The Famous Danish

This is the recipe I used to create the danish that was shared by the NY Times Cooking Instagram. Had this not happened, I probably would not have started this blog. I adapted my version from a recipe entitled, "Lemon-Raspberry Danish with Mascarpone." A friend challenged me to make a vegan version, but instead, I made it with blueberries. Sorry, Leo! Maybe next time.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

1 cup whole milk

3 cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons instant yeast

pinch of salt

1 large egg, room temperature

Nonstick spray

For the filling:

5 oz mascarpone cheese

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar

1 large egg white

¼ cup lemon curd

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

6 oz fresh blueberries

1 egg

Instructions:

1. Warm the milk in the microwave for one minute.

2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, granulated sugar, yeast, and salt together. Add the warm milk and egg and mix for several minutes until the dough is smooth. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl and let rise for 45 minutes.

3. To make the filling, mix the mascarpone and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg white and add the lemon curd and vanilla. Mix until thoroughly combined.

4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

5. On a cool cutting board, roll out the dough into a large rectangle. The original recipe suggested a 10x15 inch rectangle. With a metal spatula, mark the dough into 3 evenly spaced vertical sections.

6. In the center section, spoon the mascarpone-lemon filling. Arrange the fresh blueberries evenly across the top of the filling.

7. For the outer two thirds, use a knife to cute ½ inch strips into the dough. Cut the same amount of strips in both sections. Fold parallel strips over one another, starting from one end and finishing at the other to form the braid pattern. Pinch the ends closed, although they might open during the baking process. Transfer the pastry to a greased baking sheet.

8. Lightly beat an egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush over the surface of the pastry.

9. Bake the pastry for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool and serve. The original recipe proposed a glaze, but this Danish was delicious without it.