Berry & Ricotta Danishes

There’s something magical and fascinating about puff pastry and the way the buttery dough rises up to form crisp, golden layers of which there are anywhere between 513 up to 1459.

This week I’ll be learning for a second time in my life how to make puff pastry from scratch.

I first made it at the Pacific Culinary Institute in Vancouver. It was time-consuming work requiring what seemed like endless rolling combined with deft handling of the dough. And, then there was the butter. Oh so much of it, carefully and methodically rolled in between each layer.

It is thought that early puff pastry found its origins in Rome but was then re-introduced and perfected in the 17th Century by legendary French chef Marie Antoine Carême.

Carême, who likened the art of pastry to architecture, is credited with developing the ‘six turn’ method that resulted in unparalleled layers of light, flaky pastry.

Well that’s all well and good if you’re a master pastry chef. I’m most certainly am not. Yet. 

For now I'll just stick to the store-bought kind, which for my purposes, is fantastic. While I’m not creating the kind of otherworldly delights found in Paris’ Poilane, I am winning friends nonetheless thanks to Careme pastry. 

Unlike other ready-made pastry Careme is actually handmade using natural ingredients. Based in South Australia's Barossa Valley, Careme sells four types of artisan pastry including sour cream shortcrust and all-butter puff pastry which I used to make these berry and ricotta danishes. 

Berry & Ricotta Danishes
(Makes 5)

Poached Berries

12 strawberries, washed, hulled and halved
1/2 cup of blueberries, washed
2 Tbsp of castor sugar
1/8 cup of water

Ricotta Filling

1 cup of ricotta cheese
1/4 cup of castor (berry) sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 Tbsp of all-purpose flour

Glaze

4 Tbsp of icing sugar
3 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice

Pastry

3 sheets of store-bought puff pastry

Equipment: 1 baking sheet lined with baking paper

Method:

1. Thaw puff pastry according to packet instructions. Once thawed, place pastry in the fridge to keep cool while you prepare the other ingredients.
2. Place the berries in a saucepan over a medium-low heat. Sprinkle on castor sugar and add water. Cover saucepan with a lid and shake the saucepan around to coat the berries. Poach berries for about 5 minutes or until they soften but still retain their shape. Set aside to cool.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 180C (350F).
4. Make the ricotta filling by combining all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix well with a wooden spoon to thoroughly combine. Set aside.
5. Prepare the glaze by mixing icing sugar and lemon juice together in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.
6. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and place sheets on a clean, dry surface. Use a small, sharp knife to cut 10 8cm x 6cm (3" x 2.5") rectangles. Place 5 of the pastry rectangles on the lined baking sheet, making sure there is space in between them as they will expand. Lightly brush edges with a little water. We will call these the "pastry rectangle bases".
7. Cut smaller rectangles out of the remaining 5 pastry rectangles so that you have small frames of about 1.5cm (1/2") in width.

8. Place the frames on top of the pastry bases on the baking sheet. See the diagram below.

 

9. Fill the middle of the frame with about 3-4 tablespoons of ricotta mixture. Top with several berries (reserve some for topping once the danishes are baked).  Repeat process with remaining pastry frames.

10. Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until the pastry puffs up and is golden. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Top with remaining poached berries and sprinkle on a little icing sugar just before serving.

Comments

[Peter G]

Wow! Love these! the ricotta filling sounds delish...

[VeggieGirl]

So delicate-looking and delicious!

[vincent]

Bonjour !!!! It is so...how can i say...my anglish is not too good...so irresitible !!! the pastry looks so good...i really would like to be neer you when your are cooking because everything that you do is so wonderfull !!! i am sure that i would learn a lot whit you !!!!
Kisss !!!
Vincent.

[liz Kirby]

These were the most delicious pastries I have ever eaten. Thanks Syrie!
Liz

[bedroom dresser]

The filling sounds delicious! I guess it is okay if I use other kinds of berries for the filling.

[Marc @ NoRecipes]

Making puff pastry is on my list of things to learn. I wish we could get stuff that looks this good at the store here!

[Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella]

I love making my own puff pastry :D I must try some Careme puff to see how it compares! :)

[Manggy]

If you can find a good brand like Careme, I'm convinced you won't need to make it except for learning purposes-- but then again, it's too hot to make puff pastry here.
Anyway, I am totally hungry for these-- the tart berries and the sweet-slightly salty ricotta are a great pair!

[Christie @ Fig&Cherry]

Fantastic! I adore ricotta with berries. I can't wait to get back to Sydney and eat all the Summer fruit!

[Natalie]

So lovely, absolutely lovely!

[Sophie]

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM,....these filled pastries look so fab to me!! How can you go wrong with berries & ricotta???

[mycookinghut]

Looks beautiful and yummy! I don't mind to have 1 or 2 for breakfast! :)

[Julia @ Mélanger]

I have eaten Careme before. It's pretty good. But homemade is so much better. It is very time consuming, as you say, but I had good success with a recipe recently - from the Roux baking book.
http://melanger.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/tarte-tatin-feuilletage-jean-millet/

It's not something I'll make again for a while - it's approaching summer (too hard), and my poor palms are still recovering from all that rolling.

But I would have to say, it's worth the effort. And mine may not have been perfect because I'm way from being professional!

[Chris]

These look so good. I love pastries, especially with berries and ricotta. Thanks for the post and the recipe.

[pigpigscorner]

They are beautiful!

[Magda Loin]

Oooh!!! The puffy puffy puff puff pastry is so yummy it makes me want to dicky dicky!!! Weeeeeee!!!!!!

[Budding Chef]

Looked tasty but I lacked puff pastry , lemons or ricotta so tried filo, yougurt and orange. Was not a great success but edible, the sugar helps. So ready to try again with right ingredients but now 35" and do not want the oven, so will have to wait until the cool of the evening.

[Jake]

Great recipe, it makes me hungry and love your blog.

[Budding Chef]

Tried again with much more success, but looked a little dull. When do you add the glaze, paint on before putting in oven?

[Gloria Aghaulor]

Hey guys,

My name is Gloria Aghaulor, and I am a senior at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. I am working on a team for an entrepreneurship class that is
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What do you think about this idea for a potential venture? Mainly, do you think the food enthusiast community would respond well to such a service? If you could quickly take our 4 question survey, we would REALLY appreciate it. http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGo2NFNGWU01Tm53YXExNkpRRGNxM1E6MA

I really hope you don't mind this post.

Thanks so much!

[tramadol]

This is very adorable! Looks so delicious! I think this would be perfect for the coming Christmas season! Thanks for this outstanding recipe!

[Melissa Peterman]

Hi there! I recently stumbled across your blog, I work for Foodista.com and I not sure if you have heard but we just announced a call for submissions for a food blogger cookbook contest this week!
For the next three months, food bloggers can submit their photography, writings, and original recipes to Foodista.com. The public can view all submissions on the website and vote for their favorites. That feedback and editors at both Andrews McMeel Publishing and Foodista.com will determine 100 entries chosen for inclusion in "The Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook." More info available here: http://www.foodista.com/blogbook.
You should totally enter your post on Berry and Ricotta Danishes! It’s creative and original.
Good Luck!
You've got a great blog- and a great chance to win.

[Negocio Rentable]

Excellent information to many people like to read articles to learn about these issues of great interest.

[diba]

hi,i recently found these recipes,its wonderfull.i salute you,who made these.execellent looking and ommmmmmm yummy.even i am trying to loose weight but i cant control.lol best wishes!