Romanian Danish Recipe

This post is courtesy of our friend Gina Mut, who worked with me to convert these authentic romanian pastries to use freshly milled flour. Thank you Gina!

I was born and raised in Romania. This is a typical Romanian pastry, they taste amazing warm with coffee or a glass of cold milk. Keep them in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. They keep well in the freezer.

Ingredients:

• 400 g hard white flour
• 80 g sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 g yeast
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 60 g melted butter
• 100 ml warm milk
• 80 ml warm water
• For the yudane 25 g flour and 50 g boiling water

Filling:

• 300 g sweet cheese(I used farmer’s cheese)
• 4-5 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 30 g raisins (soaked in warm water, then drained
• 1 tsp lemon zest

Egg wash on top:

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp yogurt
• 1 tbsp water

Instructions:

1. Mix flour, sugar and salt and set aside.
2. Beat eggs in the mixer bowl, add milk, water, melted butter, and yeast.
3. Make the yudane, and let cool. Add to the mixer bowl then add flour. Turn on mixer and let it knead till you reach windowpane. Then cover and let it rise for 1-2 hours. Meanwhile make the filling. Mix cheese with the sugar and lemon zest well. Add the beaten egg till blended well, then add the drained raisins.
4. After the rise, dump the dough on the floured counter, knead gently for a couple minutes then roll out in a rectangle about 12”x 16”. Cut in about 16-18 squares, does not have to be exact. Put a teaspoon full of the cheese filling in the middle of each square. Bring opposite corners in the center adding a little water with your finger to help stick together, to look like an envelope. Put each one of them on a parchment lined tray, not touching each other. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Preheat the oven at 375degrees F.
5. Beat the egg yolk with the yogurt and water. After 30 minutes apply the egg wash with a pastry brush all over the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on the cooling rack. May add some powdered sugar on top.