I have been baking in preparation for Easter Sunday.

Yesterday, I made Cheese Danish and Cherry Cheese Danish..

It was a first for me..I usually leave anything with yeast to my DH, but I wanted to try...

Here's the dough, waiting to be filled..

Here they are ready to be baked...only put 2 on a large cookie sheet, the recipe makes 4..

The one I made with cherries opened up...I guess I didn't pinch it tight enough??

It looked like the kind Entemann's sells..

Here's the recipe for the Cheese Danish..

Cream Cheese Danish Coffee Cake

From ... Home Cooking Magazine

1 c sour cream

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c butter

1 t. salt

2 packages dry yeast (4 1/2 t.)

1/2 c warm water

2 eggs beaten

4 c all purpose flour

Over low heat in a saucepan, heat butter, sour cream , sugar and salt until

warm and sugar is dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

In large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water.

Mix sour cream mixture with yeast, and add beaten eggs and flour. You will have a

very soft dough.

Put in fridge over night to rise.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead 6 or 7 times. Divide

dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece out to 12 X 8 inches. It is sticky, flour your pin too.

Spread 1/4 of filling on to each piece and roll jellyroll style from long

side. Pinch seams and ends to seal. Place seam side down on buttered baking

sheet, I used silpats.. and cut X's in top. (About 6 X's) see pic

Danish should be slightly flat, and about 3 1/2 to 4 inches wide and about 12 inches long.

Cover and let rise until about

double in size -approximately 1 hour

Bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes or

until golden. Let cool on wire racks,

Filling

2 packages 8 oz. cream cheese

3/4 c sugar

1 egg beaten

1 t. vanilla extract

1/8 t. salt

Filling: To make filling beat together cream cheese with sugar, add egg and

vanilla extract and salt

Glaze

2 1/2 c confectioners sugar

1/4 c milk

1 t. vanilla extract

sliced almonds.

Combine the first 3 ingredients for

glaze and drizzle over loaves with toasted almonds .

My notes, I brushed with egg wash before baking..

Put 2 loaves on each large pan..

I put the almonds on before baking.

It is a shame this magazine ceased publication, but as I mentioned yesterday, their recipe box is still on line till May if you want to copy any recipes.

For those of you who know Annt, this is the same recipe she uses, so you know it is good!

Tablescape Thursday...

I won't be having Easter here, so I decided to do a little table for just the 2 of us tonight...I used my lavender toile dishes from Neiman Marcus...but really from my friend Marigene...I love them, and I am wondering if someone who does TT has them...so far haven't seen them in lavender..

Lavender under white battenburg..

Plum napkins April Cornell

Alabaster napkin ring, WmSonoma ..I added a porcelain egg from Villeroy Boch

Plum stems, TJMaxx

Water glasses..so thin..very old, they were my mom's, they have a rippled shape..

Silver chargers, Pottery Barn.

The lavender toile pitcher was a gift.

The glass eggcups are WmSonoma.

The eggs are wood and hand painted by a friend. I incorporated them into a cut glass bowl from Mikassa and flowers for the centerpiece. I turned another cut glass bowl over to give the centerpiece a little height, and put those battery operated votives inside..which you can't see...:(

I used a white napkin here with a sprig of lavender...just to see it with white..