When life gives you lemons, be happy!*
*Go to the supermarket and check the prize per kilo.
It's safe to say that nectarine is loved by everyone. But not everyone has the luxury of eating nectarine everyday or use it in their everyday cooking. The case is completely different with lemons. The sour taste is what compliments and enhances the appearance and the consistency of the food.
If you happen to love danish as much as I do and if you happen to also love lemon, do try this recipe. It is using my Orange Cardamom Danish Braid recipe but I substitute the orange with lemon and *cough* I use lemon buttercream in lieu of the butter.
Yes. You can substitute the butter with buttercream in making danish!
Oh, don't worry about the fat, it's not like we have it everyday for breakfast. Though it is a good idea if someone would be kind hearted enough to supply that. Anyhow, if you don't have buttercream, just use butter and plenty of lemon zest.
Ingredients
For the dough:
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1 1/2 tbs fresh lemon juice
240 gr all-purpose flour
150 gr whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
For the butter block:
30 gr all-purpose flour
225 lemon buttercream, or
225 gr cold unsalted butter mixed with zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
To Make The Dough
-Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a whisk. Add sugar, lemon zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and lemon juice and mix well. -Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even.
-Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges.
-When the ingredients have been incorporated, start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.
Chill the dough for 30 minutes.
To Make The Butter Block
-Combine butter (or buttercream) and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Keep it cool but not cold otherwise you won't be able to spread it on the dough.
To Assemble The Danish
To Assemble The Danish
-After the dough has chilled for 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
-Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and 1/4 inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour.
-Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough.
-Fold the left edge of the dough to the right, covering half of the butter.
-Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. Imagine that you're folding an envelope. Do not forget to seal the edges so the butter won't escape.
The first turn has now been completed.
-Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
-Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left.
-Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough.
The second turn has now been completed.
-Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
-Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns.
-Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight.
Here's the chilled Danish:
-Make parallel cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart.
-Make a spiral from the dough strip
-Let it proof for around 1,5 hours or till it doubles in size
-Make a soft dent in the middle of the danish roll and fill it with any jam you like.
-Brush with egg. Bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 175C and bake for about 10-15 minutes more or until golden brown.
-The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month. Oh, who are we kidding?
Love.
It needs not be said out loud.
Mix a bit of icing sugar sugar with some lemon juice to ice the almost cooled but still a tad bit warm danish, wait 5 minutes, then take a bite. I promise you'll love yourself better.
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