SPEEDY PEACH & CUSTARD DANISH

February 5, 2025

I seriously thought of opening a bakery after I’d made these Danish. 😜 Ok… just kidding. However, I highly recommend giving these a go as they really are not tricky at all.

Also there’s a life-changing bonus within the recipe that makes custard-from-scratch a breeze, using my 5-minute method. You’ll never want or need to buy it again!

These Danish are super-impressive and with a little help from pre-made pastry can be made with berries or stonefruit of your choice within about 20 minutes, then the oven does the rest of the work.

Makes 6 Danish Pastries

CUSTARD
1 cup milk
¼ cup caster sugar
2 x egg yolks
1Tbsp milk
2Tbsp cornflour
¾ tsp vanilla paste or extract

BASE
1 pkt Careme Butter Puff Pastry
2 x medium peaches
3Tbsp flaked almonds

GLAZE
1½Tbsp water
3Tbsp caster sugar

COOKS NOTES

Make custard up to a day in advance and refrigerate until using.
Or make custard at the time you want to cook the Danish pastries – it will need to be cooled using an ice bath. Set bowl containing hot thick custard into a larger bowl one-third filled with ice and water. Stir custard occasionally and it will cool in a few minutes (ice may need replenishing if it has melted before custard is cold). Cooling custard quickly, especially if making a large amount, is an important habit to learn as once made, it remains hot for quite a while, risking the chance of the eggs overcooking and splitting. Including cornflour means the custard thickens more readily, keeping eggs cool enough to assist thickening custard without getting too hot and splitting – has a similar look to scrambled eggs.
Use a stainless steel bowl for making custard, it will retain heat and allow custard to thicken without needing to replace in saucepan on stove.
The recipe is written assuming Careme pastry is being used. If only puff pastry available is a supermarket brand then cut to a similar size as per instructions.
Puff pastry includes a high fat content, and as it warms to room temperature it will become harder to work with. If this happens, pop pastry back into fridge to cool until firm enough to handle again.
Cut pastry with a large sharp chefs knife, without pulling the blade through the pastry as this will distort laminated layers and inhibit rising.
Danish Pastries are best eaten on the day they are made, but can be refrigerated (because of custard) and eaten within 5 days. Depending on pastry used, they will become soft over time. Careme puff pastry keeps crisp for longer than supermarket brands.

METHOD

Make custard. Put 1 cup milk with sugar in saucepan and place on medium low heat. Stir occasionally and allow to come to a boil.
Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks in a medium size bowl with 1 tablespoon milk and cornflour to combine.
Once milk is boiling (keep your eye on it!) work quickly. Remove from stove and immediately start pouring milk slowly into the yolk mix, whisking constantly. After a few seconds when about a quarter of liquid is combined, pour remainder in quickly (do this in less than 5 seconds) whilst whisking; custard will thicken within 20 seconds or so. Once thick, stop whisking. Cool to room temperature, stirring every few minutes or so. Alternatively, see cooks notes on how to cool rapidly.
Prepare base. On a lightly floured bench, cut chilled pastry sheet into 6 x 12cm squares. Taking each corner, fold about 4cm pastry in towards centre and place each on non-stick paper lined baking tray, a few centimetres apart. Ensure there’s enough room to place a tablespoon of cool custard in the centre, covering the points but leaving 1cm or so pastry border so it can puff up unhindered and hold the filling in the centre.
Cut peach in half and thinly slice. Divide slices between each square fanning out a little (the weight of the fruit will push the custard out slightly. Scatter peaches with flaked almonds.
Bake for 30 minutes, turning baking tray once if necessary to ensure even cooking.
Remove when pastry is a deep golden colour and almonds have browned. Place Danish pastries on wire rack to cool.
Make glaze. Place water and sugar in saucepan over medium high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve sugar. Once boiling, swirl saucepan rather than stirring. After a minute or so, when the liquid is clear and a light syrup, remove from heat. Drizzle sugar syrup over pastry and fruit using a pastry brush to give the pastries a beautiful glaze.
Set aside until cool enough to eat.