processor danish pastry:

1/4 cup (60 ml) warm water
1/2 cup (125 ml) milk at room temperature
1 large egg at room temperature
2 1/4 cups (10 1/8 oz | 286g) all-purpose flour*
1 package (2.25 tsp. | 1/4 oz | 7g) rapid rise yeast or 1 tablespoon fresh yeast**
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon (1 oz. | 25g) sugar
1 cup (8 oz | 250g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into thin slices

* Nigella uses white bread flour
** I used active dry and let it stand with the milk and water for about 10 minutes until it was a little foamy (see notes in recipe).

cheese danish:

1/2 quantity of the processor danish pastry
1 cup ricotta cheese (I used homemade bc it’s SO easy and SO delicious)
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon lemon zest
6 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg*, beaten
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled*

*As I type this, I realized I never added the egg or butter…so perhaps they are optional? Honestly, before you go through the trouble of melting butter and beating an egg, taste the mixture without it. It is unbelievably delicious, and while the egg and butter probably provide additional flavor and structure, I really don’t think they are critical. Both the baked and unbaked filling tastes divine.

egg wash:

1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons of milk

Note: You will have a lot of leftover glaze if you are only making 6 pastries, but if you are prompt about putting it back in the fridge, you can save it until you get around to making the remaining six pastries.

clear glaze:

1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Note: I made a half recipe, which was more than enough for 6 pastries, and next time around, I won’t even make this. Seems unnecessary.

sugar glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons warm water

Note: I skipped this one. I was a little glazed out by this point.