Danish, Danish everywhere

You may think that you have had amazing danishes and croissants.  But I'm here to tell you that unless you've had homemade ones right out of the oven, you are wrong. 

Danish and croissant week was our introduction to yeast and all it's glory.  We made starters (blobby looking monster-type things that start delicious breads), split the class in 2, and got started.  

1/2 of us made croissant dough, 1/2 danish.  I won't bore you with the techniques behind each, but just know that the time it takes to make it is well worth it.  You won't be disappointed in the end result.  

Let's start with the danish.....

Strawberry, apple and blueberry danishes

Flour, butter, milk, eggs and  yeast - how can you go wrong?  And the sky is the limit when it comes to fillings and shapes.  We went with some traditional fillings, but also pushed the limit with a strawberry jam with black pepper.  

Katie cutting and filling danishes

The shapes were all over the place, but each one was a piece of art.  Out of the oven, you just want them to cool enough to not melt the icing.  Then, dive in and experience a little bit of heaven. 

And now on to my love - j'adore pain au chocolate. I was recently in San Francisco and nibbled on a chocolate croissant that was made with chocolate ganache.  It was amazing, and I jumped at the chance to make my own. 

A flaky, buttery croissant is a thing of beauty, and the ones that us culinary students turned out didn't disappoint.  In addition to plain and chocolate, we made savory croissants stuffed with spinach and feta, mushrooms and pancetta and spinach, cheese and pancetta.  Each one was melt in your mouth delicious.  

We were warned that if we made either for our family, they would be requested all the time.  Chef was right. 

I brought the leftovers to share with my cousin and her kids.  My 17 month old niece was a big fan.  She had no idea how spoiled she is.