Blackberry Cheese Danish

Made this delish treat on Mother’s Day for myself and Nick.  It was magical.

INGREDIENTS

1 puff pastry sheet, thawed
1 cup mascarpone cheese
1 egg yolk
1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water for egg wash
¼ heaping cup of sugar
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 pint blackberries
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp raw sugar

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

• Wash blackberries and add them to a blender.  Blend until smooth and pour into a sieve over a mixing bowl.  Using a spatula, gently press down, leaving only the blackberry juice in the bowl and the seeds still in the sieve (I hate getting seeds in my teeth, this is why this is important).  Clean sieve, removing seeds into the garbage where they belong!  Add 2 Tbsp flour and 1 Tbsp sugar and stir together.  Set aside.

• In a small bowl combine the mascarpone, egg yolk, sugar, flour and vanilla. Stir until just combined and then set aside.

• Dust the puff pastry with flour and roll with a rolling pin to flatten and smooth.

• Place the puff pastry on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. 

• Spread the mascarpone down the middle of the puff pastry lengthwise into a 3-inch wide strip.   Spoon the blackberry mixture on top of the cheese.

• Using a pastry cutter or shears, cut the long sides of the pastry into 1-inch wide strips. Cut towards the cheese filling but stop about 1-inch before you get to the filling.

• Alternating sides, fold 1 piece of the fringe over the cheese and jelly mixture. The result will look like a braid.  Sometimes the cheese and fruit peeks through, and that’s ok.

• Brush the dough with the beaten egg yolk mixture and sprinkle the raw sugar on top.

• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Let cool before serving. Cut into strips to serve.