This post contains affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Warm, flaky, and packed with cream cheese, this Cheese Danish is sure to make mornings worth waking up to! Perfect with a steaming cup of coffee, they are the perfect grab โn go breakfast food!
Don’t want all the extras in a recipe post? We provide a skip to recipe button in the top left corner, as well as a clickable table of contents, just below, to help make this page easier to navigate.
At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!
Table of contents
Sweet Cream Cheese Danish
Softened cream cheese is blended together with just the right amount of sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice to make a sweet cream cheese filling thatโs placed in the center of a flaky puff pastry. You can easily top your sweet cream cheese danish with berries or jam for even more flavor, color and texture.
You donโt have to be a baker to make delicious sweet treats like cheese danishes. Using sheets of puff pastry, half the work is already done for you. So, this recipe is quick, easy, and comes out perfect no matter what your skill.
How To Make Cheese Danishes
This delicious cream cheese danish recipe is made with simple ingredients, and is quick and easy to whip up. Hereโs what you need to get started:
- Cream cheese– Before starting the recipe, you will need to let the cream cheese sit at room temperature for about 30-minutes to soften.
- Sugar– When measuring your sugar, you will need 2 teaspoons and ? cup for different parts of the recipe. Donโt measure it altogether.
- Eggs– For this recipe, you will need an egg yolk for the cream cheese filling, and an egg for the egg wash. Make sure they are both at room temperature before using.
- Vanilla– Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Lemon juice and zest– You will need both fresh squeezed lemon juice and some lemon zest.
- Puff pastry sheets– Before making your cheese danishes, allow the puffy pastries to thaw on the counter so they are easier to mold and cut.
Once youโve gathered and measured all your ingredients, you can get your danishes filled and in the oven in 10-minutes. Follow the steps below!
- First, preheat the oven to 400?. Then, line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Add cream cheese, ? cup of sugar, an egg yolk, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice to a medium sized bowl. Mix with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
- Next, place a piece of puff pastry on a clean work surface. Use a rolling pin to smooth out the pastry so there are no creases. Then, cut the pastry into 4ths.
- Place each quarter of the puff pastry on the prepared baking sheet. Fold the corners in so you can fill the center.
- Place 11/2 tablespoons of your cream cheese filling into the center of each puff pastry.
- Whisk together an egg and a splash of water to make the egg wash. Then, brush each pastry with the egg wash.
- Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over each pastry.
- Finally, bake your cheese danishes for 16-18 minutes. Then, place them on a wire rack to cool for 10-minutes.
- Serve and Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks to Perfect Your Cheese Danish and FAQs:
- Remove danish from the oven when the puff pastry is a golden brown.
- The sugar on top is optional. I like it because it gives the danishes a light crunch and more sweetness.
- Add fresh berries on top before baking, or mix them into the filling to make flavored danishes. You could also add jam or preserves on top.
FAQs
Once youโve blended the ingredients for the cream cheese filling, and added it to your puff pastry, youโll bake the cheese danish until itโs a golden brown color. This requires them to be baked at 400?.
It will take you about 10-minutes to gather your ingredients and make the filling. Then, the danishes will take an additional 18-minutes to cook. Afterwards, youโll want them to cool for 10-minutes. So, this recipe will take a total of 38-minutes.ย
If you have any leftover cheese danishes, youโll want to cover the pastries with foil or plastic wrap and place them in a Ziploc bag. Then, store your pastries in the refrigerator for up to 7-days.ย
The lemon juice helps to counteract the richness of the cream cheese, so you will taste lemon in the filling. If you donโt want any trace of the lemon flavor, leave out the lemon juice and the lemon zest.ย
More Sweet Breakfast Treats
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but many of us run out the door without eating in the morning. Thatโs why I like other quick, grab โn go breakfast ideas like this recipe. If you liked my cheese danish recipe, youโll love my Easy Apple Fritter Bread, 10-Minute Baked Banana Bread Doughnut Holes, or my Lemon Berry Mini Bundt Cakes.
For more delicious breakfast recipes, click here.
Cheese Danish Recipe
If you love this easy recipe please click the stars below to give it a five star rating and leave a comment! Pease also help me share on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
Follow on Instagram
Only have 30 minutes to get dinner on the table? Sign up for my 30 minute dinner plans direct to your inbox!
Find and shop my favorite products in my Amazon storefront here!
Cheese Danish
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- โ cup + 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ยฝ teaspoon lemon juice, fresh squeezed
- 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
- Splash of water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ยฐF. Line two sheet trays with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized bowl mix together the cream cheese, ? cup sugar, egg yolk, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice until smooth with an electric hand mixer, set aside.
- On a clean work surface place a piece of puff pastry, use a rolling pin to smooth out the pastry so there are no creases. Cut the pastry into 4ths. Place them on one of the prepared baking sheets. Take the corners and fold them in. Place 1 & ยฝ tablespoons of the filling in the center. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling.
- Whisk together the egg and splash of water. Brush the exposed pastry with the egg wash. Sprinkle the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar over each pastry.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes until puffed the pastry is golden brown. Place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. The danishes will deflate while cooling.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you for your information