Danish Almond Ring Food

DANISH PASTRY BRAID

Steps:

• Quick Method Danish Pastry:
• Measure 3 1/2 cups flour into a bowl or work bowl of food processor with steel blade in place. Cut the butter into 1/4-inch slices and add to the flour. Process or cut the butter into the flour until the butter is about the size of kidney beans.
• In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in the cream or milk, cardamom, salt, eggs, and sugar.
• Turn the flour-butter mixture into the liquid ingredients, and with a rubber spatula mix carefully just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours, overnight, or up to 4 days.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board; dust with flour. Pound and flatten to make a 16- to 20-inch rectangle. Fold into thirds, making 3 layers. Turn dough around and roll out again. Fold from the short sides into thirds. This should result in a perfect square. Repeat folding and rolling again if you wish.
• Wrap and chill the dough 30 minutes or as long as overnight.
• To make the Danish Pastry Braid:
• Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease and flour them.
• Divide the chilled dough into 2 parts. Roll each part out to make a rectangle 12 by 6 inches. Place these strips on the prepared baking sheets.
• To make the filling, cream the butter and sugar until light. Blend in the almond extract, almonds, almond paste, and egg white.
• Spread filling down the length of the center of the strips. Cut slanting strips at 3/4-inch intervals along both sides up toward the center using a pastry wheel. Fold strips over the filling in a crisscross manner
• Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
• Let strips rise for 15 to 30 minutes, just until the pastry strips look puffy; they will not double.
• To make a glaze, beat the egg with the milk or water. Brush the pastry lightly with it. Sprinkle the sugar and/or sliced almonds over the top.
• Bake about 15 minutes or until golden.
• Frost, if desired, with almond-water icing. Blend the sugar, water, and almond extract until smooth and thin enough to drizzle over the braids.

DANISH KRINGLE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cut 1 cup butter into flour until crumbly, leaving pea-sized chunks. Stir in sour cream, and mix well; dough will be very sticky. Form dough into a ball. Cover tightly, and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet. Prepare the filling by combining 1 cup butter, brown sugar, and 1 cup chopped walnuts.
• Divide dough into three equal parts; return two parts to the refrigerator to keep cold. Quickly form 1/3 of the dough into a rectangle, and flour lightly. On a heavily floured surface, roll out to approximately 12x17 inches. Position lengthwise on the work surface. Along the long edges of the dough rectangle, use a sharp knife to cut 4 inch long angled lines about 1/2 inch apart. Spoon 1/3 of the filling along the length of the rectangle's uncut center. Alternating from one side of the dough to the other, fold each 1/2 inch wide strip towards the center, crisscrossing the filling in a braid-like fashion. Lightly press together the ends of the strips to seal. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the remaining walnuts. Repeat with remaining ingredients to form 3 braided danishes. Arrange danishes on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool for approximately 30 minutes. While the danishes are cooling, prepare the icing: mix confectioners sugar and water until smooth. Drizzle in fine streams over warm danishes.

DANISH ALMOND RING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheet. In a small bowl, using fork, combine sugar, margarine and almond paste; mix well. Set aside.
• Unroll dough into 2 long rectangles; over lap long sides to form 1 large rectangle. Firmly press perforations to seal. Press or roll out 16x8 inch rectangle; cut lengthwise into three equal strips.
• Place 3 tablespoons filling mixture evenly down center of each strip. Gently press filling to form 1 inch wide strip. Overlap side of dough over filling; firmly pinch edges to seal. On ungreased cookie sheet, loosely braid 3 filled strips.
• Form braid into ring; pinch ends of strips together to seal. Brush with egg; sprinkle with sugar and almonds.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

DANISH ALMOND KRINGLE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar, and milk. Let stand until the yeast dissolves and begins to foam, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cream.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and cardamom. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Fold in the yeast mixture just until the dough is moistened. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
• Turn the chilled dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With a rolling pin, pound the dough until flattened to a 2-inch thickness, then roll the dough out into a 24-inch square.
• To prepare the filling, blend the almond paste, almonds, sugar, cinnamon, and almond extract together. Spread the filling to within 1 inch of the edges of the square, and roll the dough up as tightly as possible.
• Sprinkle the sugar for the topping on the work surface. Roll the dough firmly into the sugar to coat it well, and, at the same time, stretch it to form a log of dough 36 to 40 inches long.
• Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the roll on the paper in the shape of a pretzel. Brush the surface with the egg white and sprinkle with the almonds. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes, or until puffy but not doubled.
• Position the oven racks so that they are evenly spaced. Preheat the oven to convection bake at 300°F. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden. Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

EASY DANISH ALMOND PASTRIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9x13-inch cake pan with parchment paper.
• Unroll 1 tube of crescent roll dough and spread in the bottom of the prepared pan. Seal the seams of the dough to prevent from separation.
• Roll almond paste into a thin sheet, large enough to cover your cake pan. Cut edges with a knife or rolling pizza cutter.
• Combine mascarpone cheese, 1/2 cup white sugar, and egg yolk in the bowl of an electric mixer; mix until thoroughly combined and smooth with no lumps remaining. Spread evenly on top of dough. Place rolled out almond paste on top of cheese mixture.
• Open the remaining tube of crescent dough, unroll it, and put on top of the almond paste. Seal all of the seams and ensure dough covers the entire top of the pan. Whisk egg white and use a pastry brush to spread on the top of the rolled out dough. Spread sliced almonds on top to coat. Lightly sprinkle remaining white sugar evenly on top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
• Meanwhile, mix powdered sugar and water for glaze together in a bowl. Drizzle over the top of the cooled Danish and cut.

DANISH WEDDING TOWER (KRANSEKAGE)

Steps:

• Box of 25 flags on little sticks (1-1½ inch size).
• Platter size paper dollies.
• Using a stand mixer combine marzipan, sugar till it has formed on large ball. Add egg whites little by little.
• Test dough by rolling a small cigar-size ball and form as a ring, if the dough does not crack, you have enough egg white inches.
• The dough will be very dense and sticky.
• Place in refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours, or even better over night.
• Pre-heat oven at 400 degrees F or 200°C.
• Divide dough into 8 pieces or by weight
• 1 10g, 2 20g, 3 30g 4 40g etc.
• Rolling each into finger thick sticks.
• Making the first piece into 3.5 inches,
• Then the next into 5, inches,
• Then the next into 6.5, adding 1.5 inch in length for each piece.
• Make at least 8 pieces.
• Shape them into rings.
• Joining the ends with a little egg white or water.
• Press gently to pitch the middle of the ring a little, like roof tops pointing upwards.
• Place on floured or parchment papered baking sheets.
• Tip: I draw circles on the parchment papers back with a compass, and then place the rings on top side, where I can still see the circles, to make them as even a possible.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes till they are light brown on top.
• Leave to cool off completely, then.
• If freezing, wrap in freezer bags and place in freezer for up till 3 months.
• Defrost the day before intended use.
• Decorations:.
• Draw 24 small hearts, and 24 small wedding circles, or butterflies or other theme items (max. 1 inch in diameter) on the back of parchment paper with a medium to large marker.
• Turn paper over and.
• Melt chocolate in the micro-oven or in a double boiler.
• Fill into a decorator bag with a small fitting.
• Trace chosen patterns with the warm chocolate and let cool completely. Save a little chocolate for attaching the
• Icing:.
• Do icing several hours before you plan to assemble the tower.
• Combine powdered sugar and egg whites for the icing, and fill into a decorator bag or a Ziploc bag, using a very small whole to make a criss-cross pattern from outside edge to inside edge and back again,
• Start with the largest ring, creating the zigzag pattern continue in unbroken pattern all the way around the ring.
• hen do the next biggest ring, and while icing is still wet on the biggest one, place the slightly smaller ring on top. Icing will bind them together.
• Then keep going till you have a small tower.
• Icing takes about 40-60 minutes to harden.
• Melt 2/3 of the chocolate
• Pour into zip lock bag, and carefully cut the one corner, so a very small stream of chocolate comes out at the time.
• Make your chocolate designs on parchment paper or buy plain chocolate rings.
• Place one dollies on a serving platter.
• Place the largest ring on the dollies
• Place 3 small globs of chocolate on the bottom ring.
• Carefully place next biggest ring on top, and place 3 globs of chocolate on it.
• Placing the next biggest ring on top, continue till you have a tower.
• Heat the last chocolate.
• And place a small glob of chocolate on the bottom ring on the side.
• Attach chocolate designs (wedding rings or what you desire) by pressing gently into chocolate globs and holding for a second.
• Move up the rings placing your chocolate designs up the tower.
• Attach flags in between chocolate designs.
• And a bridal figure on top.
• Your wedding tower is ready.
• Enjoy.
• Reverse the tower and make a bassinet for a baby shower. See additional pictures.