Copycat Entenmanns Danish Recipes

YOU CAN MAKE AN ENTENMANN'S DANISH AT HOME (AND YOU'LL NEVER LOOK BACK)

Steps:

• Grease two 8-by-6 baking dishes and line with parchment paper. You can also make one large danish in a 9-by-11 baking dish.
• Heat the milk until warm to the touch but not too hot, about 100 F. Add the sugar and active dry yeast to the milk, and allow the yeast to proof for 5-10 minutes. The yeast will get foamy and bubbly; if it doesn't, your milk may have been too hot or too cold and it is best to start again.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, salt and vanilla powder. Alternatively, you can make the dough by hand; you will just need to mix and knead for longer.
• Add the milk and yeast mixture to the dough, along with the 2 eggs. On medium, mix until a very shaggy dough is formed. Next, with the mixer still on medium, add the room temperature butter one cube at a time; allow each piece of butter to incorporate before adding the next. Once all the butter is incorporated, the dough will appear smoother and stickier. Switch the paddle attachment for the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5-6 minutes, or until a soft, smooth, elastic dough is formed. It will start out looking very sticky and wet, but will ball around the dough hook toward the end. If it looks too wet and does not start forming a ball, you can add a few tablespoons of flour to help with the consistency.
• Gently transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl (it will be very soft and pour out), and cover it with a damp clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise until roughly doubled in size, 1-2 hours, depending on the temperature in your kitchen.
• Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it in half. You can make two 8-by-6 raspberry danish twists at this time, or freeze half the dough for future use (just allow it to defrost and come up to room temperature). Dust a clean surface with flour, then take one-half of the dough and divide it into 3 equal balls. Roll each ball into a strand that is about an inch longer than the length of the baking dish, then gently twist each strand and fit them in lengthwise into the baking dish. Cover with a lightly damp clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise again for another 15-20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Add the jam to the danish.
• Between the 3 strands of dough, you'll make 2 strips of jam, each about a 1/4 cup worth of jam, or 1/2 cup per danish (if using a larger dish, simply evenly add jam between each strand). I gently nudge the stands apart and, with a spoon, fill with jam between the strands. Brush the top of the dough with the egg wash. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until deep golden brown on top. Rotate once halfway through baking.
• Once baked, allow to cool on a rack. While the cakes are cooling make the icing. Once mostly cooled, you can ice the cakes by drizzling the icing free form with a spoon, or you can fill a small Ziploc bag with the icing, and snip off a small piece of the corner to ice in any design you prefer.

ENTENMANN'S CHEESE FILLED CRUMB COFFEE CAKE RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• Combine the milk and butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat until butter is melted. In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk mixture with the sugar and salt and let cool. In a small bowl, combine the water and yeast and let foam. When the milk mixture is cooled a bit, add the eggs and yeast (the point of the cooling is to not kill the yeast, so don't let it get cold). With a dough hook, mix in the flour. (If using a wooden spoon and elbow grease, mix in the flour and then knead on a floured surface until dough is smooth and soft, about 5 to 10 minutes). Cover and let rise until double in bulk; about 1 to 1½ hours. After rising, punch down and divide in half. Roll out on a large jelly roll pan to fit the length of the pan and almost the width. In a bowl, mix the filling ingredients on medium speed. Spread the filling down the middle of each cake and either fold over the outer halves or cut strips and braid it over the filling...it's your call. In a bowl, mix the streusel ingredients with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Sprinkle the streusel equally on top of the two coffee cakes. Cover and let rise another 20 minutes and preheat your oven to 375°F. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. When cooled, dust with powdered sugar.