This homemade cheese Danish recipe is so easy to make! The Danishes are made with 8 simple ingredients and only take about 30 minutes to make.
Cream cheese Danishes are a classic breakfast treat! This homemade cream cheese Danish recipe makes whipping up a batch at home so quick and easy.
You’ll need just 8 ingredients and about 30 minutes to make them, which makes them perfect for weekend breakfast or brunch or holiday breakfasts. Give this cream cheese Danish recipe a try, and you may never buy one from the store again!
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Cream cheese: I recommend using full-fat cream cheese or 1/3-less fat cream cheese for the filling. I’ve never had good luck with baking nonfat cream cheese.
- Salt: If you’d like to use table salt, reduce the salt to 1/8 teaspoon.
- Milk: Any milk, whole to skim, will work. Nondairy milk, like almond milk, will also work.
How to make homemade cheese danishes
Here you’ll find step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including instructions, is given below.
Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Filling
Step 2: In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, salt, and egg yolk until whipped and fully combined. Set aside.
Danish
Step 3: Place 1 sheet of puff pastry on each baking sheet.
Step 4: Cut along the folds, so you have 3 long strips each.
Step 5: Cut each strip in half lengthwise to create 6 rectangular pieces of dough on each baking sheet. Space each rectangle out, leaving a few inches between each one.
Step 6: Fold the corners of each rectangle into the center to form a long octagonal shape.
Step 7: Add 1 ½ tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture to the center of each piece of dough.
Step 8: Use the back of the spoon to spread it out a little bit, leaving plain dough around the edges.
Step 9: Add egg white to a small bowl, and beat with a whisk or fork until frothy.
Step 10: Brush the egg white on top of the exposed dough.
Step 11: Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry has puffed up and turned light golden brown.
Step 12: Allow pastries to cool completely before making the icing.
Icing
Step 13: To make the icing, add powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, and milk to a small bowl. Whisk to combined.
Step 14: Drizzle icing over each Danish.
Recipe Tips!
- Variations: You can add a little almond extract, about 1/4 teaspoon, in place of part of the vanilla extract in the filling. A bit of grated lemon zest also goes well in the filling.
- Toppings: Cheese Danishes are great as-is. If you’d like to add a little extra, dollop a spoonful of your favorite fruit jam on top of the cream cheese filling. You could also serve the Danishes with fresh berries, like strawberries and raspberries.
- Freezing: Cream cheese Danishes freeze well. To freeze, let the baked and uniced Danishes cool to room temperature on a wire cooling rack. Place the Danishes on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and flash freeze until frozen through. Once frozen through, place the pastries in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and then rewarm in the microwave. Once reheated, ice and enjoy.
Storage
Store any leftover Danishes in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will keep for up to 4 days when properly stored in the fridge.
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Homemade Cheese Danish
Equipment
- Mixer
Ingredients
Filling
- 8 ounce package plain cream cheese
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract divided
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg yolk and white separated
Danish
- 2 sheets puff pastry thawed
Icing
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, salt, and egg yolk until whipped and fully combined. Set aside.
- Place 1 sheet of puff pastry on each baking sheet.
- Cut along the folds, so you have 3 long strips each.
- Cut each strip in half lengthwise to create 6 rectangular pieces of dough on each baking sheet. Space each rectangle out, leaving a few inches between each one. There are pictures of these steps above the recipe.
- Fold the corners of each rectangle into the center to form a long octagonal shape.
- Add 1 ½ tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture to the center of each piece of dough.
- Use the back of the spoon to spread it out a little bit, leaving plain dough around the edges.
- Add egg white to a small bowl, and beat with a whisk or fork until frothy.
- Brush the egg white on top of the exposed dough.
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry has puffed up and turned light golden brown.
- Allow pastries to cool completely before making the icing.
- To make the icing, add powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, and milk to a small bowl.
- Whisk to combined.
- Drizzle icing over each Danish.
Notes
- Cream cheese: I recommend using full-fat cream cheese or 1/3-less fat cream cheese for the filling. I’ve never had good luck with baking nonfat cream cheese.
- Salt: If you’d like to use table salt, reduce the salt to 1/8 teaspoon.
- Milk: Any milk, whole to skim, will work. Nondairy milk, like almond milk, will also work.
- Nutritional values are estimates.Â
Nutrition
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