I baked two kinds of Danish pastry this
time for the signature challenge on GBBO. The first were white chocolate and blueberry kites. The others were swirls, filled with a homemade chocolate
and nut spread. I used a mixture of walnuts and almonds, but other nuts would
work really well. Also, I would have liked slightly more swirl in my swirls,
simply because I rolled when it was too thick…still tasted awesome though!
Makes 24 Swirls
Ingredients:
For the pastry:
- 500g (4 cups) strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
- 10g (2tsp) fast-action dried yeast
- 10g (2tsp) salt
- 80g (1/3cup and 1tbsp) caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 60ml (4tbsp) water
- 125ml (1/2 cup) full-fat milk
- 250g unsalted butter (1 cup), chilled
For the filling:
- 200g nuts (1 and 1/3 cups) (I used walnuts and almonds but any nuts, from peanuts to hazelnuts or brazil nuts, would work well)
- 50g (1/3 cup) dark chocolate, 50% cocoa solids
- 50g (3 tbsp) honey
- 1 tsp coconut oil, melted
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
To glaze:
- 100g (1/3 cup) honey
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
Method:
1. Prepare the dough. Pour the flour into a
bowl of a stand mixer (attached with a dough hook). Add the yeast to one side
of the bowl, and salt and sugar to the opposite side.
2. Heat the milk until it is tepid, and mix
with the eggs and water. Pour onto the flour, and then mix on a low speed for 2
minutes.
3. Pull the dough off of the dough hook, and
then increase the speed to medium, and mix for a further 6 minutes.
4. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl, cover
with cling film or a tea towel. There are two options for proving.
5. The first of these is to place the dough in
the fridge, and leave overnight to prove. This greatly increases the flavour of
the dough.
6. The second if you are short of time (or in
the Bake Off tent!) is to prove for at least an hour in a warm place, until it
has doubled in size.
7. Whilst the dough is proving, use a rolling
pin to flatten the butter into a rectangle about 25cm x 15cm. Place the butter
between two sheets of cling film prior to rolling. Place in the fridge until needed.
8. Once proved, turn the dough out onto a
lightly floured surface, and roll out to a rectangle 40cm x 20cm. Place the
butter in the middle of the dough, then bring the exposed pastry up around the
butter, so that it is fully encased. Crimp the edges to seal in the butter,
then place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
9. Place the dough on a lightly floured
surface, with the shortest ends facing you. Roll out the dough to 40 x 15cm
rectangle, then fold the bottom third of the pastry up, and the top third down
(like a leaflet). Return to the freezer for 10 minutes.
10. Repeat the rolling, folding, and freezing
process two times. After the final folding, chill the dough in the fridge for
30 minutes.
11. Prepare the nut butter by blitzing the nuts
in a food processor until fine. Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl in a
microwave by heating it for 30 second blasts, stirring well after each blast.
12. Pour the dark chocolate, oil and honey into
the food processor, and blend until a smooth butter is achieved.
13. Roll out the dough to a 40cm x 30cm
rectangle. Spread on the nut butter, leaving a 2cm gap around the perimeter of
the rectangle.
14. With the long side of the dough towards
you, roll the dough up like a swiss roll. Chill for 30 minutes.
15. Slice the roll up into 2.5cm slices – use
your sharpest knife possible! One contestant (Val) suggested using floss to get
the best cut – could be worth a go. Place on two or three baking trays, covered
with baking parchment. Cover then prove (room temperature) for 30 minutes to 1
hour.
16. Preheat the oven to 220c (200c
fan)/425F/Gas mark 7.
17. Bake the swirls for 8-10 minutes, until
golden. Place on a cooling rack.
18. Whilst baking, make the glaze by heating
together the honey and icing sugar. Use a pastry brush to brush the glaze onto
the swirls whilst warm.
19. Enjoy!
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