*I used the same ingredients listed in Paul Hollywood's recipe, but did not read the method. I made this dough the same way I make my sourdough croissant dough. It worked great!
Ingredients:
Dough:
500g all purpose flour
10g salt
80g caster sugar
10g active dry yeast
2 medium eggs
90ml water
125g milk
250g butter for the butter packet
Custard filling:
3/4 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
Almond FIlling:
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons almond flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
Danish Pastry Toppings:
1 egg for egg wash
Sliced almonds
Turbinado sugar
Sliced pears
Water icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon water, possibly more depending on how thick you like the icing.
Methods:
Dough: Combine all ingredients except the butter in the bowl of a mixer with a dough hook. Mix for 8 minutes total. The dough is quite soft. Dust a flat surface with flour and knead the dough just for a minute to form it into a dough ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and set in the fridge for at least one hour. Prepare the butter packet while you wait. Slice the cold butter into thin slices. Take a piece of parchment paper and fold it in half. Lay the butter slices on one half of the parchment, fold the other side over the top and bang it with a rolling pin gently until it forms an evenly thick flat sheet. Place in the fridge so that it remains cold.
Remove the dough from the fridge. Roll it out to be the same height and twice the width of the butter packet. Lay the butter on one half of the dough and fold the other side of the dough over the top, so that the butter is enclosed in the dough. Fold the dough in thirds, like a letter, and roll it out to twice the length it originally was. Repeat the letter fold. Wrap the dough in the parchment used for the butter packet and place it back in the fridge for one hour. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out to about 18 inches long. Fold the dough like a letter again. Roll it out once more and fold it like a letter one last time. Wrap back in the parchment and place it in the fridge over night, at least 8 hours. Note: I know this is not officially how to do these folds but it works for me, so it's how I do it! The most important part is not letting the dough or the butter get warm. It will not have flaky layers if the butter melts into the dough.
Custard Filling: Whisk the egg yolk, sugar, salt and corn starch in a bowl until smooth. In a pot bring the milk to a simmer. Once simmering, very slowly add one ladle of the hot milk to the egg mixture while whisking. Pour the tempered egg mixture into the pan with the remaining hot milk. Whisk continuously over low heat until it thickens, this only takes a minute or two. Set aside.
Almond Filling: Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a mixture using the paddle attachment. Set aside.
Danish Assembly:
After the dough has rested in the fridge over night, heat an oven to 375 degrees. Flour a flat surface and roll the dough out until it is about 1/4 inch thick. I cut my shapes into 9 four inch squares and 5 smaller rectangles. I just wanted two different shapes. These danishes turned out fairly large, so you could easily make more if you cut them smaller. Take each square of dough and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. They will grow slightly in the oven, so leave about an inch between them.
For the round shapes that I made into almond danishes, take each corner and meet them in the center. Gently press down so they stay. Brush each one with egg wash. Top with 1 tablespoon of almond filling, a sprinkle of almond slices and a generous sprinkle of turbinado sugar. Check these ones part way through baking, you may need to sprinkle a few more almonds in the center of the pastry. They expand as they cook.
For the round custard filled pastries, add 1 tablespoon of custard to the center of each square. Fold in each corner to meet in the middle on top of the custard. Gently press down so they stay put. Brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
For the custard and pear pastries, add one tablespoon of custard to the center of each rectangle. Fold opposite corners towards each other and press down slightly. If you are looking at the rectangle, it should be the top right corner meeting the bottom left in the center. Brush with egg wash and top with a few pear slices. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, until they are golden brown and the bottom is no longer raw.
While the pastries are still warm, drizzle with a small amount of water icing.
