Today is the first day, in over six months, that we’ve had fifty-degree mornings. Since it’s a Friday and the entire family has work, school, and other obligations all weekend, I’ve decided to pull out an old recipe and make a classic Fall favorite for breakfast: Homemade Blueberry Danish.
I have to admit that the dough, which is flavored with cardamom, takes a long time to make. These are yeast danishes so there’s a lot of rolling out and rising to be done. But the dough can be prepared the night before which means they can be assembled easily in the morning and baked so that they’re hot and ready to hand out as everyone goes their own way. These tarts are perfect with a hot cup of coffee and I love to eat them outside, while it’s still cool and a bit dark, and listen to the birds wake up.
The great thing about these tarts is you can substitute different flours. (I’ve used Gluten Free flour (I prefer Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 GF flour and white/wheat flour.) I honestly don’t know how long they keep because this recipe makes 8 tarts and they’re usually eaten within a day. I hope you all have a great weekend!
Blueberry Danish
Ingredients
Blueberry Filling
- 1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Cream Cheese Filling
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon water
Glaze Drizzle
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pastry
- 1 box puff pastry sheets defrosted (if frozen)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400℉ and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Twist the strip until it forms a braided piece.Place one end of the long, twisted strip down onto the parchment paper and wrap the dough around it, starting in the center and creating a pinwheel base. Poke the center 4 to 5 times with a fork.
Blueberry Filling
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In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Stir and cook until the berries burst and the liquid turns into a thick syrup. Remove the pan from the heat and cool.
Pastry
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On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry sheet. Cut the pastry lengthwise into 8 strips of equal width. Repeat with the second piece of puff pastry so you have 18 strips.
Take two strips and connect them at the shorter edges by pinching the ends together. This will give you one long strip. Twist this strip so it forms a long spiral. Place this spiral piece on the baking sheet. Holding down one end, spiral the dough around the center until you have a pinwheel base, about 4-5" in diameter. Repeat until you have 8 danishes. Use a fork to poke the pastry 4 times in each danish.
Cream Cheese Filling
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In a medium bowl and using an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk, vanilla, and lemon juice. Beat for another 3 minutes. Plop a Tablespoon of filling onto the center of each danish. Then add a spoonful of the blueberry syrup/fruit mixture.
Egg Wash
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In another small bowl, whisk together the egg and water. Brush each pastry with the egg wash and bake for 25 minutes or until a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
Glaze
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In a small bowl, stir together the lemon juice, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Once the pastries are cool, drizzle the glaze over the top of each pastry.
