Puff pastry in the shape of a large German pretzel, filled with vanilla pudding, baked and then glazed - these puddingbrezel come together quickly and easily!
In a sauce pot whisk the sugar and cornstarch together.
While whisking, pour the milk and heavy cream into the sauce pot and whisk until fully combined.
Add in the egg yolks and whisk until fully combined.
Place the pot over medium heat and whisk slowly, but continuously until it thickens. The lines left by the whisk should stay for a few seconds.
Once thickened, remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the softened butter and vanilla extract.
Pour the pudding into a shallow bowl or dish and lay a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface.
Leave to cool until it comes to room temperature, then place in the fridge for 1-2 hours until it has set.
Puddingbrezel
Defrost the puff pastry and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Preheat the oven to 375 F and arrange two racks so that they divide the oven into thirds.
Slightly roll out the two sheets of puff pastry to smooth out the creases and make it thin enough so it is flexible enough to be twisted.
Cut the pastry into 2" strips.
Cut each strip in half lengthwise, leaving at least 1/2" at the end of each 2" strip uncut so that both halves of the strip are still connected.
Holding onto the ends of the strip, in each hand, twist in opposite directions so that the strip of puff pastry is fully twisted into a coil with a hollow center.
Lay the twisted puff pastry into a horseshoe shape in front of you.
Hold onto both ends and twist them together twice about 2" away from the ends of the strip.
Take both ends and flip them over to connect to the curved portion of the horseshoe shape.
Flip the whole brezel over so that the ends of the strip are underneath the brezel.
Place 4-5 of the brezel on each lined baking sheet.
Make the egg wash by whisking the remaining egg yolk and water together.
Brush the egg wash onto the surface of each brezel.
Spoon the chilled pudding into each of the three openings of the brezel shape.
Bake the puddingbrezel in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Rotate and swap the baking sheets after 10 minutes so they bake evenly.
Bake for an extra 5 minutes if needed to get a nice golden brown color on the puff pastry.
Once baked, leave the brezel to cool fully on the baking sheets.
While they cool, optionally make a thin glaze by whisking the powdered sugar and water or lemon juice together. The glaze should be thin and runny.
Once the brezel are cooled, brush the glaze onto the puff pastry.
Notes
These are best eaten the day they are made, however if you need to store them, do so in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.