DANISH ORANGE MARMALADE CHEESE POCKETS

facebook share image   twitter share image   pinterest share image   E-Mail share image



Danish Orange Marmalade Cheese Pockets image

In a wild and crazy moment, I decided my life wasn't complete if I didn't attempt making danish pastry from scratch. The results were great, but I have a new appreciation for the time and effort that goes into producing a breakfast pastry! This recipe originated in a cookbook by Nick Malgieri. I received the recipe via chef chocolat, who made some modifications; and then I made my own changes. Never having seen the original recipe, I'm not sure how much it has changed. You can make a plain cheese version, but it's a tad boring in my opinion. If you're going to invest the time to make this recipe, add a spoonful of marmalade or other jam/preserves or a sprinkling of chocolate chips to the filling.

Provided by Kathy

Categories     Breads

Time 6h

Yield 24 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 20

3 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup skim milk, scalded and cooled
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 ounces cold unsalted butter
2 large eggs, room temperature
16 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons fresh orange zest
1/2 cup orange marmalade (or other fruit of your choice) or 1/2 cup chocolate chips (about 10-15 chips per danish)
1 egg
1 pinch salt
1/2-1 cup sliced almonds
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (sifted after measuring)
2 tablespoons skim milk (I prefer milk because it makes a creamier icing) or 2 tablespoons water (I prefer milk because it makes a creamier icing)
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

Steps:

  • Make the pastry dough: Whisk yeast into warm water. Wait 1-2 minutes, then whisk again. Whisk in milk.
  • Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to mix.
  • Cut 4 tablespoons butter into thin slices and add to processor. Pulse to a fine texture -- not too much where it becomes pasty.
  • Cut remaining butter into 1/2 inch cubes and add to processor. Pule twice, 1-2 seconds each time. Remove dough and place in mixing bowl.
  • Whisk eggs into yeast mixture and add to dough. Using a rubber spatula, hold blade horizontally. Press/dig spatula down into dough, repeating until dough comes together, turning the bowl while you work. The dough will be soft and sticky.
  • Leave dough in bowl, covering dough surface tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1-2 hours.
  • Place the chilled dough on a floured surface and sprinkle flour on top. Press dough into a rectangle (twice as long as it is wide).
  • Starting at narrow edge farthest away from you, firmly press with a rolling pin in short parallel strokes. Seal any sticky areas with a bit of flour, and don't allow dough pieces to stick to rolling pin. Repeat, then press once across width of dough. You should have a 1/2 inch thick rectangle.
  • Sprinkle flour above and below dough.
  • Rolling Directions: Create a rectangle 18 x 8: Starting on the edge nearest you, roll once away from you in length and once in width. Do NOT roll over the end/edge of the dough.
  • Folding Directions: Fold the two narrow ends in toward the middle, leaving a 1 inch gap in the center. Fold the top to bottom to form 4 layers. Turn dough so folded edge is on the left.
  • Repeat rolling and folding directions. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours, but no more than 12 hours.
  • Filling: Add filling ingredients (except marmalade and chocolate chips) to a medium-size bowl. Beat together with a spatula (I use my KitchenAid mixer).
  • Place HALF of the chilled dough on floured surface and sprinkle with flour.
  • Using a rolling pin, press the dough in firm, parallel strokes to soften it. Flour surface and dough again if needed. Roll dough out into a 12 x 16 inch rectangle.
  • Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Slide dough onto first cookie sheet and refrigerate 10 minutes (until firm).
  • Repeat the above process with the second half of the pastry dough and place on second cookie sheet and chill 10 minutes until firm.
  • Remove dough from refrigerator, leave dough in place on parchment paper. Cut each sheet of dough into 12 4-inch squares, keeping them in place on the parchment paper.
  • Drop a heaping teaspoon of filling onto the center of each square. Top with a heaping teaspoon of marmalade or chocolate chips.
  • Fold the dough corners into the middle, overlapping the filling by about 1/4 inch. Cover and let rise 20-30 minutes until they begin to puff. I did not notice much puffing.
  • Preheat oven to 400°F.
  • Prepare the egg wash and brush to top of each pastry. Sprinkle with almonds or additional chocolate chips.
  • Bake 15-20 minutes or until pastry is golden and filling is set. My pastries were done at 15 minutes, so start checking after 10 minutes.
  • Cool on wire rack.
  • Combine icing ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over very low heat until lukewarm. Drizzle icing over slightly cooled pastry and allow to set.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 291.5, Fat 16.5, SaturatedFat 9.4, Cholesterol 79.4, Sodium 186, Carbohydrate 31.6, Fiber 0.9, Sugar 17.9, Protein 5

There are no comments yet!