This blog is such an enabler. Here I am, in the middle of my early-summer “yikes-it’s-skirt-and-tank-top-weather-when-did-that-happen?” health kick, and finally sticking to a running schedule for the first time in months, and what do I do? Bake, of course. Why? Because my blog needs sweets.

Over the past 14 months Kitchenist has taken on a life of its own, so much so that it’s started demanding baked goods, and fancy ones at that. Most people bake for someone – kids, houseguests, co-workers, a partner – who can appreciate, or at least consume, the fruits of their labour. Not me, I bake for my blog. Which, as it turns out, doesn’t have much of an appetite.

This Coffee-Ginger-Pistachio cake is a good example of how my blog cajoles and convinces me to bake it fancy treats, and then leaves me to eat them. Of course, this cake wasn’t all that fancy to begin with; it started life as an iced-in-the-pan, square-tin sweet. But with the controlling Kitchenist whispering in my ear, I made some changes. That square tin became a round one, and the resulting cake got sliced in half to become a modest layer cake. With the rustically spread cream cheese frosting and the artfully sprinkled pistachio pieces, you’d almost think that someone other than me or my boyfriend was going to enjoy this thing.

Because in my book, this is the kind of cake that you make for a reason; dinner party, a birthday, something where “impressive” is on the menu. Generally I ignore this brand of dessert and focus on simpler fare, like cookies, squares and loaf cakes. But I suppose there’s nothing wrong with making something fancy for no reason at all. It keeps the blog happy, anyway.

Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time for my evening run.

• Coffee-Ginger-Pistachio Cake
• adapted from The Guardian
• makes one 9″ cake, cut into 2 layers
• For the cake:
  50g unsalted butter
  75ml milk
  1 Tbs. ground coffee (not instant)
  2cm piece of ginger, finely grated (about 1 Tbs.)
  2 eggs
  200g caster sugar
  100ml neutral oil
  75g pistachios, chopped
  75g glacé ginger, chopped
  275g plain flour
  1 Tbs. baking powder
  1/4 tsp. salt
  
  For the topping:
  200g cream cheese, at room temperature
  125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  zest of one lemon
  2 tsp. lemon juice
  175g icing sugar
  25g pistachios, chopped
• 1. Line the bottom of a 9″ cake tin with parchment and butter the sides lightly. Preheat the oven to 180°C/35°0F.
  
  2. Melt the butter in a small pot over low heat, then remove and mix in the milk, coffee and ginger. Set aside.
  
  3. Beat the eggs and sugar together with an electric mixer until pale and foamy, then beat in the coffee mixture and oil until well combined. Stir in the pistachios and glacé ginger then fold in the flour, baking powder and salt.
  
  4. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Let cool completely before carefully slicing in half with your largest knife; separate the layers until ready to ice.
  
  5. To make the icing, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer for one minute, until smooth and creamy. Add the butter and beat for another minute. Briefly beat in the lemon zest and juice before adding the icing sugar and beating until just combined.
  
  6. Spread half the icing over the first layer of cake before carefully topping with the second layer. Cover with the remaining icing and sprinkle with the pistachios.

My friends, it’s been too long. Nearly ten days with no recipes for you, and no farmer’s market visit for me. Frankly, I don’t have a great excuse for my absence. A dash of illness, a sprinkle of work, a smattering of melancholy and a good dose of culinary disinterest affected both my time and inclination to blog.

What’s worse, I can’t even promise that posting will be that prolific in the days to come, either. My Mum and Grandma are in London over the next week, and along with some other potential changes on the horizen, free time is likely to be hard to come by.

All I have to offer in way of an apology are these Citrus and Almond Breakfast Buns. Adapted from this popular recipe from The Kitchn, they put a fresh spin on traditional caramel- and cinnamon-flavoured breakfast rolls. And for now, they’re all I’ve got.

But honestly? I think you’re getting a pretty good deal.

• Citrus and Almond Breakfast Buns
• adapted from The Kitchn
• makes 6 buns (easily doubled)
• For the dough:
  2 cups plain flour
  2 Tbs. sugar
  1 heaped tsp. instant yeast
  1/4 tsp. salt
  1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
  zest of one lemon
  1/4 cup (56g) unsalted butter
  1/3 cup milk
  1 egg
  1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  1/4 tsp. almond extract
  
  For the filling:
  1/4 cup sugar
  1/4 cup ground almonds
  1/4 tsp. ground ginger
  zest of one lemon
  zest of half an orange
  juice of half a lemon
  2 Tbs. unsalted butter, very soft
  
  For the toppings:
  2 oz (56g) cream cheese, at room temperature
  juice of half a lemon
  1/4 cup icing sugar
  2 Tbs. flaked almonds, lightly toasted
  zest of half an orange
• 1. Whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, nutmeg and lemon zest in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then set aside to cool slightly before whisking in the milk, egg and extracts.
  
  2. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix to combine. Turn out onto a generously floured surface and knead for 5-8 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. (You’ll likely use an extra 1/4 cup of flour at this point; the dough should be soft and smooth but not sticky.) Form dough into a ball, lightly oil or butter it, then place in a covered bowl to rise for one hour.
  
  3. While the dough is rising, make the filling. Mix together the sugar, almonds, ginger and citrus zests in a small bowl. Add the lemon juice and softened butter and whisk well to combine, then set aside. Also prepare a smallish cake pan (8 x 8″ square or 9″ round both work) by buttering it lightly.
  
  4. When the dough has doubled in size, punch down and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll into a horizontal rectangle roughly 8 x 10″, then spread the filling over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1″ border all around. Starting with the long edge furthest from you, roll up the dough and cut into 6 equal sections. Place these cut-side-up in the prepared pan, then cover loosely with clingfilm and allow buns to rise for 45 minutes. (As this point, you can also refrigerate the buns for baking up to 24 hours later. In this case, remove from the fridge at least one hour before you want to bake them.)
  
  5. When you want to bake the buns, preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until buns are big, puffy and browned on top. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, but not completely, before icing.
  
  6. While the buns are baking, make the icing. Whisk together the cream cheese and lemon juice until smooth, then sift in the icing sugar and whisk to incorporate. When the buns are done and have cooled a little, spread the icing messily over the top, allowing it to melt and ooze where it likes. Sprinkle over the toasted almonds and orange zest, and enjoy.

I was whipping up a batch of these last week (a much-needed treat after a particularly grueling couple days), when I realised that despite all the sweet things I’ve written about here- all the cookies, cakes, tarts and other treats- that I’ve never shared this go-to brownie recipe before. If I’m honest, brownies aren’t my favourite indulgence- Andrew is the chocolate fiend in this household. But if I’m gonna have them, they’ve got to be good.

When it comes to brownies, the word “ultimate” is vastly overused. As are “best”, “superior”, “most delicious”, “incredible” and so on. And no, I’m not about to insist that this brownie recipe really is the ultimate one- everyone has different criteria for judging a brownie’s worth, after all. I will say that if you, like me, enjoy a really dense, fudgey brownie, if you like a double chocolate hit in the form of melted chocolate and cocoa powder, if the idea of a brownie made incredibly moist with the addition of cream cheese sounds good to you, then there’s a good chance that this brownie recipe will become your ultimate one, too.

One thing I especially like about this recipe (besides everything above, obviously) is how adaptable it is. The basic version is delicious, but the possibilities for additions are truly limitless- chocolate chips, nuts, dried cranberries, swirls of various composition. It’s the latter I went for this time- a mix of peanut butter and cream cheese for a sweet but salty cheesecake swirl. And you’ve got to admit- that really does sound like the ultimate indulgence, doesn’t it?

Note: Since I prefer bake in weight (grams), that’s how I’ve shown the recipe below. If you prefer ounces or volume measures, follow the link to the original recipe- Rose includes all three!

• Ele’s Ultimate Brownies (Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirl optional!)
• adapted from Rose Levy Berenbaum‘s Brownie Puddle Tart
• makes 16 large brownies
• Brownies
  200g unsalted butter
  85g dark baking chocolate (I try to use 70%+ cocoa solids), chopped
  50g cocoa powder
  225g caster sugar
  3 large eggs
  85g cream cheese
  1 tsp. vanilla extract
  70g plain flour
  1/4 tsp. salt
  
  Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirl
  115g cream cheese
  85g peanut butter
  3 Tbs. caster sugar
  1 egg yolk
  1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F. Prepare a 8 x 8″ baking pan by buttering the sides, and lining the bottom and two sides with parchment paper.
  
  2. In a large bowl or medium saucepan, melt together the butter and chocolate. When it’s smooth, remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder, sugar, eggs and cream cheese. Finally, stir in the vanilla, flour and salt. Spread the mixture into the prepared baking tin, and set aside while you prepare the cheesecake swirl (if using).
  
  3. For the peanut butter cheesecake swirl, whisk together all ingredients until smooth. Spread over the top of the brownie batter, and using a spoon or small spatula, swirl the two mixtures together.
  
  4. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until set and springy in the middle. Allow brownies to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Brownies are best after 24 hours, and get even fudgier if kept in the fridge.

I always like Sunday lunch to be an event. Even if it’s just Andrew and me, I tend not to turn to leftovers at this particular time of the week. Instead, it’s a time for experimenting with new recipes, often elaborate multi-step ventures. For lack of a better word, I like my Sunday midday meal to be “fancy”.

This isn’t a hangover from my childhood; weekend lunches in my family are a non-starter at best. It was a mug of soup from the freezer or some toast from the breadbox, and my sister and I were pretty much left to fend for ourselves. (After we’d reached an appropriately independent age, of course- it’s not like our parents neglected to feed their babies.) Perhaps my predilection for involved weekend lunches is some sort of post-adulthood rebellion.

As those lunches go, a vegetable quiche/tart is certainly one of the most involved. There’s the pastry, the veg, the filling, the blind baking and the actual baking- definitely one to sink your cooking teeth into. I made just such a tart last weekend, after being inspired by my sister’s Pumpkin, Spinach and Goat’s Cheese Tart.

Wanting to keep the essence of that pie while still making the recipe my own, I made some (not insignificant) changes. The first was to use an all-butter pastry, because I’ve gotta tell you, I just don’t hold with that shortening nonsense. Bland, flavourless and just plain gross – at what cost flakiness, I ask you?

Since I’ve promised not to cook with pumpkin anymore (at least not for another year) I used butternut squash, an old favourite of mine. Greens came in the form of Russian kale, my new favourite addition to soups and stir-fries. Surprisingly for me, I didn’t have any cheese, save a bit of leftover cream cheese, in the house at all. I opted to mix this into the egg and cream mixture, which gave the tart a subtle cheesy taste.

So was all this “involvement” worth it? Oh, yes. One of the best things about flexing your culinary muscles on the weekend is reaping the benefits all week long- this baby here made many a delicious lunch, I can assure you.

• Squash and Kale Tart
• adapted from Let Her Bake Cake
• makes one 10″ tart
• Pastry Tart Case
  1 1/4 cups plain flour
  1/2 tsp. salt
  113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes and very cold
  1/4 – 1/3 cup ice cold water
  
  Filling
  1 small butternut squash
  75g Russian kale, stems discarded and leaves chopped roughly
  2 eggs
  200ml double cream
  1/2 cup cream cheese
  1/3 cup grated parmesan
  salt and pepper, to taste
• 1. To make the pastry, mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, but with some visible pea-sized pieces of butter remaining.
  
  2. Drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the ice water, and mix it into the flour with a fork or dough whisk. Work until it just comes together, but no more (you may need to add a bit more water, but do so a teaspoon at a time).
  
  3. Gather up the pastry and wrap it tightly in clingfilm; place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or up to 3 days.
  
  4. When ready to use, remove the dough from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Gently lift into a 10″ tart tin and press into the corners, being careful not to “stretch” the dough too much. Trim off the excess, prick the bottom and sides a few times with a fork, and put the unbaked tart tin into the freezer for 30 minutes.
  
  5. Just before you’re ready to bake the pastry, preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F. Line the frozen pastry with parchment paper, and fill with baking beans or uncooked rice. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the beans/paper and cook for a further 7 minutes to dry out the bottom. Set the tart case aside to cool- it can be wrapped in clingfilm and frozen at this point, as well.
  
  6. To prepare the butternut squash, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds with a spoon and brush the insides lightly with olive oil. Place the cut halves facing down on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes, until tender to the point of a knife. Allow to cool before peeling off the skin and chopping the squash into 1″ cubes.
  
  7. For the kale, bring a small pot of water to the boil and add the kale. Cook for about 7 minutes, until tender to your liking. Drain the kale and “squeeze” it dry using some paper towels or a clean tea towel.
  
  8. To prepare the filling, whisk together the eggs, cream, cream cheese, parmesan, salt and pepper in a large jug.
  
  9. Next, put everything together: dot the squash over the bottom of the tart case and “fill in the gaps” with the cooked kale. Pour the egg mixture over everything, but be careful not to let it overflow. Bake tart in a 180°C/350°F oven for 30-35 minutes, until tart is browned on top and springy to the touch. Cool slightly before serving.

When I was 17 or so, I caught whooping cough. There was an outbreak in several of my city’s primary schools, and I caught it from some kids I was babysitting at the time. On the surface, whooping cough isn’t all that bad. You cough a lot, you get a couple weeks off school- as highly contagious diseases go, it’s pretty great. The thing you probably don’t know about whooping cough (unless you’ve had it yourself) is that even after you’re not contagious anymore, even after you feel healthy again and go back to normal life, you keep coughing. For several months.

For me, this slightly annoying fact was complicated by my friend Maya, who thought it was just hilaaaarious that I’d been so inflicted. She took to softly, subtly, with the most innocent of faces, saying “whoop, whoop” whenever I coughed. For the rest of the school year. So not only was I that weird coughing girl (always a great label to have in high school, let me tell you), but I had a constant whooping echo, too. Thank goodness we didn’t have every class together.

I was reminded of Maya’s torturous teasing last month. She moved into a new apartment and emailed me to tell about the breaking in of her new kitchen. Appropriately enough, she’d made a batch of pumpkin whoopie pies. These festive fall treats were all over the food blogs last year with a contagiousness of their own. I remember thinking then that they looked delicious, but it took twelve months and a friendly tip to convince me to make them.

This week, after I’d peeled, cubed, steamed and puréed another pumpkin, I finally had an opportunity to. I opted to use Martha Stewart’s recipe, but added my own little tweak. I didn’t have quite as much pumpkin as the recipe called for (yes, I’ve been using it a lot- more pumpkin recipes are on their way), so I added in some cocoa powder for a bit of extra flavour. Chocolate and pumpkin? Whoop, whoop!

• Chocolate-Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
• adapted from Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream-Cheese Filling by Martha Stewart
• makes 6 pies (easily doubled, but these things are huge!)
• Whoopie Pies
  1 1/2 cups plain flour
  1/2 tsp. baking powder
  1/2 tsp. baking soda
  1/2 tsp salt
  1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  1 tsp. ground ginger
  2 Tbs. cocoa powder
  1 egg
  3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  1/2 cup vegetable oil
  3/4 cup pumpkin purée (from peeled, cubed, steamed and puréed pumpkin, or from a can)
  1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  
  Cream Cheese Filling
  113g cream cheese, at room temperature
  57g butter, at room temperature
  1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  1 cup icing sugar, sifted
  1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1. Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cocoa powder. Set aside.
  
  2. In another bowl, beat the egg and brown sugar together with an electric beater until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes (or use a stand mixer). Add the oil, pumpkin purée and vanilla and beat for another minute. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat until just combined.
  
  3. Using a 1/4 cup ice-cream scoop or measuring cup, place large spoonfuls of the dough on the baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches between each one. Work quickly, as the batter will spread a bit. Bake for 15 minutes, until the tops are just springy to the touch. Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely before filling.
  
  4. While the whoopie pies cool, make the filling. Cream together the cream cheese and butter, adding the vanilla after they’re well combined. Sift in the icing sugar and cinnamon and beat to combine. Keep the filling in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
  
  5. To fill the cookies, simply spread a few tablespoonfuls of filling on the flat side of one, and gently pair it with another, similar in size and shape. Whoopie pies should be kept in an airtight container in the fridge.

Every Christmas morning, my mum or sister will bake blueberry muffins. A strange choice for the time of year perhaps, but they’re made with frozen berries that Mum buys, freezes and hordes during the warmer months. For me, the origin of the berries is a moot point; my disinclination for cooked fruit means that I get two muffins made especially for me- before the offending berries are added. Oh, how I love my blueberry-less blueberry muffins.

The exceptions to my no-fruit rule are subtle but concrete: I like fruit-based desserts if the fruit in question is raw, baked but structurally intact, or else cooked and mushed beyond recognition. This last stipulation hasn’t been illustrated on the blog yet, so when I bought these blueberries at the market on Sunday, I thought this was as good an opportunity as any to give it a go.

I envisioned a blueberry purée swirl running through a delicious white cake, creating a feast for eyes and tastebuds alike. Inspired by Deb‘s Cream Cheese Pound Cake, I decided that a ring cake, rich with cream cheese and zingy with lemon zest, was just the vehicle for this experiment. I don’t have one of those massive 12-cup bundt pans, but I do have a silicone savarin mould from Sabre in Paris*. (My favourite cookery store which I’ve never been to: I love their products but alas, the pan was a gift.) Slightly smaller than a traditional bundt and far less fancy, this pan generally serves me well in the cake game.

And this was no exception; my swirly ring cake was a resounding success. Though I fear I overbaked it slightly, it was rich and moist, with the bright and zingy blueberry swirl a purple stroke of genius. I can’t promise that I’ll be taking my Christmas muffins with blueberries this year, but I’m getting there. Maybe if I can convince the rest of my family of the merits of a swirl?

*Edit: My Mum has emailed to say that while the cake cutter she bought me was from Sabre, the savarin mould was only purchased at Bon Marche. Sigh, how plebeian.

• Blueberry Swirl Pound Cake
• adapted from Smitten Kitchen‘s Cream Cheese Pound Cake
• makes one 24cm ring cake
• Blueberry Swirl
  150g (about 1 1/2 cups) fresh blueberries
  2 tsp. sugar
  1 tsp. lemon juice
  1 tsp. water

  Cake
  170g unsalted butter
  113g cream cheese
  1 1/4 cups sugar
  3 eggs
  1 1/2 cups plain flour
  1 tsp. salt
  1 tsp. vanilla
  2 tsp. lemon juice
  zest of one lemon

• 1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F. To make the blueberry swirl, mix together all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook for 5-8 minutes until thickened. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon or spatula, crushing the berries as you go. Set aside to cool.
  
  2. In a large bowl (or a stand mixer), cream together the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and beat for another 3-5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
  
  3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each until smooth. Add the flour and the salt and beat until just blended. Finally, gently fold in the vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest.
  
  4. Remove 1/2 cup of batter to the saucepan with the (now slightly cooled) blueberries. Mix well until you have a bright purple batter.
  
  5. Pour the rest of the batter into your ring pan and shake to distribute evenly. Dollop the purple blueberry batter on top and swirl the two together, using a toothpick or metal skewer. Be careful not to over-swirl! You want some purple and yellow bits to remain.
  
  6. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about one hour.

I’m well aware that “danishi” isn’t really the plural of danish. But it’s my blog, and I’ll use my Eleisms as and when l please. (It’s a good thing I don’t talk about large mammals here very often, or we’d get into the whole moose/meese thing. I’m quite passionate about that.) Danishi is a term my friend MH and I coined during university, when the only acceptable reason for going to a lecture at the ungodly hour of 8am was the promise of a cup of coffee and a sweet treat from Tim Horton‘s.

First year, this was easy; we’d simply grab our breakfast at any of the on-campus kiosks on the dash to class. During second year, we’d meet before school on our way to campus. Whoever got to the big Tim Horton’s on the corner of Yonge and College first was responsible for procuring breakfast: two medium double-doubles and two breakfast items. Usually bagels, but once a week, a strawberry cream-cheese danish was in order. Even in later years when we lived together, the breakfast routine remained the same. As long as there were lectures on the state of textile manufacturing in the far east, there would be danishi. 

I don’t think there was anything particularly delicious about these danishes, but we definitely enjoyed our weekly treat. It didn’t occur to me until years later, when I’d moved across an ocean from campus, MH and Tim Horton’s, that I could attempt to make these danishes myself. In fact, this was only the second time I’ve made danish pastry.

The recipe for the pastry comes from from How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson. Nigella can somehow manage to take the intimidation factor out of anything, so I felt quite confident attempting these for the first time last autumn. I made ricotta cheese danishes as well as some homemade pain au chocolat, both of which turned out well. So I felt reasonably confident when I set out to recreate my beloved Strawberry Cream Cheese Danish. 

I made two fillings for these danishes: a cheese filling, and a strawberry jam. The cheese filling is just a basic combination of cream cheese, egg, sugar and a bit of lemon zest. The jam is one of those quick-cooking refrigerator jams, with no added pectin, sugar thermometer or frightening canning process. It couldn’t be quicker to make, and leftovers can be stored in any clean, airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. 

As for the danish shapes themselves, I went a bit crazy here. I found this great resource at Joe Pastry, and tried nearly every shape that I could. Andrew thought the whole thing was a bit over the top and called me a crazy old lady, professing to actually be frightened of the bear-claw one. (Yes, that’s a bear claw with eight toes.)

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), danishes tend not to like me very much, and conspire to rebel in my oven. No matter how carefully I shape, seal and slash the shapes pre-baking, it all goes pear-shaped once I close the door. Neat little packages open up, filling spills out, and once symmetrical shapes are now sad and lopsided. 

Still, the proof is in the eating, right? The pastry turned out crispy and light, with a deliciously buttery flavour. The strawberry flavour was strong in these, and overpowered the cream cheese slightly. That’s easily remedied, though; next time I’d just use more cheese filling and less strawberry in each danish. Andrew liked these so much, he said he’d even eat the bear claw. They didn’t quite have that Tim Horton’s charm that I was after, but at least I can eat these on the couch and not in a freezing lecture theatre. 

• Cream Cheese Filling 
• makes enough for 12 danishes
• 100g cream cheese
  1 egg yolk
  2 Tbs. caster sugar
  2 tsp. plain flour
  2 tsp. lemon zest 
• 1. Gently whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Refridgerate until ready to use. 

• Strawberry Jam Filling 
• makes enough for 12 danishes
• 1 1/2 cups hulled and chopped strawberries
  1/3 cup caster sugar
  1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Using the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher, press down on the strawberries so they become mush. 
  
  2. Let the mixture boil for 4-5 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. 

• Danish Pastry Dough
• makes 12; to be made in two batches of 6 
• from How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson
• Dough
  60ml warm water 
  125ml milk
  1 egg
  350g plain flour
  7g (1 packet) instant yeast
  1 tsp. salt
  25g caster sugar
  250g unsalted butter
• Egg Glaze
  1 egg
  2 Tbs. milk 
• 1. Mix together the water, milk and egg in a jug and set aside. In a large bowl, blend the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. 
  
  2. Cut the butter into 1cm cubes. Add to bowl with the flour mixture and, using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut in the butter until most of the flour mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Do not blend in all the butter though, you should have some slightly larger pieces of about 1cm left. (You could also do this step using a food processor.)
  
  3. Pour in the wet ingredients and fold the mixture together with a spatula. It will be very wet and sticky at this stage, but don’t worry too much about it. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 8 hours, or up to 4 days.
  
  4. When you’re ready to make your pastry, turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface and roll into a square about 50cm x 50cm. (You may need a great deal of extra flour during this stage.)
  
  5. Fold the square into thirds, as you would with a business letter. Roll out folded dough into another 50cm x 50cm square, and repeat this step twice, for a total of 3 folds and rolls.
  
  6. When you’ve rolled it out for last time, fold the dough in thirds and cut it into two sections. Wrap each piece tightly in clingfilm and put in the fridge for 30 minutes. 
  
  7. To make the danishes, take out one section of dough and roll into a large rectangle of about 30cm x 45cm. Slice it in half lengthwise, and then in thirds crosswise, so you have 6 more-or-less square sections.   
  
  8. At this point, there are many different ways to fill/shape your danishes. (I used the photos and info here to try a whole bunch of different shapes.) Whichever shape you choose, you’re aiming for about 2-3 teaspoons of filling per danish, divided between the two types however you like. Some shapes can take more filling than others, so use your judgement.  
  
  9. Arrange the danishes on a baking sheet and leave, loosely covered with clingfilm, to rise for about an hour and a half. They will double in size and be puffy. About 30 minutes before they’re ready to be baked, preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F, and prepare the egg glaze by whisking the egg and milk together.  
  
  10. Brush the danishes lightly with the egg glaze, and bake in oven for about 15 minutes, until puffy and golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool. 
  
  Note: You can now repeat with the other half of the dough (still in the fridge), or save it for another day. Dough can be refrigerated for a total of four days, and frozen for up to a month.