Raspberry and Cream Cheese Danish Pastries

Make the dough. Mix the flour, sugar, yeast, salt and cardamom in a stand mixer bowl, then add the vanilla, egg, cold milk, water and softened butter. Knead with the dough hook for 4-5 minutes until the dough is smooth and soft. Keeping the milk and water cold stops the dough warming up, which matters once the butter needs to stay firm for lamination.

First chill. Pat the dough into a rectangle about 2cm thick, wrap in cling film and chill for 2 hours, or overnight. This firms the dough right through, so it won't soften and melt the butter block during the first roll.

Prepare the butter block. Beat the cold butter between two sheets of baking paper with the rolling pin, then shape it into a neat 15 x 15cm square. Chill for 20 minutes until it feels firm but still bends without cracking - the texture needed for clean lamination.

Encase the butter. Roll the chilled dough into a 30 x 15cm rectangle, lay the butter square over one half, fold the other half over and pinch the edges to seal. Sealing it in now keeps the butter as a distinct layer, rather than squeezing out as you roll.

First and second turns. Roll the dough out to 45 x 20cm and fold it in thirds like a letter, then wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Repeat the roll-and-fold twice more, for three single turns in total, chilling between each one and for longer if the butter starts to soften or smear. These folds build the alternating dough and butter layers that will puff apart in the oven.

Final rest. Chill the laminated dough for 1 hour after the last fold so it firms up completely before shaping. A properly rested dough rolls out cleanly, without the layers dragging or tearing.

Make the filling. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, lemon zest and vanilla together until smooth and thick. This tangy filling sets as it bakes, giving a rich, slightly firm centre rather than a runny one.

Shape the coils. Roll the dough into a 36 x 30cm rectangle about 5mm thick and cut it into 12 strips, each 2.5 x 30cm. Twist each strip several times, coil it loosely into a 9cm round, tuck the end underneath, then space the coils out well on the lined trays.

Prove. Cover the coils loosely and leave them somewhere warm, around 24-26°C, for 1-1½ hours, until they look puffy and feel wobbly when the tray is nudged. Keeping the room no hotter than this protects the butter layers - anything warmer and the butter melts into the dough instead of staying separate.

Fill the wells. Press a deep 5cm well into the centre of each coil with the back of a floured spoon, brush the twisted rims with egg wash, then spoon about 1½ tablespoons of filling into each well. The egg wash on the rims is what turns glossy and deep golden as it bakes.

Bake. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) and bake for 10 minutes, then press 3 raspberries into the filling of each pastry and bake for a further 6-10 minutes. They're ready when the pastry is deep golden and crisp at the edges, the filling is set and just firm at the edge, and a thermometer reads at least 71°C in the centre of the filling and about 90°C in the pastry itself.

Cool and set. Leave the pastries on the trays for 10 minutes, then move them to a wire rack for at least 20 minutes so the filling finishes setting. Cutting in too soon leaves the centre soft and slumped rather than sliced cleanly.