Cherry Danishes 4.13 Nag Hammadi Is Where They Found the Gnostic Gospels

“Hi, I'd like a large coffee and a cherry danish, please.”

Ingredients:

For the cherry filling:

• 3 cups fresh cherries, pitted

• ¼ cup water

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice

• 2 tbsp cornstarch

For the cheese filling:

• 3 oz mascarpone, softened

• 3 oz cream cheese, softened

• ¼ cup granulated sugar

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

For the icing:

• ½ cup powdered sugar

• ¼ tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tbsp heavy cream

For assembly:

• 2 sheets of store-bought puff pastry

• 1 egg, beaten

• Sliced almonds (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 420 degrees F.

2. Place a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the cherry filling ingredients: cherries, water, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch to the pan and bring to a low boil.

3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the cherry filling from heat.

4. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cheese filling ingredients: mascarpone, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.

5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the sheets of puff pastry to make two large 12x12-inch squares.

6. Cut both sheets into 9 equal 4x4-inch squares to create a total of 18 squares.

7. Set aside 9 of the squares (these are the base squares). For the other 9, cut out a 3x3-inch square in the center, creating frames with a 1-inch border (these will be referred to as frame squares). See photo below.

8. Set the frame squares aside and grab the base squares. Spread about 1-2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture onto each base square, but leave a 1-inch border dry.

9. Scoop about 1-2 tablespoons of the cherry filling on top of the cheese mixture. Again, make sure to leave a 1-inch border dry.

10. Brush the beaten egg lightly across the dry 1-inch borders on the base squares with the cherry and cheese fillings.

11. Place the frame squares on top of the egg wash edges and press down to seal. See photo below.

12. If you’d like, add a few sliced almonds on top of the cherry filling.

13. Place in the oven and bake at 420 F for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

14. While the danishes are baking, prepare the icing. In a small mixing bowl, combine the icing ingredients: powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla until smooth.

15. Allow the danishes to cool slightly then drizzle the icing over them either with a spoon, a squeeze bottle, or a piping bag.

You want to keep your cherries intact for the filling.

While cherry danishes aren’t necessarily the most iconic Gilmore Girls food, they do get mentioned in multiple episodes. Rory tries to order two from Luke on Danish Day in 2.05 Nick and Nora, Sid and Nancy after Lorelai and Luke fight over Jess. Luke feeds one to Lorelai while she’s on two phone calls later this season (just a couple examples). And yes, I know most of the time, cherry danishes are from Luke’s diner, and in this particular episode, Rory gets one from Weston’s, but I’m still counting it as a classic Gilmore food, okay?

A frame square and a base square

I hope I explained how to make them in an easy enough way to follow along if you’d like. I wanted the danish to have tall and thick walls and the best way to do that in my mind was to make little picture frames out of puff pastry. I’ve talked about how sometimes I prefer to make homemade dough, and sometimes I like using a shortcut and using store-bought dough before. As you can see, this was one of those times that I just wanted to use store-bought dough. And there’s nothing wrong with that! However, if you want to make your own puff pastry, I say, go for it!

Press the frame square over the base square so that it looks like a little picture frame.

Happy Cooking from the Hollow!

If you missed what I made last week, catch up here!