Rugelach with Walnuts and Cinnamon

Make the filling. Stir the apricot jam until smooth, then set aside the cinnamon sugar, chopped walnuts and raisins separately, ready to scatter over the dough. Having everything prepared before you start rolling makes the assembly step quick, which matters once the dough is out of the fridge and starting to soften. The jam acts as the glue that holds the nuts and raisins in place.

Make the dough. Beat or pulse the cream cheese, butter, sugar and salt to a smooth mixture, then add the flour and mix only until a soft dough holds together. There's no water in this dough at all — the moisture in the cream cheese is what makes the pastry so tender and flaky once baked. Stop mixing as soon as the dough comes together, since overworking it develops too much gluten.

Chill the dough. Divide the dough into four, shape each piece into a flat rectangle about 2 cm thick, wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours, up to 2 days. This long chill firms the butter and cream cheese back up, which is essential for rolling the dough thinly without it tearing or sticking. Dough that hasn't chilled long enough will feel greasy and hard to work with.

Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) for at least 20 minutes before you start baking, with a shelf in the middle. Cover two large metal trays with baking paper as the oven comes up to heat. Starting the bake in a fully heated oven helps the pastry set and puff before the filling has a chance to leak out.

Roll and fill. On a lightly floured surface, roll one rectangle of dough into a 28 x 18 cm rectangle, about 3 mm thick, with a long side nearest you. If it cracks as you roll, let it rest for 5 minutes before carrying on. Spread a quarter of the jam over the dough, leaving a 1 cm strip clear along the far long edge, then scatter over a quarter of the cinnamon sugar, walnuts and raisins and press lightly so they stick. The clear strip is what seals the log closed.

Roll into a log and slice. Starting from the long side nearest you, roll the dough up tightly like a Swiss roll and finish with the seam underneath. Trim a thin slice off each end (bake the offcuts too), then cut the log into 12 slices about 2 cm wide. Set the slices seam-side down, 3 cm apart, on the lined trays. Rolling tightly and keeping the seam underneath stops the spirals opening up in the oven.

Chill the shaped pastries. Chill the shaped rugelach for 15-20 minutes before baking. This short second chill firms the butter in the dough one more time, so the layers hold their shape and don't collapse flat as soon as they hit the oven's heat. Use this time to roll, fill and slice the remaining three pieces of dough.

Glaze and bake. Brush the chilled pastries with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar, then bake for 20-25 minutes, until deep golden brown all over. Deep colour matters here: pastries that come out pale can taste raw and floury rather than properly baked through. The egg wash is what gives the spirals their shiny, golden-brown finish.

Cool quickly. Leave the rugelach on the tray for just 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack. Moving them promptly stops any filling that's leaked out from setting hard and gluing the pastries to the tray. Makes 48 rugelach.