Lime Curd Danish

I wanted to make single portion versions of King Arthur's Braided Lemon Bread. Here is my round version.

 

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1/4 cup (60g) water, lukewarm
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 8 ounces sourdough starter
• 1/2 cup (57g) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (170g) plain yogurt, at room temperature
• 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
• 1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons (12g) salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5 cups (600g) all-purpose flour

Lime Curd:

• 1/2 cup lime juice (or use lemon)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 large egg

Cheese Filling:

• 8 ounces (245g) cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup (50g) sugar + 2 tablespoons (25 grams)
• 1/4 cup (57g) sour cream + 2 tablespoons (28 gram), at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (28g) all-purpose flour + 2 tablespoons (14grams)

Instructions:

1. Mix the water, sugar, yeast, and sourdough starter together in a stand mixer bowl.
   (Let proof for a few minutes while you measure out the rest of the ingredients.)
2. Stir in the the yogurt, butter, eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla.
3. Add the flour, knead for 1 minute or so to combine, then knead for another 6 minutes to form a smooth dough.
4. Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to rise until nearly doubled, from 60 to 90 minutes.
5. While the dough is rising, prepare the lime curd (as needed) and the cheese filling.
6. Make the lime curd:
• Stir together all of the curd ingredients in a medium sized microwave-safe bowl.
• Microwave the juice mixture in 1-minute increments, stirring every minute
• to combine.
• When curd starts to thicken/coats the back of the spoon and mound a bit as you stir, it's done.
• This takes from 4 to 10 minutes, depending on the power of the microwave. The curd's temperature should reach at least 185°F.
• If there are any small bits of cooked egg white, use a spoon or a mesh strainer to remove them.
• Spoon the curd into a storage container, and freeze 20 minutes to cool. Move to refrigerator to continue firming up.
7. Make the cheese filling:
• Combine all the filling ingredients (except the lemon curd) in a small bowl, mixing until smooth and lump-free. Reserve the filling and lemon curd until ready to fill the braids.
8. When the dough has risen, gently deflate and divide it in half. Divide each half into 8 pieces
   (I think mine were about 87 grams each.)
9. Roll each piece into a ball, the flatten into a 5 to 6" inch disk.
10. Divide filling and curd into half.
11. Spread about a large cookie scoop of cream cheese in the center of each piece. (Use up all the cream cheese mix.)
12. Drop about a tablespoon of lime curd on top each piece.
    (If there is leftover curd, you can reserve a few tablespoons to spread on the danish after baking.)
13. Make four 1" cuts evenly around each disk.
14. Curl opposite "petals" to enclose the filling for all the disks.
15. Place 8 danish per pan on two half backing sheets lined with Silpat mats.
16. Cover lightly with plastic wrap, and let rise about 45 minutes until puffy.
17. Preheat the oven to 350 after about 30 minutes of rising time.
    
18. Bake danish for about 15 minutes, then swap pans and rotate on the oven racks, and bake another 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown.
19. Let cool on the pans for about 5 minutes, then finish cooling on a wire rack.
20. Store leftovers well wrapped in the refrigerator.

 

Carole's Notes:

We liked these! I think the round ones look prettier - the first braided versions looked more bear-clawish.

The recipe is adapted from https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/braided-lemon-bread-recipe