Nici Wickes: Homemade Danish Pastries for a long weekend

These are wonderfully easy to whip up on a long weekend and you can choose whatever fruit you like – pears, apples, stonefruit, berries – whatever is in season!

 

Ingredients:

2 firm pears 

400g flaky puff pastry (I use Pannetton or a block of puff pastry) 

Flour for rolling 

½ cup store-bought custard, cream cheese or sour cream (if using these 2, add 1-2 tbps brown sugar) 

1 heaped tbsp ground almonds 

2 tbsps honey, warmed 

Icing sugar to dust 

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 220 C. Lightly flour an oven tray.
2. Peel, halve and neatly core pears. I use a teaspoon to remove core. Use a small knife and slice thinly keeping each slice attached at the stem end. This is so that you can fan them out.
3. Dust a bench with flour. Roll pastry to 36x36cm square. Divide into 4 squares. Transfer to prepared tray. Score a 1cm border around each square.
4. Mix custard with ground almonds or if using cream cheese / sour cream with sugar and almonds. Dollop a heaped tablespoon onto each pastry. No need to spread. Fan out each sliced pear halve and lay onto custard, keeping within the border. Brush pear with honey.
5. Bake until puffed and golden and pastry bottom is cooked – about 15-20 minutes.
6. Brush with more honey whilst still warm and allow to cool. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

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