Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish

The recipe is late, I know. I'm not going to make any excuses, because by now you should understand how it goes.

This recipe is pretty tasty, though I'd tweak it some if I made it again. The recipe makes 2 loaves; I brought one to work and it disappeared very fast.




Please note: not only does this recipe make 2 loaves, it also needs 2 days. So, prepare yourself for that.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish

Sponge

• 1 tbsp instant (rapid rise) yeast
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 cup warm milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Dough

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temp

Blueberry Filling

• 2 cups blueberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Egg Glaze

• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp milk

Cream Cheese Filling

• 3/4 cup cream cheese, softened
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp of the egg glaze

Day 1

For the sponge, mix together the sugar, yeast and flour in a nicely sized bowl. (I did this in my kitchenaid mixer bowl). Pour in the warm milk (110-115F) and beat until smooth. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.

Now, to make the dough, add the eggs, salt, sugar, and 1 cup of flour to the sponge and beat until smooth. Add the butter 1 small chunk at a time and beat well after each addition. Then add the remaining flour, a bit at a time. Mix until a soft, kneadable dough forms.

Knead the dough for about 5-8 minutes. (I cheated and used my mixer!). You'll want the dough to be smooth. Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover it. Let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Punch the dough down, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2

Time to make the blueberry goop! In a medium saucepan, combine all of the blueberry filling ingredients. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat to cool.

For the egg glaze, gently beat the egg and milk together in a small bowl.

In yet another bowl, combine the ingredients for the cream cheese filling, making sure all ingredients are fully incorporated.

Pull your dough out of the fridge and gently deflate it. Divide it in half (I do this by not-so-gently using a bread knife to cut down the center of the bread while it's still in the bowl. That's just me though).

Take half of the dough and roll it out into a rectangle until it is only 1/4-1/3 inch thick. Slather half of the cream cheese mixture into the middle third of the loaf. Then, spread half of the blueberry mixture on top of that.

As this is a braid, you'll need to cut slits up the sides of the dough. Cut diagonally away from the fillings. It works well to cut the slits about 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart. Now, alternatingly fold each strip over the filling, making a braided appearance. (the recipe I linked has good pictures of this.)

Repeat the whole process with the other half of the dough.

Brush both loaves with the egg glaze. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350.

Before placing the bread in the oven, brush again with the glaze. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Now, we all know my oven is finicky. So, here's how I did it: I put each loaf on its own rack (they couldn't fit side by side). I baked them in 10 minute increments, then switched their positions. After 20 minutes, I lowered the temp to about 275 because they were browning a good deal. I checked for doneness by looking at the point where the strips connect on top of the loaf.

The end. Enjoy!