These three ingredient cheat’s peach and strawberry Danish pastries are great for getting the kids in the kitchen; quick and easy they’ll love the results. And so will you.
Let’s get it out of the way. These are not authentic Danish pastries. They aren’t made using Danish pastry for a start but puff pastry is close enough for me in this cheat’s version.
These were born from Izzy’s obsession with I Can Cook (a children’s cookery programme for my non-UK – and indeed non-parent – friends). Izzy is an avid fan of Katie and it took her a while to be convinced that my good friend Katie was not in fact the Katie!
Izzy had watched an episode where Katie made apricot tarts and was determined to make them, reminding me on a regular – read several times daily – basis to pick up the things we needed. My local branch of Aldi don’t sell tinned apricots but they do sell tinned peaches. After a substitution negotiation with the head chef we were away.
Getting the kids cracking in the kitchen is A Good Thing on many levels, not least for confidence and being able to share the results of their efforts with their friends and families. The majority of recipes will have elements where small people can get involved but, bar cutting the pastry and lifting the trays in and out of the oven, this is extremely kid friendly. Using only three ingredients – four if you count the egg glaze – and only taking half an hour they are a great activity for over half term.
Having said all of that though, I wouldn’t be ashamed to make and serve them up myself. They look pretty and wouldn’t be out of place served alongside a cup of coffee with a friend.
You could use fresh peaches but the tinned versions have an ideal texture here. They are sweet but not overly so and combined with buttery puff pastry they make for a lovely little treat.
They’re also fairly economical to make. You can usually find ready rolled puff pastry on offer for £1 and I used economy tinned peaches, coming in at about 68p.
They are best eaten on the day they are made but will keep in an airtight tin and just be a little softer the next day.
These three ingredient cheat’s peach and strawberry Danish pastries are great for getting the kids in the kitchen; quick and easy they’ll love the results. Non-authentic but just as delicious
Ingredients
- 1 pack ready rolled all butter puff pastry
- 2 x 400g tins sliced peaches
- 8 teaspoons strawberry jam
- A little melted butter, milk or beaten egg for glazing
Instructions
- Take the pastry out of the fridge 20 minutes before you want to use it. Bringing the pastry up to room temperature makes it easier to work with and less likely to tear.
- Preheat the oven to 190c (fan) and line two baking trays with baking parchment.
- Drain the peaches and allow to sit in a colander or sieve to remove as much excess moisture as possible.
- Unroll the pastry and lay it on the counter, long side towards you. Using a sharp knife cut the pastry in half, short side to short side and then divide each strip into 4. You will end up with 8 rectangles.
- Again using a sharp knife, score a border 1cm away from the edge of each rectangle.
- At this point transfer the pastry rectangles to the baking trays, it’s much easier to do it now than when they have been topped. I can fit 4 on each baking tray, though this will vary depending on the size of your trays.
- Pop a teaspoon of jam in the middle of each rectangle and spread out, making sure that you don’t go over the border.
- Place 3 to 4 peach slices on each rectangle (you won’t use all of the peaches, pop the rest in the fridge for a retro pudding of tinned fruit and ice cream) and brush the border with a little melted butter, milk or beaten egg.
- Place in the oven and bake for 15 – 18 minutes, until the pastry has risen and turned golden brown.
- Transfer to a wire rack using a fish slice and leave to cool.
- Store in an airtight tin. They are best eaten the same day as baking but are perfectly acceptable the next day, if a little moister than on baking.
The post Food | Cheat’s peach and strawberry Danish pastries appeared first on 35 East Street.
