Strawberry Danish

Ingredients

• 1 lb (455 g) Puff Pastry, if dough is frozen allow to thaw to a workable
• 1 lb (455 g) Fresh Berries, cut into 1/2" pieces
• 1 c Pastry Cream
  
• Egg Wash (1 egg white mixed w/ 1 tbsp. water)
• Powdered Sugar (optional)
• 3/4" dowel needed for cutting strips for crossovers 

Directions

1. Keeping the puff pastry dough lightly dusted with flour, roll out to 1/8" thick,  a bit over 7" wide and how ever long you have room to roll (roll separate chunks of dough if needed, keeping the second dough in the fridge until ready to roll). Trim the edges of the dough to form straight edges.
2. Cut the dough into  approx. 4" lengths.  Fold a piece of dough around the dowel so that the 4" length runs down the dowel and the 7" width wraps around it. Make sure top flap of dough tucks in close to the dowel and is laying flat on top of the bottom section of dough.
3. Cut strips 1/4 - 1/2" wide along the length of the dough. Wider strips are easier to handle, but the strip width is mostly a visual choice. Be sure to slice all the way through the bottom layer.
4. Using the dowel, transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Lay out flat and continue slicing strips for the rest of the pastry sections.
5. Put pastry cream in a pastry bag with a 1/2" plain tip, or put pastry cream in a plastic sandwich bag and cut one corner to pipe out of. Pipe a line of pastry cream down the center, the length of each section of dough. Spread it a little to flatten the pastry cream. Place a hearty layer of berries on top of pastry cream.
6. With the right hand, bring the right strip closest to you across the berries.  With the left hand cross the left-hand strip across the first strip.  Continue this alternating left and right, making sure each strip is overlapping the previous opposite side to help lock it in. Do this down the length of each pastry and for all of the pastries.
7. With the dowel, press down a little going the length of each pastry to help seal and lock the strips together. Brush with egg wash.
8. Double pan your baking pan then bake for 35 min. or until golden.  If necessary a sheet of parchment paper can be draped over the top of the crossovers if the tops are cooking faster than the rest of pastry.
9. Allow to cool, dust with powdered sugar if desired and enjoy.