Easy Danish Pastries

Curb your sweet tooth with these decadent danish pastries topped off with apricots and cherries. They make great desserts to end off your dinner on a sweet note, and take less than half an hour in the oven.

Yield: Makes 16
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Difficulty Level: 2/5

Ingredients

• 1½ cup milk
• 2 tbsps caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 egg yolks, plus 1 egg extra, beaten
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 4 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed, quartered into squares
• 415 g can apricot halves, drained
• 415 g can pitted cherries, drained
• 4 cup apricot jam, warmed

Steps

01. In a medium saucepan, combine milk, half sugar and vanilla. Stir over medium heat until boiling point is reached (do not boil).

02. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk egg yolks, remaining sugar and cornflour together.

03. Pour hot milk into egg mixture in a thin, steady stream, whisking constantly.

04. Return mixture to a clean saucepan. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, 5-6 mins, until mixture boils and becomes thick (dropping consistency). Remove from heat. Cover surface with plastic wrap; cool.

05. Preheat oven to very hot, 220°C. Lightly grease and line 2 oven trays with baking paper.

06. Spread 1 tbsp custard diagonally across each pastry square. Place two apricot halves or cherries on custard. Join opposite corners, overlapping in centre.

07. Arrange on trays; brush with extra beaten egg. Bake 12-15 mins until crisp and golden. Brush with jam while hot.

08. Serve warm or cold.

TIP

Cornflour stabilises the custard so it won't split over high heat.

Photo: bauersyndication.com.au