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 Pinand 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.
- Apple Turnovers
- Easy Peach Tartlets
- Apple Danish Braid
- Mom’s Puff Pastry Cream Horns
- Napoleon Cake
Easy Cheese Danish Recipe
4.96 from 74 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
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 mins
Cook Time: 20 minutes mins
Total Time: 40 minutes mins
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:
- 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
329kcal Calories29g Carbs4g Protein21g Fat7g Saturated Fat50mg Cholesterol161mg Sodium64mg Potassium1g Fiber11g Sugar305IU Vitamin A1.3mg Vitamin C28mg Calcium1.2mg Iron
- Full Nutrition Label
- Nutrition Disclosure
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
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
