Danish Pastries

What Goes With It

• Strong black coffee
• A glass of cold milk
• Fresh berries

Making Danish Pastries, Step by Step

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1. Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and cardamom. Add the cold milk and egg and knead 5 minutes to a firm dough. Wrap and chill 1 hour.

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2. Make the custard: heat the milk, whisk the yolks, sugar and cornflour, temper, return to the pan and cook to a thick paste. Add the vanilla, cover the surface and chill.

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3. Beat the cold butter between two sheets of baking paper into a 18 by 18 cm square. Keep it cold.

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4. Roll the dough to 30 by 30 cm, set the butter in the middle at 45 degrees, and fold the corners over to enclose it completely.

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5. Roll out to a 20 by 50 cm rectangle and fold in three like a letter. Wrap and chill 45 minutes.

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6. Repeat the roll and letter fold twice more, chilling 45 minutes each time. Three folds in total.

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7. Roll the dough to 5 mm and cut into 12 squares. Fold the four corners of each into the centre and press down firmly.

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8. Set on lined trays, spoon custard into the middle of each, cover loosely and prove 1 hour until visibly puffy and jiggly.

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9. Brush the edges with beaten egg, scatter with almonds and bake at 190°C / 375°F fan for 16 to 18 minutes until deep gold.

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10. Brush the hot pastries with apricot jam and drizzle with the icing once they have cooled a little.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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A Few Notes

Chill between every fold, without exception.

If butter starts breaking through the dough, stop and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Prove until they wobble when you shake the tray. Under-proved pastries leak butter.

Storing and Reheating

Best on the day. Freeze baked for 1 month and refresh at 170°C / 340°F fan for 6 minutes.

Questions and Answers

Nutrition per Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.