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Easy Cheese Danish Recipe (VIDEO)

This Cheese Danish recipe is so easy to make. The cream cheese filling tastes like Cheesecake and the fresh berries and lemon glaze add a bright pop of flavor just like on our Blueberry Muffins.

From the flaky buttery crust to the creamy center, everything about these Cheese Danishes is good and they always disappear fast.

Cheese Danishes with berries

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You’ll love this method of forming the puff pastry. It looks fancy but it’s really very simple and you will be a pro in no time. This is a perfect party dessert or after breakfast treat with a mug of coffee.

Watch Cheese Danish Video

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Stacked berry cheese danishes glazed with lemon glaze and showing the inside of the cheese danish puff pastry recipe

Ingredients for Cheese Danish Recipe

  • Puff Pastry – Using a store-bought (thawed) puff pastry, is the easiest way to make these. You can of course use homemade dough if you prefer.
  • Berries – For this cheese danish, you will need about 1 1/2 cups of fresh berries or 12 pieces of each berry. If you prefer to make them all blueberry danish or all strawberry danish, that would work as well.
  • Cream Cheese – forms the creamy center of the pastry
  • Sugar – sweetens the filling
  • Egg yolk – gives the filling a smooth and rich texture
  • Vanilla extract – either homemade vanilla or storebought work great
  • Lemon zest – adds subtle lemon flavor to the filling
puff pastry recipe ingredients

Tools You Will Need

Baked cream cheese danish cooling to room temperature without lemon glaze

Tips for Making Cheese Danishes

  • Thaw puff pastry according to the package instructions. If you try to speed thaw, it will become sticky and difficult to roll out.
  • Let the pastries cool completely to room temperature once they are out of the oven. Be patient at the end! The cream cheese filling is very much like cheesecake, so it needs a little time to set properly before enjoying.
  • Cool before glazing – once the pastries are at room temperature, apply the glaze. If you glaze a hot pastry, the glaze will melt and run off the pastry.
  • Be generous with the glaze. We use every last drop and then lick the spoon.
Up close cheese danish with lemon glaze and berries showing texture of puff pastry dessert recipe

More Puff Pastry Desserts

The possibilities are endless with puff pastry; braided, filled, folded, rolled, and even made into a cake! These are our favorite easy puff pastry dessert recipes you will make over and over.

Easy Cheese Danish Recipe

4.97 from 77 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Cheese danishes with lemon glaze
This Cream Cheese Danish recipe is so easy to make! The cheese danish filling tastes just like cheesecake and the fresh berries and lemon glaze add a bright pop of flavor. 
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 12 cheese danishes

Cheese Danish Ingredients:

  • 1 lb puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
  • 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg yolk, room temperature
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp lemon zest from 1 lemon
  • 1 1/2 cups berries, (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries)

Egg Wash Ingredients:

  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tbsp water

Ingredients for Lemon Glaze:

Instructions

How to Make Cream Cheese Danish:

  • Thaw puff pastry according to package instructions. Preheat Oven to 400˚F with a rack in the center of the oven. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat liner. 
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine 8 oz of softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 egg yolk, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tsp lemon zest. Beat together on medium/high speed until creamy and smooth.
  • Unfold the first puff pastry sheet onto a clean work surface and roll lightly into a 10″x10″ square. Use a pizza cutter to slice each sheet into 12 even strips.
  • Combine 2 of the strips by tightly pinching two ends together then twist the strand from top to bottom. Press one end onto your work surface and loop the twisted strand around it, working from the center out. Pinch the end to attach it to the pastry.  Flatten the center slightly with fingertips and poke the center a few times with a fork to prevent the center from puffing up too much.
  • Place 1 Tbsp of the filling into the center and press the berries halfway into the cream. Repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 for the remaining strands and second sheet of puff pastry. Transfer filled pastries to lined baking sheet, keeping at least 1/2″ space between them. 

How to Make Eggwash & Bake:

  • In a small bowl, combine 1 egg and 1 Tbsp water. Beat together thoroughly with a fork.
  • Brush outside edges with egg wash and bake in the center of the oven at 400˚F for 18 -20 min. Let cool completely to room temperature so the cream cheese filling sets properly then drizzle with lemon glaze.

Nutrition Per Serving

329kcal Calories29g Carbs4g Protein21g Fat7g Saturated Fat50mg Cholesterol161mg Sodium64mg Potassium1g Fiber11g Sugar305IU Vitamin A1.3mg Vitamin C28mg Calcium1.2mg Iron
Nutrition Facts
Easy Cheese Danish Recipe
Amount per Serving
Calories
329
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
21
g
32
%
Saturated Fat
 
7
g
44
%
Cholesterol
 
50
mg
17
%
Sodium
 
161
mg
7
%
Potassium
 
64
mg
2
%
Carbohydrates
 
29
g
10
%
Fiber
 
1
g
4
%
Sugar
 
11
g
12
%
Protein
 
4
g
8
%
Vitamin A
 
305
IU
6
%
Vitamin C
 
1.3
mg
2
%
Calcium
 
28
mg
3
%
Iron
 
1.2
mg
7
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, French
Keyword: cream cheese danish
Skill Level: Easy
Cost to Make: $$
Calories: 329
Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook
A woman standing in a kitchen holding a Cheese Berry Danish

Q: What is YOUR favorite way to use Puff Pastry? I would love to hear about your creative ideas in a comment below!

Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the creator behind Natasha's Kitchen (established in 2009), and I share family-friendly, authentic recipes. I am a New York Times Best-Selling cookbook author and a trusted video personality in the culinary world. My husband, Vadim, and I run this blog together, ensuring every recipe we share is thoroughly tested and approved. Our mission is to provide you with delicious, reliable recipes you can count on. Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy you are here.

Read more posts by Natasha

4.97 from 77 votes (36 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  • Carol
    October 15, 2024

    Thanks Natasha. Mine did not turn out as pretty as yours, but still very yummy.

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      October 15, 2024

      You’re very welcome Carol. I’m so glad you liked the recipe.

      Reply

  • Faith
    August 13, 2024

    Made these from oven to yummy! So easy and yummy!

    Reply

  • Diane Kohler
    July 24, 2024

    Looking forward to making these! Do they have to be refrigerated? How long do they stay fresh? I’d like to make them the day before. So glad I found you!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      July 25, 2024

      Hi Diane! These don’t last very long in our household but we have stored them in the refrigerator for 1-2 days covered with plastic or in an air tight container.

      Reply

  • Ida
    July 3, 2024

    Hi there’s only 2 in my family and was wondering if I wanted to freeze them should I freeze them before they are baked or after they are baked. Thank you.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      July 3, 2024

      Hi Ida, These don’t last very long in our household but we have stored them in the reference for 1-2 days covered with plastic or in an air tight container. I honestly have not tried freezing these danishes but I think it’s worth experimenting. Wrap in plastic wrap then place in freezer bags before placing into the freezer.

      Reply

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