One of my absolute favourite treats to go with a cup of tea is a cinnamon swirl Danish pastry, and it has been since I was a little girl and my dad and I used to have Danish pastries as a treat in our father/daughter time.

Now, first I will be honest with you. I don’t think there is any need to spend all day making pastry when let’s face it, you can now buy perfectly good pastry in the shop so I’m all for cutting a wee corner to get those delicious treats to me sooner.

Danish pastries do tend to be made with Danish dough, but for this recipe, I’m using ready roll puff pastry and it works just as well.

Ingredients

• Plain flour, for dusting
• 1 piece of ready roll puff pastry
• 75g unsalted butter, softened
• 75g golden caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 medium free-range egg, beaten with 2 tbsp milk
• 4 tablespoons of icing sugar (and a little water to make up icing to dribble on top)

What to do

On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to a rectangle measuring about 30cm x 40cm

Beat together the butter, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, then spread over the pastry. It’s easier to beat together if the butter is soft

Then roll the rectangle from the short side to make a sausage. Chill for 10 minutes until completely firm. Then, with a serrated knife, cut into 16 x 1.5cm slices. Lay flat-side down on a baking sheet and press them slightly so they spread out a little. Chill for 20 minutes, meanwhile preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C

Brush with the egg mixture. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden

Serve warm, sprinkled with sugar and with a drizzle of icing

Danish pastries with a cup of tea are one of life’s great joys and to make things a little Christmassy… a small sprinkle of edible glitter works wonders