Danish pastries (spandauer)

Name: Danish pastries (spandauer)
Prep time: 1 h 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 6 h 25 min
Ingredients: 500 g all-purpose flour; 200 ml milk; 1 egg; 50 g sugar; 8 g salt; 1 instant yeast; 50 g unsalted butter, softened; ½ tsp ground cardamom (optional); 250 g unsalted butter; 250 ml milk; 3 egg yolks; 50 g sugar; 20 g cornstarch; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 100 g jam; 1 egg; 100 g icing sugar; 30 g almonds, flaked and toasted (optional)

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

Wienerbrød

Flaky, buttery laminated yeast pastries folded into pinwheels around vanilla custard and raspberry jam, then finished with a drizzle of icing and toasted almonds.

Danish pastries (spandauer) is a Danish pastry from Denmark, ready in about 6 hours 25 minutes and made with all-purpose flour and unsalted butter. It serves 16 and is rated advanced to cook.

Start cooking

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Prep: 1 h 30 min
Cook: 25 min
Rest: 4 h 30 min
Total: 6 h 25 min
Serves: 16
Level: Advanced
Calories: 358

About this dish

Origin: Denmark · Well documentedDanes call them wienerbrød ('Viennese bread') because the laminated technique arrived via Austrian bakers in the 19th century.Also popular in Sweden, Norway, United Kingdom, United StatesMore food from Denmark
Dish: Breakfast · Snack · Pastries
Cooking method: Oven-baked, Fermented
Taste: buttery, sweet, fruity, creamy
Diet: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo)
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Pork-free · Beef-free
Without the optional extras: No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Festive & celebration · Make-ahead
Cook more with: All-purpose flour · Unsalted butter · Milk · Egg · Sugar · Instant yeast
Techniques: Baking · Fermentation

Allergens

Contains: Milkfrom milk, unsalted butter
Contains: Eggsfrom egg, egg yolk
Contains, can be adapted: Tree nutsfrom almonds
Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

358 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 100 g · recipe makes 16

Where the energy comes from

Protein 6%
Carbohydrate 49%
Fat 45%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g
Energy	358 kcal	358 kcal
Protein	5.8 g	5.8 g
Carbohydrate	43.6 g	43.6 g
Net carbohydrate	42.5 g	42.5 g
Sugars	17 g	17 g
Added sugars	—	—
Fibre	1 g	1 g
Fat	17.9 g	17.9 g
Saturated fat	10.6 g	10.6 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	101 mg	101 mg
Sodium	222 mg	222 mg
Salt equivalent	0.6 g	0.6 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 98 mg
Calcium: 51 mg
Iron: 1.7 mg
Magnesium: 12 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 164 µg
Vitamin C: 1 mg
Vitamin D: 0.7 µg
Vitamin B12: 0.3 µg
Folate (DFE): 111 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
Optional ingredients are not included: ground cardamom, almonds.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

Danish dough is softer and richer than croissant dough, so chill it well before each roll.

Common mistakes

Overfilling with custard, which spills and burns on the tray.

Serve with

With strong coffee for breakfast or an afternoon break.

Food safety

Custard-filled pastries should be refrigerated if not eaten within a few hours.

Storage

Best on the day; refrigerate leftovers (custard) and eat within 2 days.

Reheating

Warm in a 170 °C oven for 5 minutes.

Variations

Tebirkes (Denmark): Poppy-seed-topped Danish pastry filled with a butter-sugar-marzipan remonce.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 29 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Compare with

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

The body of the dish

Custard (crème pâtissière)

Milk250 ml · 258 g
Egg yolk3 piece · 51 g
Sugar50 g
Cornstarch20 g
Vanilla extract1 tsp · 4.3 g

Used in steps 1, 2

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

Mix and knead · about 1 h 30 min
Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).
First rise (bulk) · about 1 h
About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.
Rest · about 2 h
Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.
Final proof · about 1 h 15 min
Poke test: the dent springs back slowly and only partly. Springs back fast = needs longer; doesn't spring back = over-proofed, bake now.
Bake · about 16 min at 200 °C
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
Cool · about 20 min
Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.
Start to finish: about 6 h 21 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
Ingredient	Role	Weight	Baker’s %
All-purpose flour	Flour	500 g	100%
Milk	Other liquid	206 g	41.2%
Egg	Egg	50 g	10%
Sugar	Sugar	50 g	10%
Unsalted butter	Fat	50 g	10%
Salt	Salt	8 g	1.6%
Instant yeast	Yeast	7 g	1.4%

Total flour: 500 g
Hydration: —
With milk, eggs…: 43.3%
Wholegrain: 0%

Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

Salt 1.6% — normal for bread.
Sugar 10% — an enriched, sweet dough; rises more slowly and browns quickly.
Fat 10% — a rich, tender dough.

If something goes wrong

Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Dough didn't rise
Likely causes
- Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
- Kitchen too cold
- Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
- Starter not active
What to do
- Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
- Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
- Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
- Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
Over-proofed (sour smell, collapses when scored)
Likely causes
- Too warm
- Too much yeast
- Left too long
What to do
- Knock back, reshape and proof again briefly (yeast doughs)
- Use less yeast or a cooler proof
- Set a timer and check early with the poke test
Pastry didn't puff or layers leaked butter
Likely causes
- Butter too warm and melted into the dough
- Layers sealed when cutting
- Oven not hot enough
What to do
- Chill between folds; keep everything cold
- Cut straight down with a sharp knife — don't drag
- Bake hot (200–220 °C) so the water in the butter steams the layers apart

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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Danish pastries (spandauer)

Ingredients

Dough

Butter block

Custard (crème pâtissière)

Filling

Finish

Equipment

Method

About this dish

Allergens

Nutrition

Good to know