Weekend Berry Danish Puff
I always say there are three things people learn about me in the first five minutes we meet. The first is that I have a house full of boys. The second is that those boys aren’t small. And as a result, they all play football.
That makes me the lone woman in the house. The smallest of us. And the only one whose football career consisted of a single high school homecoming flag football game. Honestly, that’s probably for the best. I’ve never been the world’s most coordinated person.
It also meant I had to get everyone bought into a sport that fit all of us a little better. That sport is golf. We play most weekends in the summer. Every July we team up for our high school football team’s fundraising tourney.
A coworker once asked how I could golf because he thought it was like watching paint dry. Here’s my take: I get four uninterrupted hours outdoors with my family. I feel like finding a sport we all genuinely enjoy together is a bonus.
To beat the summer heat, though, our tee times are usually early, which makes a regular breakfast challenging.
That said, I do like to put a little fuel in everyone before we go. Enter this sheet pan breakfast that serves on the go. My boys grab a slice of this Danish puff and head out the door.
Danish puffs were a staple at events in my hometown. Neighbors perfected the recipe and passed it around. This version has a bunch of our favorite summer fruit folded in. It’s one of those breakfasts that feels a little special without slowing us down.
Cooking Notes
This recipe comes together in three parts. None are long or involved, I promise. Just note where you’ll pause on the crust while you prep the filling, and where you’ll make the icing while everything cooks.
The base of this comes together like a very thin pie crust.
Use a pastry cutter to blend together flour and butter. Add ice water a tablespoon at a time, stirring gently. When the mixture is still relatively dry (think lightly damp sand), gently knead the dough together with your hands.
It will form a ball with some scraggly pieces still around in the bowl. Roll out the dough onto a piece of parchment paper roughly the same size as your rimmed baking sheet. Slide the parchment onto the baking sheet, and push any remaining corners out with your fingers to match the pan shape.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator while you prep the filling.
To prepare the filling
Bring 1.5 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to simmer and stir in the butter until melted.
Blend in flour and salt and allow to cook for 1-2 more minutes. The mixture will form a thick batter, almost like mashed potato. Remove the batter from heat and mix in vanilla and almond extract. Allow this mixture to chill for about 15 min.
Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl, and then gradually mix them into the cooled batter. The filling will loosen up some after adding the eggs. Spread the mixture across the chilled crust. The consistency is frosting-like, so I often use an offset spatula to spread it, as I would frost a cake.
Sprinkle berries with 1/2 tbsp of flour, to help absorb excess moisture. Scatter the berries evenly over the top of the batter, making sure they are distributed fully. Press the berries down lightly. Smaller berries may disappear into the batter entirely.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 50-55 min. The batter will puff up in the oven, and will brown lightly on top when done. Allow to cool slightly before icing.
For the icing
Blend the powdered sugar and lemon zest together. Gently stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice, making sure that all of the sugar gets fully incorporated. Add a little more lemon juice, if needed, depending on consistency. The icing should be pourable. Drizzle the icing over the pastry.
As a brunch recipe, it’s beautiful on a plate. Or if you’re like my kiddos, you wrap a slice in a napkin and head out the door.
Weekend Berry Danish Puff
Ingredients
Crust
- ¾ cup 12 tbsp cold unsalted butter, diced
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 4½ tbsp ice water
Almond Filling
- ¾ cup 12 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1½ cups water
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- scant ½ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp almond extract
- 5 large eggs lightly beaten
- 2 cups raspberries blueberries, blackberries, or a combination
- ½ tbsp all-purpose flour
Lemon Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice plus more if needed
Instructions
For the pie crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together.
- Roll the dough into a thin rectangle on a sheet of parchment paper sized for a rimmed baking sheet.
- Transfer the parchment and dough to the baking sheet. Press the dough into the corners if needed.
- Refrigerate while preparing the filling.
For the Almond Filling
- Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in the butter until melted.
- Add the flour and salt. Stir continuously for 1-2 minutes until the mixture becomes very thick.
- Remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract.
- Cool for about 15 minutes.
- Gradually mix the beaten eggs into the cooled mixture until smooth.
- Spread the filling evenly over the chilled crust using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Toss the berries with ½ tablespoon flour.
- Scatter the berries evenly over the filling and gently press them into the batter.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until puffed and lightly golden.
- Cool for about 20 minutes before glazing.
For the Lemon Icing
- Whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon zest.
- Stir in the lemon juice until smooth, adding a little more juice if needed for a pourable consistency.
- Drizzle over the slightly cooled pastry before serving.
