Cocktail danish

Orange-infused brioche, whiskey cream, Luxardo cherries, candied orange peel, rye streusel, whiskey glaze.

Let’s get back to baking.

I was down in Arkansas last week visiting family, drinking cocktails, and thinking about baking. There is a lot to say about the trip — the beautiful Ozarks, quality time with siblings and families, coffee at Onyx Coffee Lab, and more — but that’s for another time.

Instead, I offer up to you a walkthrough of how I developed a danish infused with the flavors of an old fashioned cocktail inspired by that trip. In each of the sub-recipes (base dough, pastry cream, streusel) I looked for ways to infuse the dominant flavors of the cocktail: whiskey, citrus, cherry. (The full recipe and method is here.) This is meant to be an example of how flavor can be added with intention. If you don’t like the booze (all the alcohol cooks off), use something else for inspiration — it’s not about this iteration, but rather, the approach: How can we add more flavor and more beauty to every layer of what we make?

Cocktail danish

The old fashioned cocktail is a stirred blend of whiskey, bitters, sugar, candied cherry, orange peel, and ice. In the glass the heat and spice of whiskey is smoothed by the sugar and diluted by the ice. The cherry brings depth and a treat at the bottom of the glass, the twist of orange peel bathes the entire sip in citrusy perfume while the bitters layer in a hit of mulling spice. It’s barely sweet, a little boozy, and perfect. Let’s make it a danish.

A good danish needs a special base dough. Everything from laminated doughs like croissant dough or brioche feuilletée to leaner but still possible options such as milk dough or basic sweet dough are on the spectrum for consideration. My feeling is that the laminated options are too rich and the leaner milk or sweet doughs are too austere. Plenty of eggs and butter, light as a cloud, extremely tender, decadent but not greasy, I choose brioche. And, going back to flavor, I consider options for layering in one of the flavors of my old fashioned: whiskey, citrus, or cherry. As with the Gibassier I made back in December, candied orange or zest pairs well with brioche. I choose zest, mix the dough, then chill overnight until firm.

Day two and I’m onto the pastry cream. What would old fashioned pastry cream taste like? The liquid base of the pastry cream makes it best for playing with liquid flavors, like whiskey. It also takes zest well. I choose both and stir them into the base of warm pastry cream along with butter. As I sample I decide it’s the only thing I’ll eat, forever.

I set the cream to chill and roll the dough.

I need a shape with an edge to hold the cream. I roll thinly, cut into squares, then make a diamond as the final shape and set them to proof for a couple hours. (Full recipe and method is here.)

While the shapes rise I start the streusel. Thinking of ways to amplify the normal combination of all-purpose flour, sugar, and butter, I consider adding more zest but decide that it risks burning and turning bitter. Instead, I opt for playing with the flour: half medium rye and half all-purpose (whole rye, whole spelt, or whole wheat will all work). The mineral flavor and depth of the rye will take the streusel from neutral to notable while also giving the whiskey a hat tip. I mix the streusel and check the rising danish.

After a couple hours they’re marshmallowy and puffy. I add egg wash, spoon in pastry cream, then garnish with the best cocktail cherries I can find (Luxardo) and a drizzle of cherry juice, a sprinkle of minced candied orange peel, then the rye streusel, and bake. And the house fills with boozy, buttery, orange old fashioned aroma.

While they’re in the oven I make a simple syrup (equal parts whiskey and brown sugar) and brush it on as soon as they are finished. After they cool slightly I dust them with sugar for some pop and garnish with more minced candied peel.

At this point I could go on for another couple hundred words describing the warm pastry cream and how it meets the crunch of the streusel and the dark flavor of the Luxardo cherry or the boozy glaze or the tender, orange-infused brioche. But I think you get the point. Maybe you’re even starting a brioche mix.

Happy baking,

Martin