inches (30x15cm) rectangle. Place on a baking sheet that has been covered with lightly buttered and floured parchment paper or Silpat. What did we do before Silpat??
- Spread the almond cream cheese filling, down the length of the center of the strip. Top with sliced strawberries.
- Cut slanted or straight strips along both sides towards the center using a dough scraper or a pastry wheel. Be very careful and gentle when doing this; I slashed one of my beloved Silpats. Fold strips over the filling in a crisscross pattern.
- Let rise 1 hour (more or less depending on the tº), just until the pastry appears puffy. It will not double. Sprinkle with sugar.
- Turn on the oven to 375ºF/180ºC about 20 minutes before baking.
- Bake about 20 to 25 minutes, until golden.
- Frost with lime glaze and top with fresh strawberries cut into chunks.
For the strawberry cream cheese filling:
- Mix room temperature almond cream with cream cheese until smooth.
- Add lime zest and mix well.
For the lime glaze:
- Mix powdered sugar with lime juice in a bowl until completely smooth.
- If you want it thicker or thinner add more or less juice.
Notes
- Pastry dough: make sure you process the butter until it's the size of kidney beans, not smaller. That makes a difference. It can be frozen. Defrost in the refrigerator, wrapped.
- Resting: the dough needs to rest in the refrigerator the hours stipulated so that it can bake and puff as it should.
- Glaze: you can use lemon or another citrus, or even liquor. But lime is a great partner to the other flavors.
- Fillings: you can use a good berry jam, or another berry instead of strawberries, quince jam or just cream cheese with powdered sugar instead of the almond cream.
- Keeping: this braid should be eaten the day it's baked.
- I made half the dough recipe, so you can easily double it. These braids freeze perfectly after baked, wrapped first in film and then foil. Warm them up before eating.
- Almond filling: you can simply mix ground almonds and cream cheese (half of each) for a simpler version.
- Prep Time: 120
- Cook Time: 45
- Category: Bakery
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: International
Keywords: strawberry danish