It has taken me this long to do a recipe using the Danish Dough because I have never been a big fan of danishes. They always struck me as too sweet, too soggy, too bland, too greasy, and they sit like a brick in my stomach.
Well, that has all changed. Danishes can be amazing. The danish recipe in the MSBH produces a light, flaky pastry full of flavor. If the danishes at local bakeries were this good, I’d have a major danish addiction.
Once the MSBH recipe for Danish Dough is made, these are fairly easy. The filling is made with Farmers cheese, which struck me as unique. This is another ingredient from the MSBH that I had to drive to Cheyenne to procure. Laramie grocers just don’t offer a wide range of cheeses. I suppose Chevre or something like that could be used instead.
Colorado dairies are very proud of their cheeses.
The cheese mixture that fills the MSBH’s cheese danish also contains golden raisins which may strike you as weird, but believe me they are fantastic little burst of sweet. Some other clever additions make this a simple but impressive danish filling.
Half of a recipe of Danish Dough is rolled out and cut into squares, then the filling is placed in the middle.
Then each square is folded into the individual danishes. The MSBH provides really clear instructions for this, including photos, which is one of the reasons I love that book so much.
A little extra rising time, an egg wash, and some sprinkled sugar then into the oven they go. Within a short time, the kitchen smells like heaven and you get a panful of the prettiest little pastries.
All but one of my danishes came unfolded during the baking process and I have no doubt it is because my dough was too flour-covered (from rolling out) when I folded the individual danishes together and because I put too much filling in each one. Live and learn.
I still thought they looked gorgeous – golden brown with a subtle sheen from the egg wash. And the aroma! So delicious. The cheese and butter and dough all combine to make these smell so good once right from the oven.
And they tasted AMAZING. The Farmers cheese is so rich, thick, and kind-of tangy but the golden raisins are sweet and burst in your mouth after being baked in the pastry. The danish itself is buttery and flaky, crisp on the outside but tender and soft on the inside. This was the perfect breakfast with apple slices and a cup of dark coffee. I felt very French.
Those look amazing!! I love the idea of using farmers cheese.
[...] this could be remedied, as I took great care to avoid the problems I encountered when I made the Cheese Danishes. I was careful not to fill the individual pastries too full, I didn’t wrap them too [...]