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.
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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.
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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
Tools You Will Need
- Electric Hand Mixer (or a stand mixer)
- Rimmed Baking Sheet lined with Parchment
- Rolling Pin and a Pizza Cutter
- Small Cookie Scoop to portion cheese filling
- Pastry Brush for applying egg wash
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.
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
Ingredients
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:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
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
Filed Under
Q: What is YOUR favorite way to use Puff Pastry? I would love to hear about your creative ideas in a comment below!
I saw a few comments inquiring about a “mini” version and no updates if they tried it, so here’s mine!
I did everything the same, but 1/2 tbsp of cream per 1 strip of puff pastry. In my oven it took almost 21 minutes on 400 🤷🏻♀️ I also made extra drizzle 😋
I have made these before and they are delicious. I’m wondering if I do everything except the egg glaze and baking the night before? Then put them in the refrigerator overnight? Then glaze and bake the next day?
Hi Kathleen! I haven’t tried making these ahead and refrigerating them. I think it could work. You may just need to add a couple more mins to the baking time. Let us know how they turn out if you experiment. You may want to wait and add the fruit on before baking as well.
Hi Natasha ,
I want to make them a day ahead and was wondering if could keep them at room temperature..is it possible?
Thank you so much ☺️
Hi Nuriana, 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.
Looks wonderful and I love the idea of a
lemon glaze! I will be making these soon!
Thank you, Natasha 🌷
Would like to see a video of how you twist the puffy strips.
Hi Gloria! This recipe has a video, it’s attached in the section above. You can also click on the video icon at that top of the page next to the “jump to recipe” button.
Thanks Natasha. Mine did not turn out as pretty as yours, but still very yummy.
You’re very welcome Carol. I’m so glad you liked the recipe.
Made these from oven to yummy! So easy and yummy!
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!
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.
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.
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.