Sunday, June 29, 2008

Daring Bakers Challenge: Danish Bread

My second Daring Bakers challenge is complete! Unlike last month, this challenge was much less about veganizing the assigned recipe and more about technique. The scariest part for me was making the laminated dough, consisting of alternating layers of detempre (dough) and beurrage (butter, i.e. Earth Balance). Even with well chilled ingredients, my butter was squirting out the edges every turn of the dough I made. But in the end, I had two beautiful fruit-filled danishes to show for it.


The process of actual braiding the danish was much easier than I anticipated. The hardest part was rolling out a rectangle! And of course, on my first braid I failed to place the dough on my silpat prior to braiding.... big mistake and is was a painstaking process to transfer it, I was lucky it didn't get ruined! (check out this and this video for a visual demonstration)

As the danish baked, orange and cardamom (in the dough) wafted through the air, filling the house with an amazing aroma. I wish I could bottle up that smell, I think it might get me out of bed faster in the morning. Here is the danish right out of the oven.

For the danish braid filling, I wanted to use mainly local ingredients, especially with the bounty of fruits available in the summer season! The danish below is filled with blueberries and blackberries, and a pastry cream (not local) with drizzled icing for some extra sweetness.

The second braid is filled with Texas peaches and finished with almond icing as well as sliced almonds. I didn't quite get the flakiness I wanted (probably due to all that squirting Earth Balance), but these still tasted so much better than those store-bought danishes I remember from my pregan days.
With the leftover dough, I experimented with a few smaller danish shapes for fun. Now I'm wishing I had more of this dough in my freezer to make a few danishes whenever I fancied them.

What will next month bring for this vegan daring baker? I guess you'll just have to wait and see!

59 comments:

Jess said...

Oh, my god. Major yum! I am just about to make breakfast, and am really wishing I had a slice of this!!

Anonymous said...

BEAUTIFUL!!!! Ah, peaches, can they do no wrong?! I just love stone fruits :) You did a fabulicious job my talented vegan friend - everything looks delicious!

Bert said...

Looks delicious! And the photographs showing the technique are worthy of a book - hope you are working on one...

Having some home-baked French bread here this morning, but I think I will trade an entire loaf for a couple of slices of that Danish!

Animal-Friendly said...

Wow! Those danishes are absolutely gorgeous! They look like they came straight from a bakery. And your filling ideas sound so delicious- local produce is definitely the way to go this time of year.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Amanda, you've done it again - great work on your 2nd Daring Bakers Challenge!! You're a pro, and as always, I'm inspired :0)

Alicia said...

It looks like you did a great job! talk about technique!

n/a said...

Wow, that looks amazing!

Lauren said...

Yummy. That looks wonderful, especially that almond icing.

Tami said...

That is more impressive than words can say. Just amazing.

MeloMeals said...

Wow! You are so talented with the baked goods. I would NEVER have the patience to bake..

Anonymous said...

Wow! I'm atrociously hungover right now I could literally eat my screen. That loaf would really hit the spot.

Anonymous said...

Alt Daring Bakers Rock! Looks and sounds great- I love the icing! Why didn't I think of that?!

Anonymous said...

You did a fabulous job! I can totally relate to the butter come out out! It was really worth it though. Your fillings look delicious,

the little one said...

Amazing woman. I'm expecting any day for you to post that you've launched your own baking enterprise. Now, if only we could find you some venture capitalists . .

giz said...

Wow...I'm getting such an education on all things vegan. More and more I'm learning that it's not so difficult to compensate for things in a recipe. Your braid looks really wonderful and the filling - amazing.

Jes said...

Beautiful braid & danishes! The peach filling looks divine!

Lauren said...

Looks beautiful! You really are amazing!! :)

Speedbump Kitchen said...

Great job! My "butter" squirted out everywhere too and I gave up, maybe I should have persevered!

The Voracious Vegan said...

Wow, this is beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing, you have really inspired me!

J said...

That is absolutely gorgeous! You did a great job! (And yum! too!)

Carrie™ said...

First off let me tell you that I saw the write up about this blog in VegNews! A big CONGRATULATIONS are in order and well-deserved.
What a spectacular post! Those danishes look very pro. Your filling choices are right up my alley. These look so, so good! Well done!! *drool*

vko said...

That danish is too perfect. Impressive!! You have some serious skills there. I miss cheese danishes from my pregan days...

Binx said...

beautiful, and so nice just to look at! i would love to figure out how to make these, but i don't think my baking skills are quite up to par.

Anonymous said...

That looks incredible! I'm a big fan of your blog. Great job on the Danish Braid challenge!

Emilie said...

Nice job! It looks great. This was such a fun challenge!

Vegan Girl (Roni Seabury) said...

You have to start a shop on Etsy and sell these things. You are so talented at it!

And YES I have been to Texas. I actually really like Texas. I have been to many many cities there. I almost moved there 16 years ago. But then I ended up here in San Francisco.

Anonymous said...

Wow, stunning Danishes!! That Earth Balance sounds really good. I'd happily experiment with it if it was available in the UK.

Anonymous said...

WOW! Wow. Wow. Wow.

You are quite the baker! What a beautiful creation.

Lindsay (Happy Herbivore) said...

wow. yum. amazing. i sound like a 5 yr old but i keep licking my lips. amazing amazing!!!!!!1

Wheeler's Frozen Dessert said...

Looks awesome!

A.M. said...

Wow, it looks so pretty! I love the your how-to pictures, thanks for sharing those!

The Vegan Snorkeler said...

That is awe-inspiring!

Anonymous said...

Stunning, stunning! One of each, please? And the concept of the laminated dough--what a lot of work, but clearly, worth it!

Anonymous said...

wow, that looks beautiful! i like the fact that you posted the step-by-step photos :)

by the way, i moved my blog to http://stoniebrook.blogspot.com!

how did you like vegas?

Little Miss Sunshine said...

my goodness, a VEGAN danish?!! Who ould've thought!! Your danish bread looks so beautiful - you should frame it!! :0) Oh before you do that, can I pleaseeee have a piece, lol!!

Have a great day :)

Anonymous said...

Wasn't this recipe exciting. We finished off most of the pastry yesterday (okay, we had company) and are trying to restrain ourselves today.
I'm curious, what did you use for your pastry cream?
Jane of VeganBits.com

Bianca said...

You are freakin' amazing, Vegan Noodle! You should open a vegan pastry shop. Seriously. My jaw was totally hanging open the whole time I looked at these pics...and of course drool was spilling out all over my keyboard.

mvegan said...

Wow! Great job, its beautiful and looks delicious....!!!

Vaala ◪ said...

I'm VERY impressed...those danishes look amazing. Now if only you could get someone else to do the hard work in the morning so all you had to do was wake up to the smell of them baking!

Anonymous said...

Wow, these are beautiful!!

Andrea Meyers said...

Your danishes look wonderful! That berry filling would be right up my alley.

Erin said...

Wow, just wow. I want a big slice of each of the braids.

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

GORGEOUS! I have been loving seeing all the vegan braids, I want to make one myself!!

Katy said...

I love danishes and I haven't had one in years! I don't think I quite have the skill to make these, so if you could just overnight me some, that would be great! ;)

Anonymous said...

Holy moly, where have I been? I've seen your name about but sadly didn't click till now. All your stuff looks delish! I've been quietly lurking around Daring Bakers; maybe I'll finally make a break for it next month. You've certainly inspired here.

Cakespy said...

Wow, yours look gorgeous!! Especially the little danish at the end--so sweet! The texture looks incredible.

Celine's Cuisine said...

Your second challenge looks beautiful! I love the almond filling, completly agreed the smell in the kitchen was amazing.

Celine's Cuisine said...

Your second challenge looks beautiful! I love the almond filling, completly agreed the smell in the kitchen was amazing.

jessy said...

your danishes are stunning! they're so pretty, and they look heavenly! what a fun challenge - and thanks for the many photos! i always wondered how you did that. so cool!

Kumudha said...

Wow! Danishes look so delicious! It's
so nice to see vegan danishes.

aTxVegn said...

Okay, I looked at lots of entries for this braided bread and yours is by far the best looking one. You have become a real baking whiz!

thepreppyvegan said...

Hi there--
Just wanted to drop you a note and say that I really enjoy your blog. I am the world's WORST cook/baker, but it's fun to look at the pictures, even if I could never make any of these recipes
Cheers

Unknown said...

I have to say, this is truly the best blog post EVER...on ANY blog.

I am so in love with your Danish Braid and the delicious fillings you choose. So beautiful and mouthwatering. Oh my gosh.

You are so awesome!!

Kiandra said...

oh my land...your braid and pastry is perfect...you did such a wonderful job!

your fillings sound so good, i just planted a blackberry bush and was wishing i had enough for some pastry fillings.

okay...now i want to try and do it again and get such wonderful pictures! great job!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Please make me a vegan danish. I've never had one before! How sad is that?!

Natalie, aka "Sheltie Girl" said...

You did a fabulous job on the challenge. I love your filling choices and the lovely little danish you made. I wish I had made enough extra to make more danishes as the week progressed. Guess I'll just have to get back in the kitchen.

Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

Anonymous said...

Absolutely gorgeous! I have to say, all of the vegan Daring Bakers really seem to have stepped up to the challenge this time, and I love seeing all of these kick ass braids. Excellent work! :)

Jessica said...

Looks awesome! Great job!

Anonymous said...

Good Job! :)