Do you like danish? You like pie? The answer is yes.

If you are in the mood for some danish pastries that are not in pie form, head over HERE.

Sometimes I’m lazy, and don’t want to fiddle with folding and crimping. This pie doesn’t have a lattice, or intricate edge. Another great project for casual baking.

Part of the pie requires store bought danish dough, partial use of the microwave and blender. Modern problems require modern solutions.

What happens in this pie, is that you get the nice flaky danish dough crust, filled with a silky creamy filling swirled with jammy cardamom apricots. You get the joy of eating a slice pie with the joy of munching on a danish without having to worry about keeping pie crusts cold or shaping pastries.

Microwave Apricot Jam

This isn’t a jam, jam, more like a fake out to jam. It won’t last in the fridge or pantry like a traditional jam but it will work as a quick, easy and delicious topping for pancakes, waffles, toast, cake, danish or to swirl into baked custards like this danish pie or cheesecake.

All you need are ripe or slightly under ripe apricots, sugar, a few cardamom pods, vanilla and a microwavable bowl.

1. Split and seed 5 apricots.
2. Add 2 tablespoons sugar (more if you like or if your apricots are not especially sweet.)
3. Toss in 3 whole cardamom pods and 1 tablespoon vanilla.
4. Mix well and place into the microwave for 2 minutes. Remove. Stir and microwave for an additional 3 minutes.

Once removed and stirred again, the apricots should be very soft and no longer hold their shape after being pressed. They should be floating a thick syrupy apricot sauce. Easy? Easy!

Remove all 3 cardamom pods from the jam. Although cardamom is delicious, biting down on a pod can be overpowering in flavor. Additionally leaving the pods in the jam to bake will flavor the custard and you want a layer of flavors from the floral, sweet and tart apricots and the creamy light danish custard. If you do forget, it won’t “ruin” anything but you’ll miss out on the delicate flavors in this pie.

The Danish Filling

The Pie Shell

Store bought, thawed danish dough is rolled out large enough to line a 9 inch spring form pan half way up and baked for 15 minutes at 425 F.

Baking Note: Can you make this is in a cake pan? YES! The only note is that there will be custard and danish dough left over. A spring form cake pan is deeper and holds more volume. What can you do with the left over danish filling? Bake it in ramekins and enjoy as is, almost like a crème brûlée. We’re not in the business of wasting food here and to be entirely honest it’s a great way to try your handwork without slicing into the pie or waiting for it cool entirely.

Left over danish dough can be rolled out, dusted with almond flour, powdered sugar and twist off for a quick bake at 425 Fahrenheit until golden brown.

Before filling the pan with the danish custard:

1. Return oven temperature to 325 Fahrenheit
2. Grease or spray all of the exposed parts of the pan.

Fill with the custard, finish off the top with dots of the apricot jam swirled throughout the danish custard base.

Return to the oven and bake for 1 hour, until the center slightly jiggles and has a pleasant gloss.

Pie must cool at room temperature for 1 hour before cooling completely refrigerated for 6 hours or ideally overnight.