intended as a flavoring, not the gently flavored lemon olive oil.
I like the salt balance that comes from using 1 stick of salted butter and 1 stick of unsalted, but I’ll admit that it’s subtle. You can certainly use 2 sticks of salted or unsalted butter, if you prefer.
MakeS two 7 x 14-InCh paStrIeS
On prep day 1
1. Make the lemon curd filling: Whisk the yolks, egg, sugar, lemon juice, butter, and salt in a heavy-bottomed pot. The butter won’t incorporate, but that’s fine.
Heat on medium low and stir until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and hold a line drawn through it with a finger.
2. Remove the pot from the heat and pour the mixture though a fine-mesh strainer, to catch any errant bits of egg, and into a storage container. Cover and refrigerate until needed. It will thicken a bit more as it cools.
3. Make the cheese filling: In a small bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, ricotta, and sugar until smooth. Transfer to a storage container, cover, and refrigerate until needed.
4. Make the pastry: Whisk the egg, water, yeast, and sugar in a medium bowl.
5. Put the flour, salt, and lemon oil (if using) in a food processor and pulse a few times to distribute the salt. Cut the butter into a few pieces and put it in the food processor. Pulse until the butter pieces are no larger than a lima bean. It’s fine if some pieces (or most of them) are smaller.
6. Transfer the flour-butter mixture to the bowl with the sugar-water mixture.
Stir gently until combined. The mixture should be wet, so don’t worry if it seems loose. If it’s not a wet mixture or if you see dry spots in the flour, drizzle in more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to moisten the dough.
7. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
On prep day 2
1. Flour your work surface and turn out the dough. Flour the top of the dough, then pat it into a rough square. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to about 18 inches square, though the shape doesn’t matter so much. The point is to flatten the bits of butter that will make the buttery, flaky layers, but you don’t want the butter to soften so much that it starts to mix with the flour, so work as quickly as possible.
Flour your work surface and the top of the dough as needed to keep the dough from sticking.
2. Take the left third of the dough and fold it over the middle, then fold the right side over the middle, like you would fold a letter. Use a dough scraper under the dough to help lift it and fold it over. It’s fine if the dough is sloppy and wants to break apart. Now, fold the top third down over the middle, then fold the bottom third up. You should have a fat square of dough.
3. Roll the dough to about 16 inches square, then perform the same folding process as above. This time the dough should be easier to roll and fold.
4. Once you have a fat square of dough, roll it one more time to 16 inches square and fold as before. If at any time during the rolling and folding you feel the butter getting soft and squishy, put the dough in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to firm up the butter—you don’t want it to mix with the flour.
5. After the third roll-and-fold process, flour the dough, wrap it in plastic, and place it in a clean zip-top plastic bag. Refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.
On prep day 3
1. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, divide it in half, and rewrap half and return to the refrigerator.
2. Flour your work surface and roll the dough to 9 x 16 inches. Transfer it to a piece of parchment paper that will fit a baking sheet.
3. Spread half the cheese mixture lengthwise down the middle third of the dough, leaving about an inch uncovered on the two short ends. Spread half of the lemon curd on top of the cheese, leaving about a 1⁄4-inch border of cheese uncovered all along the edges.
4. Using a sharp knife, pizza cutter, or pastry cutter, cut slits from the edge of the dough to within about 1⁄2 inch of the filling along both long sides, leaving about 1 inch between the slits. This creates strips that will be folded over the filled center of the dough.
5. To start the folding process, first fold over the two short ends so they just cover the filling. Then begin folding the strips from the edges over the center of the dough, alternating strips from one side of the pastry and then the other and
tip
You can make the fillings up to 2 days ahead of time and keep them refrigerated, or make them the day you need them, leaving enough time for the curd to cool completely.
continued
142 pastries
VariatiOn
if you’re more a fan of lime than lemon, make a lime curd and use it in the filling. replace the
1⁄2 cup fresh lemon juice with
1⁄2 cup fresh lime juice. the method for making the curd is the same as for lemon.
Lime curd will be the same golden yellow color as lemon curd. if you prefer it to be green-tinged, add a bit of food coloring.
letting them overlap in the center. The dough will stretch quite easily to allow you to do this. Flatten out any creases as you fold the strips so they lay flat. While you’re not actually braiding, you will end up with a braided effect. Slide the parchment, with the pastry on it, onto a baking sheet, then nudge and tuck where needed to straighten the pastry. Cover the pastry with plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes.
6. Make a second Danish from the reserved dough, or keep that dough for another day or two, if desired. If kept long enough, the yeast won’t be as active so you won’t get the same rise, but the pastry will still puff from the butter in the dough, just like puff pastry.
7. Refrigerate your finished pastries. They can be baked later in the day, the next day, or up to 2 days later.
On baking day
1. Remove the pan from the refrigerator and heat the oven to 375°F.
2. Remove the plastic and brush the pastry with the egg wash. If you like, sprinkle the pastry with pearl sugar or granulated sugar. Bake the pastry until it’s nicely browned, 30 to 35 minutes. Slide the parchment with the pastry on it onto a rack and let cool. When it’s cool enough to handle, slide the pastry off the parchment.
Serve at room temperature or chilled.
LemOn danish continued