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Lemon-Raspberry Danish With Mascarpone
![Lemon-Raspberry Danish With Mascarpone](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/04/15/dining/em-lemon-raspberry-danish/merlin_153567099_ad485161-a939-4d2d-ae23-c7947e68859b-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus 2 hours’ rising
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 1cup/240 milliliters whole milk
- 3cups/385 grams all-purpose flour
- ¼cup/50 grams granulated sugar
- 2teaspoons instant yeast
- ½teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1large egg, at room temperature
- Nonstick spray, as needed
- 2½ounces/70 grams mascarpone cheese (about ⅓ cup)
- 2ounces/55 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
- ¾cup/90 grams confectioners’ sugar
- 1large egg white
- ¼cup/70 grams lemon curd
- Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon), optional
- ½teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6ounces/170 grams fresh raspberries
- 1egg
- 1cup/125 grams confectioners’ sugar
- 2tablespoons lemon juice
- Whole milk, as needed
For the Dough
For the Filling and Finishing
For the Glaze
Preparation
- Step 1
Make the dough: In a small saucepan over low, heat milk until just warm to the touch (about 95 degrees). If needed, let cool to the correct temperature before using.
- Step 2
While the milk heats, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the flour, granulated sugar, yeast and salt to combine. Add the warm milk and the egg and mix on low speed until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl well, and mix on medium until the dough is very smooth, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Step 3
Transfer to a medium bowl lightly greased with nonstick spray, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until puffy and doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Step 4
While the dough rises, make the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the mascarpone and cream cheese on low speed until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, about 1 minute.
- Step 5
Beat in the egg white on low speed, then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the lemon curd, lemon zest (if using) and vanilla and mix well to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
- Step 6
When the dough has risen, roll it out on a lightly floured surface using a lightly floured rolling pin into a 10-by-15-inch rectangle (about ½-inch-thick). Roll the dough around the rolling pin and gently transfer it to a piece of parchment paper that will fit on a baking sheet. Using the tip of a metal spatula, gently mark the dough into even, vertical thirds without cutting all the way through.
- Step 7
Spoon the filling into the center third of the dough, spreading it in an even layer, leaving the outer thirds of the dough uncovered. Arrange the raspberries evenly on top of the filling.
- Step 8
Using a bench knife, sharp knife or pastry wheel, cut 1½-inch-wide horizontal strips down one side of the dough, stopping the cut just before you hit the filling. Repeat on the other side, being sure to cut the same number of strips at about the same place (these are the “strands” you'll braid over the filling). Transfer the parchment paper with the dough to a baking sheet to finish the assembly (it can be tricky to move the loaf once braided).
- Step 9
Braid the dough: Fold each strip of dough in toward the center, crisscrossing the filling by alternating one strip from each side. It’s O.K. to stretch the strips slightly if you need to. Continue to cross the strands all the way down the loaf. Pinch the excess dough at the ends together, then fold them under the loaf.
- Step 10
Cover the loaf with greased plastic wrap and let rise until puffy, 30 to 45 minutes. Toward the end of the rise time, heat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Step 11
Make an egg wash: Lightly beat 1 egg and 1 tablespoon water together. Brush the surface of the bread with the egg wash, taking care to get all the nooks and crannies of the braid. Bake until the loaf is deeply golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely on the baking sheet.
- Step 12
While the loaf cools, make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice together to combine. The glaze should be thin enough to brush it onto the loaf. Add milk 1 teaspoon at a time, as needed to thin glaze.
- Step 13
Once the loaf is cool, brush with the glaze until coated. Don’t worry if it pools in some places. Let the glaze set for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
If you want a visual of the braiding technique--including tips for enclosing the ends of the loaf--the King Arthur Flour website has a very clear video on how to make a filled braid: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/videos/how-to-make-a-filled-braid.
Okay, figured it out - sort of. My ends are a little wonky, but okay. I found that working with the filling was easier if it was refrigerated for an hour or so - stiffened it up, less runny as you work with it.
Beat in the egg white TO THE MASCARPONE/CREAM CHEESE/CONFECTIONERS SUGAR MIXTURE on low speed, then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the lemon curd, lemon zest (if using) and vanilla and mix well to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
The dough recipe and instructions are great but this filling recipe is a joke. It’s so funny, even after being in the fridge for over an hour, it’s unusable. Oozed everywhere when I tried to spread it out over my dough, came out of every crevice as I braided the dough, and I didn’t even get to use all of it (it would have all ended up on my cookie sheet anyway). I don’t understand how this was ever supposed to work with a filling the consistency of pudding. What a waste of my ingredients.
This doesn’t look like a danish. It looks like sloppy bread. This danish dough has zero butter it in. The filling is a good idea but what a waste of time to even read this recipe. Gross. Butter is life!
Yes, the filling does ooze, but it is a fabulous baseline recipe and starting point for all manner of sweet and savory fillings. For savory try pesto with prosciutto; gruyere and ham, spinach; feta, onions and artichoke hearts; pork with caramelized onions and blue cheese. For sweet try a variation on this with a stiffer sweetened ricotta with cherries - no oozing; or caramel and walnuts with cinnamon; or sweetened cream cheese or ricotta with apricot or golden plum. Sky's the limit!
I found the dough, without butter (as one poster noted) a bit tough. When I make it again, I will add 3 tablespoons butter to the milk as it cools. I think this will make the dough a bit more tender. Don't get overly wedded to this filling. Use any fruit mixed with sugar, set over heat until it juices up a bit, then extract the juice and mix with a thickener such as potato starch or rice flour, then reintroduce to hot fruit, then mix in some cream cheese or mascarpone. Refrigerate till use.
I feel like the pastry to filling ratio was off. The consistency made it hard to build up a decent layer of filling. Nice taste though, would just prefer a denser filling.
Agree. Filling too runny and too much. Made two braids yesterday though, one with peaches, one with blackberries. Have yet to try them and looking forward to it today.
would a thicker home-cooked lemon curd make the filling more substantial?
Would love to try how you thickened, I think there might be some autocorrect in your guidance though and I couldn't figure out. Let me know what 228 wives is! Thanks!
Make 1 as directed. Fantastic flavor. Filling was a little thinner than I liked. Made two more this morning for the filling update 228 wives and 1 cup of confectioner's sugar. Definitely a thicker filling. The Staff meeting of 8 thought this was great and they devoured both. Thank you for a great recipe!!
To make filling thicker, did you add 2 egg whites? Looks like it auto corrected.
Subbed lemon curd for 1-2tbsp lemon paste to taste Added vanilla to the glaze instead of lemon.
I ended up topping it with the glaze they have in the recipe minus the lemon juice. I didn’t add lemon at all just personal preference. But I also heated up about 5 oz of cream cheese for about 30 seconds in the microwave and added about a third cup powdered sugar and I spread it on top like a cinnamon roll icing almost. It definitely added a lot of what this needed. I’m going to make this pastry again but with a cinnamon roll type filling and some apples.
This was a big hit. I used 1 cup icing sugar and chilled the filling before using. Highly recommend! The filling was perfect and didn’t ooze out at all.
The filling was a bit runny when assembling but I was able to make it work by not using the entire bowl. I used about 3/4 of it. Some leaked (as listed in the recipe) but not too much. Very delicious and not overly sweet! Great dessert for a dinner party. Advice:when braiding be sure to securely tuck the loose ends under the “loaf”. Mine lifted during baking, and although it didn’t effect the final result in flavor or containing the filling, it was unattractive for sure. Hahaha.
Spoiler Alert - I modified the recipe and it turned out delicious. As I was making the dough, I felt like there should be butter in it, so I put a few tablespoons of cold butter into the mixer while it was kneading. It turned out golden brown and flaky (but not pastry flaky). The texture reminded me of an Entenmann's cheese/fruit danish (the version I remember eating while I was younger). No raspberries on hand, so I used frozen cherries. I'll make this again.
I had no problem with the filling at all. It spread nicely, held its shape while I braided the dough and was substantial enough to be very balanced. I made my bread in the bread maker, using the dough setting and found it wonderfully rich and soft. Not sure what the difference was (I'm in Denver, so maybe the altitude?? I made no adjustments) but it was delightful!
Turned out great. If you don't have lemon curd available, be sure to make it ahead of time before starting this. Wish I had more filling, but that was in part to having too much dough after letting rise for longer than recommended. But all in all, dough turned out great, and the filling was a perfect combo of sweet & tart. I will gladly make this again.
I used whipped cream cheese and marscapone, both cold. Made the filling first, put it in the fridge, and then the dough. My dough needed more flour than called for. Made sure that my slits weren’t too close to the filling and that they were wide enough. Loaf came out beautifully, can’t wait to eat it!
Turned out perfect! I had no trouble with the filling or the braiding. It is a beautiful bread and tastes delish. My only problem is there is just 2 of us and it's a huge loaf!
My family, friends and I found this scrumptious! To avoid the runny filling issue I did as someone suggested and added more cream cheese. There were a couple leaks, which I think were due to my imperfect scarring of the dough, pre-braid, but they were not critical. Thanks for a yummy recipe!
Delicious flavor, next time I will try adding cold butter to the flour, thickening the filling, and cooking for 25 minutes instead of 30.
I'm confused- you don't proof the yeast, milk and sugar first???
Updated URL for the braiding example- https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/videos/baking-skills/how-to-make-a-filled-braid
Not an experienced baker really but came out in retry good - a few small leaks but nothing like what others described. I did refrigerate the cheese mixture while the dough finished rising. It baked for only 22 minutes before being fully brown, almost about to be too brown, so that was a surprise. Looks beautiful!
This was delicious. I got a bit freaked out by all the negative comments about the filling, so I only used about 2/3rds. Next time, I would make the same amount of filling right after the dough and chill it during the rise. When assembling the danish, you can then pile on the filling without worrying about it spreading too much. I also skipped the glaze because it was sweet enough already.
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