So, what happens when you bet your husband “dollars to doughnuts” on some trivial matter that you can’t even remember but you are sure your husband remembers that you lost? Well, I’ll tell you what happens when I lose a bet in this household. Dollars are disregarded, but a nagging reminder is always present that I owe Mr. C. his reward for winning the bet. And because Mr. C. is the wonderful man that he is, he never even mentions, much less demands his reward. Which is good, because in our relationship I would start laughing at any kind of a demand, walk out of the room, and come back in to discuss the matter in an adult fashion when he too stopped laughing.) (We are, after all, adults!)

Anyway, I decided that since Mr. C. is a devout lover of pain au chocolat, which is basically a chocolate filled croissant, I would work up a recipe for a chocolate topped cream cheese Danish as his reward for winning the bet. And the recipe you find below is the result. (And for those of you who know me, working up a new recipe is always a win. So, in this case, our bet, won or lost was in reality a win/win situation.) But enough about our delightful life and on to this recipe.

The basics for this recipe come from my recipe for Individual Jam Filled Cream Cheese Danish Pastries on this site. I just left off the jam part and added a ganache topping. So, if you too are into pastry and chocolate, I recommend you give this recipe a try.

But be warned, this is not a quick pastry to prepare. It’s easy to make, but it does take some time. Most of it simply waiting for the dough to rise. But you still need significant time to dedicate to the whole process. But truly, it is worth the time and effort. And as a special treat, or reward for a bet, there is nothing finer.

Well, that’s it for today. Mr. C. has a gig in the dining room of the Bellwether Hotel this evening. And I am fortunate enough to be joining Karen, the bass player Tom’s wife, for a lovely evening of fabulous conversation, fine dining, and not incidentally, great music. Life just does not get any better. I am one truly lucky lady.

May you too be lucky in love, friendship, and a life filled with fabulous music.

And as always, peace and love to all.  

Pastry Dough:

1 c. lukewarm whole milk

2 tsp. active dried yeast 

⅓ c. granulated sugar

2 T. sour cream

4 egg yolks

¼ tsp. kosher salt

3 oz. (¾ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3½ – 4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

vegetable oil 

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the lukewarm milk, yeast, and sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Add the sour cream, egg yolks, salt, butter, and about 3 cups of flour. Using your dough hook, mix/knead the dough for 6-8 minutes or until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and feels slightly tacky to the touch. (You will probably need more flour. And there will still be a bit of dough that wants to stick to the bottom of the bowl when it’s time to stop the machine.)

Pour a bit of veggie oil over the dough, and using your hands and a stiff spatula, roll the dough into a ball. Make sure the entire ball of dough is lightly oiled. (This helps keep the dough from cracking and drying as it rises.)   

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 70-90 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Meanwhile, prepare the cream cheese filling. Once the dough is doubled, punch it down and divide it into 14-16 equal sized pieces.

Shape each piece of dough into a ball by tucking the ends underneath until you get a smooth surface on top. Set the balls on large parchment paper lined baking sheets evenly spaced. Make sure the pastries are at least 3-inches apart.  Let rest for 10 minutes, then dip the bottom of a glass into the middle of each pastry to form an indentation that goes almost to the bottom of the ball.

Using a medium-small sized ice cream scoop, fill each pastry indentation with the cream cheese filling. Smooth out the filling and place in a warm place to allow the pastries to almost double in size, about 45 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 19-22 minutes, or until the outside is golden brown. The internal temperature of the pastry should be at least 190-degrees.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. When cool, top each Danish with the ganache topping. Then Store in an airtight container on your counter for up to a day. Then move to the refrigerator.

When ready to serve, warm on high for 10 seconds in your microwave. You can also freeze the pastries for up to a month. To thaw, pop them in the oven straight from the freezer for about 5 minutes at 350-degrees.

Cream Cheese Filling:

2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, room temp.

1 c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Set aside until needed.

Ganache Topping:

1½ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips 

6T. (¾ stick) unsalted butter chopped into small cubes

½ c. whole milk 

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the chocolate chips and butter.

In a liquid measuring cup, heat the milk in your microwave for 1 – 2 minutes, or until the milk begins to bubble.

Pour the hot milk over the chocolate chips and butter (do not stir yet!). Allow to sit for about 3 minutes, then use a whisk to stir until smooth and creamy. (It may take a minute or two to come together; it often looks separated at first.)

Allow to cool for about 30 minutes before topping the Danishes. You will probably have extra ganache. Lucky you!