These brioche Danish pastries are delicious! Fluffy and tasty brioche bread filled with vanilla cream cheese and fruit, these makes the perfect companion for a cuppa in a wintery afternoon day!
Recipe
How much time do you need?
Preparation time: 1 hr
Cooking time: 30 min
Proofing time: 40 min
Total time: 2 hrs 10 minutes
Material:
2 large baking trays
Spatula
Stand mixer (or your hands)
2 lts bowl
Small and medium bowls
Small whisker
Cutlery
Kitchen towels
Cling wrap (film)
Baking paper
Rolling pin
Ingredients
For the bread starter: This will make the crumb softer and fluffier
25 grs bread flour
60 ml cup whole milk
60 ml water
For the bread dough:
320 grs bread flour '00'
55 grs cup white sugar
3 grs teaspoon salt
1 egg (at room temperature)
125 ml warm whole milk (15 secs in microwave if it was refrigerated)
60 grs unsalted butter, at room temperature (20 secs in microwave if it was refrigerated)
1 packet active dry yeast (8 grs)
Cream Cheese filling:
250 grs cream cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup suar
2 teaspoons vanilla paste
A pinch salt
Toppings:
Apricots
Frozen blueberries
Fresh sliced pears
Or any fruit of your choice
Egg wash to brush the pastries
Icing sugar:
Powdered sugar 150 g
Coconut milk 25 cc approx
1/2 lemon squeezed
Method:
Make the starter:
In a small saucepan, whisk together flour, milk and water. Bring to a simmer, whisking continuously until mix has thickened, about 6 to 8 minutes. Pour into a small heatproof bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to cool slightly. It should reach at least ~30°C before using it.
Make the bread dough:
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, yeast and salt, and mix well. Add the egg, milk (~30°C) and cooled starter mix (~30°C or less, otherwise you risk killing the yeast). Knead the mixture until it comes together, and continue for another few minutes. Add butter and knead for another 10 to 15 minutes until the dough becomes uniformly smooth. It's always better to knead this dough with a standing mixer as the step of integrating the butter can be tricky. You can use your hands if you don't have a standing mixer. You might think 'it's not coming together, it's not coming together!!' but be patient, it will do. See the pictures below.
When you have obtained a smooth and not too sticky dough, form a ball and let the dough to proof until it has approx. doubled in size, about 50 minutes at 25-28 degrees Celsius.
If you live in a cold place or you’re in the middle of winter, you can create a 'homemade proofing area':
Use the oven with the door cracked open, the light will create an environment of around 25 to 30 degrees C.
Use an old-fashioned incandescent bulb. They heat up the surrounding area really quick, also reaching temperature of around 25 to 32 degrees C.
Line the baking trays with baking paper.
Make the Cream Cheese filling:
Mix the ingredients and cook on kitchen stove till it thickens. Whisk constantly. Let cool and reserve in the fridge. Cover with a lid and reserve in the fridge.
Prepare the Danish:
Once the dough has doubled, remove the dough ball from its bowl and punch it down to release the air. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
Using a rolling pin, roll the dough until you obtain a sheet of approx. 5mm thick. Using a square cookie cutter, cut 10 squares and place in the baking trays.
Bring the dough leftovers together and stretch again using the rolling pin. Cut another 10 squares but this time, cut a smaller square inside of each of these squares like if you were making a small window frame. Place each window frame on top of the squares that you placed in the baking trays. Twist each corner and fold the corners one at a time, see pictures.
Brush the pastries with egg wash and fill the squares with the cream cheese filling, approx. one tablespoon per danish. Add the fruit on top of the cream cheese filling.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golder brown on top. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 15 minutes.
Tip: Leftover dough? Use cookie cutter with different shapes to create little deco. I made some little stars, as you may see in the pictures.
Icing sugar:
Prepare the icing by mixing coconut milk, lemon, and powdered sugar until well-integrated. Drizzle the Danish with the icing sugar and let dry for 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Now it's time for a coffee... :)
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