danish pastry

This gluten free Danish pastry is the real deal – perfectly flaky and buttery, with a wonderful lamination, and generously filled with vanilla pastry cream and plump, juicy sultanas. It has the characteristic swirl shape of a proper pain aux raisins with gorgeous caramelised edges. While it does require a few steps to make, it’s not overly complicated – and the end result is just incredibly delicious. You couldn’t possibly guess that it’s gluten free!

Gluten Free Danish Pastry (Pain aux Raisins)

260 g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) whole milk

vanilla bean paste ((or 1 tsp vanilla extract))

UK medium/US large egg yolks

+ 1 tbsp) caster/superfine or granulated sugar

g (¼ cup) cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK)

g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter, cubed

120 g (½ cup) cold water ((See Note 1.))

155 g (¾ cup + 3 tbsp) potato starch

flour

g (¼ cup) caster/superfine sugar

g (1 ¾ tsp) xanthan gum

g (1 tsp) salt

+ 1 ½ tbsp) whole milk, cold ((See Note 1.))

UK medium/US large egg yolks, cold ((See Note 1.))

200 g (1 ¾ sticks) cold unsalted butter ((For the butter

g (⅔ cup) sultanas or raisins

UK medium/US large egg, whisked ((For glazing the pastries.))

In a saucepan, cook the milk and vanilla bean paste over medium-high heat until boiling.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and the mixture forms a ribbon when you lift the whisk. Add the cornstarch and whisk well until combined.Tip: Whisking the egg yolks and sugar together until smooth is called “blanching”. The sugar essentially protects the egg proteins, preventing lump formation and &quot;curdling&quot; during cooking.

Pour the hot milk in a slow stream into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return the mixture into the saucepan and cook over high heat with constant whisking until thickened, about 1-2 minutes.Tip: This  process is called “tempering” and prevents the egg yolks from scrambling – as they would if you added the egg yolk mixture all at once into the hot milk. By tempering, you gradually increase the temperature of the egg yolks while simultaneously diluting them, ensuring a silky-smooth pastry cream.

Remove from heat and add in the butter. Whisk well until the butter has melted and is completely incorporated.

Allow to cool completely, stirring or whisking occasionally to prevent skin formation on top. Set aside until needed.

For vanilla pastry cream:

In a small bowl, whisk together the psyllium husk and cold water. After about 20-30 seconds, a gel will form. Set aside until needed.

In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer, if using), whisk together the potato starch, brown rice flour, sorghum flour, sugar, xanthan gum, salt and yeast.

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, and add the cold milk, egg yolks and psyllium gel into it.Tip: If using active dried yeast, see Note 2.

Using a wooden spoon, mix well until the dough starts coming together. You can also use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, making sure that you scrape down the sides of the bowl to remove any dry, un-mixed patches of flour.

Once it starts coming together, knead it by hand until you get a homogeneous dough with no dry patches of un-mixed flour. Just squeeze the dough through your fingers, going around the bowl until you’ve incorporated all the flour. The final dough will be fairly firm and should come away from the sides of the bowl. (Again, you can also use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook).

Set aside for a few minutes while you prepare the butter block. Tip: If your kitchen is very warm, you can place the dough into the fridge while you prepare the butter block.

For gluten free Danish pastry dough:

Cut the cold butter into slices and arrange it in the middle of a large piece of baking/greaseproof paper, in an approximately square shape.

Fold all four sides of the baking paper over the butter, so that you get an approximately 8 inch (20cm) baking paper square that completely encloses the butter.

Flip it over, so that the baking paper folds point downwards, and firmly hit the butter with a rolling pin. Make sure to hit it with the rolling pin all over and in all directions.Tip: The friction from being hit with the rolling pin will slightly soften the butter and make it more malleable/pliable, without melting it.

Once slightly softened, roll the rolling pin firmly over the butter block, so that you get the butter into all the edges and corners of the baking paper square. Make sure that the butter is of an even thickness all over.

You should be left with an 8 inch (20cm) butter block that’s fairly malleable/pliable (you should be able to gently bend it) without being too soft or squidgy.Tip: If your kitchen is very warm, you can chill it briefly in the fridge for about 5 minutes, but you don’t want it to firm up too much. (I didn’t need to chill it at all, and my kitchen was at a pleasant 70ºF (20ºC)).

For the butter block:

Lightly flour your work surface. Tip: I like to work on a large piece of baking/greaseproof paper, as this allows me to slide the dough onto a baking sheet and into the fridge at any point, if the dough or pastry feels too warm or too soft. I recommend you do the same, especially if this is your first time making gluten free Danish pastry (and also if your kitchen is on the warmer side).

Place the dough onto the floured surface and sprinkle it with flour. Roll it out into an approximately 8x16 inch (20x40cm) rectangle, so that the shorter side is closest to you. At regular intervals, check whether the butter block fits comfortably onto the rolled-out dough. The dough should be a few millimetres wider than the butter block, but not by much.While you’re rolling, make sure that the dough isn’t stuck to the surface, by sliding your hands under it and gently lifting it up.

Once you’re happy with the size of the dough, place the butter block on one half of the dough and peel away the baking paper. Fold the other half of the dough over the butter block, end to end, enclosing it completely.

Turn the dough by 90 degrees, so that the two opposite “open ends” of the pastry point towards and away from you.

Use the rolling pin to gently “tap” the pastry all over – that is, gently press down on the pastry with the rolling pin at regular intervals along the length of the dough. This will ensure that the butter block adheres well to the dough and that it rolls out evenly together with the dough, rather than in uneven patches.

Roll out the dough into an approximately 8x22 inch (20x55cm) rectangle. This doesn’t have to be very precise, you just want to make sure that the rectangle is long enough to easily make the book fold in the next step.While you’re rolling, make sure that the dough isn’t stuck to the surface, by sliding your hands under it and gently lifting it up.

Fold the two ends of the rectangle inwards towards the middle, so that they meet in the centre. At this point, use a pastry brush to remove any excess flour. Fold this new rectangle in half (along the centre line), as if closing a thick book. You’ve just made a book fold!

Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. Tip: Don’t chill it for any longer than that – if you do, the butter will firm up too much and will break when you roll out the pastry in the next step.

Laminating the gluten free Danish pastry - first book fold:

The second book fold is essentially a repeat of the first one.

On a lightly floured surface, position the pastry so that the two “open ends” point towards and away from you.

Gently press down on the pastry with the rolling pin at regular intervals along the length of the dough. Then, roll it out into an approximately 8x22 inch (20x55cm) rectangle. Make sure that the pastry doesn’t stick to the surface. .

Fold both ends of the pastry rectangle towards the middle, so that they meet in the centre. Then fold the resulting rectangle in half.

Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.

Laminating the gluten free Danish pastry - second book fold:

While the pastry is chilling, in a small bowl, pour boiling hot water over the sultanas or raisins until completely covered. Set aside for about 10 minutes, until the sultanas/raisins have plumped up and re-hydrated.Drain the water, making sure to squeeze out any excess water from the sultanas/raisins. Set aside until needed.

Line two large baking sheets with baking/greaseproof paper.

Roll out the chilled pastry until it’s slightly larger than 10x16 inch (25x40cm), then trim it down to a 10x16 inch (25x40cm) rectangle. It should be about ⅓ inch (8mm) thick.

Briefly whisk the cooled vanilla pastry cream until it&#039;s smooth, then dollop it on top of the rolled-out pastry. Using a small offset spatula, smooth it out into an even layer all the way to the edges.

Sprinkle evenly with the re-hydrated sultanas or raisins.

With the pastry positioned so that that the shorter side is closest to you, roll the pastry towards you. You will end up with an approximately 10 inch (25cm) long log. You can use the baking paper to help you with rolling, if needed.Tip: If the pastry feels too warm or too soft at this point, chill it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes before proceeding with the next step.

Use baker’s thread or unflavoured dental floss to slice the log into the individual pastries, each about 1 inch (2.5cm) thick. Fold the end of the swirl of each pastry underneath the pastry (see blog post for photos) – this prevents the end of the pastry from unfurling during baking.Tip: Much like with cinnamon rolls, using baker&#039;s thread or floss preserves the shape of the pastries and ensures that you’ll get the most beautiful swirl. (Using a knife, on the other hand, would likely squash the pastry.)

Place the individual Danish pastries onto the lined baking sheets, spacing them out so as to allow for their expansion during proofing and baking. This recipe makes 10 pastries in total, I like to bake them 5 per baking sheet. Ideally, allow at least 2 inches (5cm) between the pastries.

Cover them lightly with cling film and allow to proof in a warm spot for about 2 hours or until lightly puffed up. The pastries won&#039;t double in volume – see blog post for photos.

Assembling and proofing the gluten free pain aux raisins:

While the pastries are proofing, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and pre-heat the oven to 430ºF (220ºC).

Once proofed, brush the pastries lightly with egg wash all over – make sure to egg wash both the tops and the sides.

Bake the first baking sheet with the Danish pastries at 430ºF (220ºC) for 5 minutes. Then, without opening the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC) and bake them for a further 20 minutes or until deep golden brown.

Remove the first baking sheet with the pastries from the oven, and immediately increase the oven temperature to 430ºF (220ºC). Once the oven reaches that temperature, bake the second baking sheet with the pastries as per the instructions above.

Allow the pastries to cool on the baking sheet for about 5-10 minutes before transferring onto a wire cooling rack to cool until warm or completely cold, depending on how you&#039;d like to serve them.

Optional: You can brush the pastries (while they&#039;re still warm) with some apricot jam that you&#039;ve heated up on the stovetop or in the microwave.

Baking the gluten free pain aux raisins:

These gluten free Danish pastries are definitely at their very best still slightly warm from the oven or on the day of baking.However, they keep well for 2-3 days in an airtight container at room temperature, you’ll just need to reheat them briefly in the microwave (for about 20-30 seconds) to soften them up again – once re-heated, they’re just as soft and delicious as they were on the first day, but they won&#039;t be quite as crisp.

Storage:

These flaky and buttery pastries are one of the most beloved pastries in Denmark. Made with laminated yeasted dough, they are certainly a commitment to make, but the result makes it all worth it!

Spandauer (Danish Pastry with Custard or Jam)

(150 ml, 1.5 dl) warm (not hot) water

sugar

eggs

salt

(360 grams) all-purpose flour

~3 sticks (323 grams) European (high fat %) unsalted butter

~4 tbsp (50 grams) softened butter

(50 grams) sugar

portion kagecreme (you may have leftovers!)

raspberry jam

egg egg wash

water

Bloom yeast in warm water with 1 tbsp sugar. Let sit for 5-10 mins until frothy.

Mix together remaining sugar (3 tbsp), eggs, and salt in a separate bowl.

Add yeast mixture, then start adding flour slowly until fully incorporated.

Once the flour is incorporated, knead just a few times to fully hydrate the dough. You may need to add a little more flour to keep it from being too sticky, but keep in mind it is a wetter dough! Do not knead until smooth - you don't want to overwork this dough.

Cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and leave in the fridge overnight to rise: 8-12 hours is best.

Make your kagecreme and jam (if you want to make homemade jam!) and make sure they are chilled. You can do this the day of as well!

The next day, prep your butter block for lamination. Start by wrapping your measured out butter in plastic wrap and hit with a rolling pin to slightly soften it. Then roll it out and fold it over itself to make sure there are no gaps in the butter from the different sticks. The butter should be able to fold without breaking - that's when it's ready for lamination.

Take your dough out of the fridge and shape into a rough square on a floured surface. Roll out the corners so that they are slightly elongated.

Add your butter block and fold over the corners. Seal your butter by pinching together the edges.

Now you start the lamination! Turn your dough over so the seam is on the bottom. Make sure you have plenty of flour on your surface. Roll out your dough into a rectangle and fold like a letter (top third over the middle, then bottom third over the top).

Once you've folded, return to the fridge for anywhere from 10-30 minutes. You just want to give the dough time to relax before your second lamination.

Turn your dough 90 degrees from how you were rolling it out last time, so that the first fold you did is at the bottom and the top of the dough. Roll into a rectangle again and repeat the letter fold. Return to fridge again.

Complete your last lamination by doing the same thing as before. Once done, put in fridge for about 30 mins.

In the meantime, mix the ingredients for your marzipan filling. Mix together really well, until you have a smooth paste.

Now, roll out your dough into a flat rectangle that is about 1/8-1/4" thick - the dough will make about 12 spandauer. Start by using only half of the dough and put the other half back in the fridge (each half will make 6 spandauer). Trim the edges of your rectangle if necessary, then cut into equal size squares. We roll up the dough from the edges into little swirls or croissant shapes and bake them with the pastries.

Add a small blob of marzipan filling to each of your squares. Then fold each corner towards the center, using the marzipan to lock it in place. Cover the first batch of pastries and let them start proofing, then repeat the previous step and this step with the other half of the dough.

Now leave your shaped pastries to rise for at least 2 hours, perhaps longer. Look at the difference between the first and second picture below! This is a very important step, because under-proofing these means major butter leakage (we are speaking from experience!). You'll know the pastries are ready when they feel super light and airy (almost wobbly when you touch them) and have doubled in size. Another test is to poke the dough, and if it leaves an impression and doesn't spring back immediately, it should be ready.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).

Once your pastries have risen, press down the center to make room for filling. Egg wash your pastries. Add about a tablespoon of kagecreme or raspberry jam to the center.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown!

Golden Danish pastry is filled with sweet and juicy apricots in this delicate tea time treat.

Apricot spandau (envelopes)

tsp salt

cardamom

nutmeg

butter, chilled, roughly chopped

milk

sachet dry yeast

white sugar

egg, lightly beaten

apricot halves, drained

eggwhite, beaten

tbsp white sugar

Caramel Apple Cheese Pastry is loaded with everything you love about autumn on a flaky crust. It's packed with apples, cinnamon, cream cheese and pecans, then topped with homemade caramel sauce for a sweet fall treat!

Caramel Apple Cheese Pastry

(21 ounces) apple pie filling

puff pastry sheet (I use Wewalka)

(8 ounce) pkg. cream cheese

Tablespoons sugar

cinnamon

pecans

brown sugar

butter

half and half cream

vanilla

Empty can of apple pie filling into a bowl and chop it into smaller pieces.

Roll puff pastry on parchment paper onto a sheet pan or cookie sheet. Roll edges all the way around. Spread apple pie filling on top of puff pastry.

With a mixer, blend cream cheese, sugar and egg together. Add cinnamon and mix well. Add tablespoons of cream cheese mixture on top of apples.

Swirl cream cheese mixture into apple pie filling with a knife. Sprinkle with a dusting of cinnamon.

Spread chopped pecans over cream cheese mixture.

Bake puff pastry at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until crust is puffy and golden brown. Cool 30 minutes and slice into rectangles.

Mix brown sugar, butter, and cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk for 5 minutes until it begins to thicken. Add vanilla and stir. Cool for 10 minutes, then drizzle over slices of apple pastry. Keep leftover caramel sauce in the refrigerator in a mason jar or sealed container.

Caramel with cream cheese and apples and pecans? I think I'm in heaven.

What is not to love in this recipe?  It just says fall to me. I can’t wait to taste this scrumptious recipe!

Buttery, flaky, light-as-air homemade Danish dough is easier than you think with this easy recipe. Perfect for all your sweet Danish breakfast cravings, this recipe isn’t a quick fix but it is simple to make. Start this recipe the day before. Yields 12-24 individual pastries.

How to make Danish Pastry

milk ((250 milliliters))

white granulated sugar

If you haven&#39;t already grate the butter and place in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes. Grate it into a large bowl and don&#39;t press it down, leave it loose.

Warm ½ cup of the milk in the microwave or a small saucepan, just until warm to the touch (not hot) or about 40C. Too hot and you&#39;ll kill the yeast, too cold and the yeast won&#39;t bloom.

To the warm milk, add 1 tablespoon sugar and all the yeast and mix. Let it sit for 10 minutes to become frothy. If it doesn&#39;t look frothy, the yeast is no good and you&#39;ll need to start again with fresh yeast.

To the large bowl of cold butter, add the flour, remaining sugar and the salt. Give it light toss to coat. Now very, very lightly with your fingertips or with a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until the pieces are about the size of a lentil. Be careful not to melt the butter. If it&#39;s warm where you are place it in the fridge for a few minutes to cool again.

Whisk the remaining ½ cup milk and the egg into the yeast mixture until well combined, then pour it into the dry ingredients.

Use a spoon or spatula to mix the ingredients together just until you have a very rough and sticky dough.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 8-24 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface - you don't want to add too much flour as it will dry out the dough. Form a simple rectangle.

ROLL AND FOLD: Roll it out to a large rectangle about 6mm / ¼ inch thick (about 27cm x 45cm). Fold, letter style in thirds (fold the top over the middle third, then the bottom third over that).

Repeat this roll and fold 3 more times for a total of 4 times, ending with a much smoother folded dough. The last roll and fold, the dough will feel much tighter - it&#39;s ok if you can&#39;t quite roll it out to 6mm / ¼ inch. Add a touch of flour if you see it sticking to the counter or your rolling pin at any point but try not to add too much.

Chill for 1-2 hours to relax before rolling and turning into danish pastries.

To turn it into baked pastries, use these Lemon Danish Pastries or these Custard Danish Pastries as a guide. For baking temp and time, see notes 5.

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/aL02DgLf.mp4

These cream cheese strawberry Danish, with perfect, flaky Danish pastry, strawberries, jam and cream cheese are easier than you may think. The perfect Danish recipe from brunch to afternoon tea.

WIDE How to make Danish Pastry.mp4

Give morning pastries a bakeover by swapping the sweet for a savoury butternut squash, blue cheese, bacon, onion and beetroot filling

Savoury Danish pastries

block of butter

white bread mix

cornichons

butternut squash

bacon

Danish blue cheese

tsp caraway or fennel seeds

walnut

red onion

spinach leaves, chopped

Wrap the butter in foil and freeze for 45 mins.

Tip the bread mix into a bowl and, using the foil to hold it, coarsely grate in the butter – keep dipping the end in the flour to stop it sticking to the grater too much. Use a cutlery knife to stir together, then add 300ml cold water and stir to a dough.

Put the squash in a microwave-proof bowl with a little water, cover with cling film, poke one hole in, and microwave on High, at 2-min increments, until just cooked. Drain any liquid.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll out the dough as thinly as you can, to a rectangle with longest side measuring 25cm. Scatter over all the filling ingredients, spreading as evenly as you can, leaving a small gap along one of the longest sides, brush this edge with a little beaten egg. Season, then roll up tightly from the opposite side and pinch to seal. Use a sharp, floured knife to cut roll into 8 slices. Dust a baking sheet with more flour and place slices, cut-side up, with gaps in between. Brush tops with more egg and bake for 15-20 mins until golden and risen. Best eaten warm with cornichons.

This is one of our favorite Danish pastries! Two layers of flaky, buttery, laminated dough with a layer of sweet, delicious marzipan filling in between and poppy seeds on top - what could be better?

Tebirkes (Danish Pastry with Poppy Seeds)

portion wienerbrødsdej (*or you can use the

portion "easier" wienerbrødsdej (danish pastry dough)

marzipan ((our recipe makes 250 grams, so you can adjust accordingly!))

softened butter

Poppy seeds

The night before baking, begin preparing the pastry dough by following the steps in our wienerbrødsdej recipe. Or, you can make the dough the same day, and use our easier version! You can also prepare homemade marzipan ahead of time.

The next day or after the dough is done rising, follow the lamination instructions in the danish pastry dough recipe.

While the dough is resting between folds, mix together the ingredients for the marzipan filling. Mix really well, until you have a smooth paste.

Once you&#39;ve completed the final lamination according to the danish pastry dough recipe and the dough has rested, begin rolling out your dough. When it&#39;s reached about 16&quot; in length, cut it in half and work with one half at a time, putting the second half back in the fridge.

Roll out your dough into a flat rectangle that is pretty thin - about 1/8 inch in thickness. One half of the dough will make six pastries, for twelve total.

Once your dough is in a rough rectangle shape, trim the edges. Your rectangle should measure at least 14&quot; in length, and about 9-9.5&quot; in width.

Add marzipan paste to the center third of your dough, along the length of the dough - remember that you will just spread half of the paste on this first half of the dough.

Fold the left third of the dough about halfway across the filling - make sure you are folding the long edge over.

Add a little bit of water to the top of the dough you just folded over, to help the pastry stick together.

Fold the right third over the left third, overlapping by about an inch.

Press down firmly where the dough overlaps to seal.

Cut into six equal pieces. We don&#39;t measure this part but just make marks on the dough halfway down, then divide the two halves into thirds to make equal sized pastries. If you prefer to measure, definitely do that!

Place on a prepared baking sheet with parchment paper, seam side down. Cover and start proofing.

Shape the next six pastries using the other half of the dough and the remaining half of the marzipan paste. Place these on a second baking baking sheet with parchment paper, and cover with either plastic wrap or a dish towel.

Now leave your shaped pastries to rise for at least 2 hours, perhaps longer.

Look at the difference between the previous picture and the picture below! This is a very important step, because under-proofing these means major butter leakage (we are speaking from experience!). You&#39;ll know the pastries are ready when they feel super light and airy (almost wobbly when you touch them) and have doubled in size. Another test is to poke the dough, and if it leaves an impression and doesn&#39;t spring back immediately, it should be ready.

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).

Once your pastries have fully risen, egg wash the tops.

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