My Favorite Shortcut – Puff Pastry
God bless the pastry gods that invented puff pastry, as if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be able to make treats like this one. Well…I probably could if I really wanted to. But that would mean making puff pastry from scratch. And after seeing how much butter goes into it, I may not want it anymore.
Seriously though – for anyone who still thinks they can’t bake, puff pastry is an excellent way to get your feet wet with little effort. But I promise whatever you end up making with it will leave you feeling like a rock star. Ok, well, maybe not a rock star but you will be pretty darn impressed with yourself.
Puff pastry are sheets of dough made with flour, butter, salt and water. Although a leavener is missing, it is the way these ingredients are combined that makes the pastry rise. And combining these ingredients is a true labor of love. The dough begins like pie crust with cold butter mixed into the flour to a cornmeal consistency. The dough is rolled around a thick slab of butter. Through a process of folding, turning, and rolling, the butter is dispersed throughout the dough creating hundreds of very thin layers of dough separated by a film of butter and this butter layer is what causes the pastry to rise. When the pastry is heated, the butter melts and boils, creating steam which lifts the successive layers higher and higher. At the same time, the heat is cooking the flour, hardening it around those minute air pockets, creating the puff.
Maybe one day I will make puff pastry from scratch. For now, I am perfectly content (as are many, many others) with the store-bought variety to make treats like these wonderful danishes I bring you today. This Ina Garten (aka my hero) recipe combines puff pastry and a delicious cheese filling to make a danish that will knock your socks off. The secret to the delicious filling is a hint of lemon zest that makes the flavors pop and have a party in your mouth. Another slam dunk recipe from the Queen of all things food.
Enjoy these with breakfast, afternoon tea or as a post-dinner dessert and you won’t be disappointed.
Easy Cheese Danish
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg washDirections:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don't whip!
Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes. Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.
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Snooky doodle — April 12, 2010 @ 8:17 pm
ohh wow this pastry is perfect!
5 Star Foodie — April 12, 2010 @ 8:37 pm
Puff pastry is always in my freezer! These danishes sound great!
Helena - A Diary of Lovely — April 12, 2010 @ 10:05 pm
yummy! my grandma makes her own, I love buying it
Thanks for this post, I'll make some feta filled ones tomorrow
Megan — April 12, 2010 @ 10:30 pm
I love cheese danish! I keep thinking about making it. I actually just made an asparagus tart with puff pastry this past weekend… I just wish I had some leftover to make these!
Jessica — April 13, 2010 @ 1:27 am
Ooooh, cheese danish sounds so delicious. I don't always have puff pastry in my freezer, but I need to make a note to do that in the future. What a great shortcut!
hannah! — April 13, 2010 @ 1:49 am
i love puff pastry! too bad i always get a bad throat whenever i eat 'em
Tracey — April 13, 2010 @ 3:24 am
I love puff pastry so much! I don't allow myself to keep the store-bought variety around because I I will just sprinkle cinnamon-sugar on it, bake it and eat WAY too much…..no willpower at all
These danish look amazing though. You can't go wrong with Ina!
Paris Pastry — April 13, 2010 @ 4:45 pm
Oooh, these look simply delightful! I have made puff pastry from scratch once … let's just say I haven't done it again!
Jelli Bean — April 13, 2010 @ 8:43 pm
I've made these before and definitely loved them. I overfilled them a bit, which was a little messy buy oh-so-yummy. Good work!
Bridgett — April 14, 2010 @ 4:02 am
I love this particular recipe for cheese danish and have had great luck with it. Now I am craving more! Your photos (and pastries!) are gorgeous.
cookies and cups — April 14, 2010 @ 12:47 pm
i love ina too!I haven't ever made homemade puff pastry either…especially when the frozen kind is pretty good. Made someday…:)
Barbara GF — April 15, 2010 @ 9:12 pm
Wish I had one of those little puffs right now, Eliana. They look scrumptious!
Flourchild — April 18, 2010 @ 12:54 pm
Yum nothing better then a good puff!!
Teanna — April 22, 2010 @ 11:12 am
Your puff pastry is gorgeous!!! I've made it from scratch, but I definitely don't mind using the store version!!! BEcause they are a LOT of work!
The Duo Dishes — April 28, 2010 @ 5:23 am
The premade puff pastry works just fine.
Making it from scratch is not easy, but the feat is admirable!
Justin — April 28, 2010 @ 10:19 pm
no shame in store-bought pastry of course. by the way, does anything not taste great when it's wrapped in puff pastry?
Cookie Confessions — May 10, 2010 @ 6:02 pm
Puff Pastry is my weakness! Looks delicious!
Brittany@twocrazycupcakes — May 21, 2010 @ 1:58 pm
Ohhhh how did I miss this post! I'm totally going to make these! Thanks mama!