Imagine a sophisticated mix of chocolate ganache and soft goat cheese. Now imagine it in a Danish. Can’t? Then make this treat to see for yourself. Consider it the dessert for some evening when you’ve got a good bourbon or brandy on hand.
6 ounces dark chocolate, preferably 70% to 80% cocoa solids, chopped
5 ounces soft goat cheese
¾ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons honey
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
All-purpose flour, for dusting
One 17.3-ounce box frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
1 large egg
2 tablespoons water
1. Position the rack in the center of the oven. Heat the oven to 400°F.
2. Put the chocolate and goat cheese in a medium bowl. Heat the cream and honey in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring at first to dissolve the honey, until small bubbles fizz around the inside perimeter of the pan. Pour over the chocolate and goat cheese; whisk until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder until uniform, then cool for 15 minutes at room temperature.
3. Dust a clean, dry work surface generously with flour. Set one sheet of the pastry in the center, dust it with flour, and roll it into a 13 × 18-inch rectangle, flipping it over once to make sure it’s not stuck to the surface. (For more tips.) Transfer to a 13 × 18-inch lipped sheet pan.
4. Spread the chocolate mixture evenly across the top in a thin coating, leaving a ½-inch border around all sides. Whisk the egg and water in a small bowl until smooth. Paint the border with this wash.
5. Dust the work surface again with flour and roll out the second sheet of puff pastry into a slightly larger, 13½ × 18½-inch rectangle, using the same technique as in step 3. Transfer it on top of the filling and bottom pastry sheet. Seal the edges closed around the rectangle. Brush the remainder of the egg wash over the top.
6. Bake until puffed and golden brown, and until the pastry has shrunk back a bit from the sheet pan’s edges, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before serving warm.
TESTER NOTES
You can dramatically alter the flavor of this Danish based on the honey you use. Yes, there are sweet wildflower or clover honeys aplenty in our supermarkets. But search out other types: blueberry, orange blossom, star thistle, chestnut, even dark tree honeys like oak or pine. Just avoid any with artificial (or even “natural”) flavors in the mix.
