Danishes, Part 2
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A funny thing happened on the way to these danishes. Things changed. You can tell by the changed title of the post. It's not "cheese danishes" but just "danishes."
I'm telling you: you're seeing this stuff in real time. Real food in real time.
I've clearly lost my mind.
Anyway, here's the story: I didn't like the photos I had from this past weekend's danish-making fest. I didn't think they portrayed the way the danishes have to be shaped on the counter. So I coerced Bruce into starting again last night. Sometime around 9:00 p.m. When we were both dead tired from a full day of writing our new book. And each had had a couple glasses of wine.
Poor Bruce. He lives with a crazed writer who believes more in the what might be than the what is (chalk it up to that life-of-the-imagination thing), who believes everything can be edited, revised, and remade. Endlessly.
Anyway, I set us down the path of making more last night. But that path turned out to lead to different danishes. Did I mention I live with a chef? In other words, a guy who can never make the same recipe twice. Poor Mark. (Although I don't know that I'll get much sympathy from many of you on that count.)
He didn't want to make a cheese filling. God forbid! He wanted almond. So he made it. Sure, I got shots like this one:
But really, I need some consistency. (I am crying about this. You realize the irony here, right? But boy, will those shots come in handy in the next post, tomorrow, when we finish this thing off.)
OK, so you've now got the possibility of two fillings. Here they are:
1. An almond filling for danishes
Place 7 ounces purchased almond paste (that's the standard tube), 1 large egg white, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is paste-like, a bit sticky, and well combined, scraping down the inside of the canister occasionally to make sure everything gets run up against everything else (and the blades).
When you buy that almond paste, look for tubes filled with soft, pliable paste. Go ahead and open the darn boxes to feel the tubes inside, if they're sealed up the way they are at our supermarket. Hard almond paste is no one's dream of a filling.
And yes, you can do this task with a hand-held or stand mixer. It'll take a little more time because of the lack of sharp blades. But it'll work nonetheless with a little patience on your part.
2. A cheese filling for danishes
Place all of the following in a large bowl: 8 ounces soft chèvre (goat cheese), 1 large egg, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour, and 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg. Stir the mixture together until smooth.
Yep, a goat cheese filling: lots of umami, bitter, and sour notes to complement the sweet, yeast-raised puff pastry ahead. Divine, no? Indeed. That's the stuff in the top photo on this post, baked into the danishes.
Which we'll get to tomorrow. Without any further changes. I promise.
Reader Comments (3)
Another great writing (and baking) job by you and your other half.
Serves you right, Mark. You should have let the poor man go to bed. :)
But is so nice that we all get two dishes for the price of one... :)
Absolutely positively no sympathy for the poor fool who has to endure the hardships of living with a chef! Oh, to have someone cook for me.... :p