Strawberry Cream Cheese Danish
This Strawberry Cream Cheese Danish is entirely made from scratch and tastes as if it came from a fancy European bakery. The flaky dough, which is easier to make than you would think, can be topped with endless different fillings — a perfect baking project for overnight guests or special breakfast or brunch.
Isn’t a sweet Danish a delicious pastry to eat for breakfast? I love sweet treats on weekends for the day’s first meal. This Strawberry Cream Cheese Danish isn’t a quick breakfast to whip up, though. But don’t let this discourage you; the result is so worth your time.
And, it isn’t a difficult pastry. The actual hands-on time is minimal; it’s all about waiting. You roll, fold and wait, and you roll, fold and wait again and again. Most of the hard work is done once you have a beautiful laminated yeast dough.
You can tackle this recipe all in one day or split it into a two-day project. Simply leave the laminated dough, well covered in plastic foil, in the refrigerator overnight and do the shaping, filling, and baking the next day.
The strawberry and the cream cheese filling both come together in no time. Once the fillings are ready, you need to roll out the dough, cut it into squares, fold the squares, fill them with cream cheese and strawberry filling, brush with egg wash and bake. It’s that easy 🙂
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Can you freeze Danish?
You sure can! It works exceptionally well when they are uncooked. You can make it up and freeze it for one to two months. If you like to make them for a Sunday brunch but aren’t interested in getting up in the middle of the night, freezing is the way to go.
When ready to bake them, take them out of the freezer and onto a lined baking sheet (I love these silicone mats). Let thaw for about 30 minutes before placing them in the preheated oven. Bake at 375°F (190°C) until golden brown. Since they will still be a little frozen in the middle, adding some extra minutes to the baking time will be necessary.
E Guete (Bon appétit)!! Don’t forget to share some pictures with me and tell me how you liked this Strawberry Cream Cheese Danish. It would make my day if you tag @mirjamskitchenyodel on Instagram, share on Facebook or pin on Pinterest.
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Strawberry Cream Cheese Danish
Ingredients
Dough
- 230 g Butter
- 600 g All-purpose flour
- 7 g Instant dry yeast
- 40 g Granulated sugar
- 12 g Salt
- 280 ml Whole milk
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 Egg for egg wash
Strawberry Filling
- 200 g Strawberries fresh, diced
- 100 g Granulated sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
- 3/4 tbsp Arrowroot powder or Cornstarch
Cream cheese Filling
- 230 g Cream cheese
- 80 g Granulated sugar
- 2 tsp Lemon juice
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Icing (optional)
- 150 g Powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp Heavy cream
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Roll/spread the softened butter into an 8×6 inch (15×20 cm) rectangle on a piece of parchment paper.
- Cover it with another piece of parchment paper and place it in the refrigerator for about half-hour or until it’s starting to firm up.
- Meanwhile, in a stand mixer or a big mixing bowl, combine the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
- Then add the egg, milk, and vanilla extract and knead until it becomes a smooth dough.
- Roll out the dough into a 9×13 inch (22x32cm) rectangle with a rolling pin.
- Take the previously spread-out butter out of the refrigerator, place it on one half of the dough and fold the other dough half over the butter to cover it completely. Tuck in the edges, so the butter doesn’t get pressed out of the dough when rolling it with the rolling pin.
- Laminating Step 1*: Carefully roll the dough into a 9×13 inch (22x32cm) rectangle again. Next, fold the dough into thirds by folding the top short side one-third over and then take the bottom third of the dough and fold it onto the top already folded side.
- Cover the dough with plastic foil and place it in the refrigerator for at least half an hour before rolling out and folding again. That time in the fridge helps the gluten relax and the butter firm up again, making the rolling out easier.
- Repeat Step 1* two more times, and let the dough rest between each folding step for at least 30 minutes.
- Cut the dough in half and wrap them individually in plastic foil, and place them in the refrigerator until chilled completely. For this recipe, I only used one-half of the dough. Unless you have to feed a big crowd, you can freeze the other half and use it another time.
Strawberry Filling:
- Wash and cube the strawberries, and place them in a medium-size pan.
- Add sugar, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and arrowroot powder (or cornstarch) and mix until well combined.
- Heat over low heat, stirring frequently, until strawberry sauce has thickened, then remove from heat and let cool.
Cream Cheese Filling:
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer until smooth, about two minutes.
- Add sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract, and beat until well incorporated.
Assembling the Danish:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F or 190°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Take the chilled dough out of the refrigerator. Roll the dough about 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin. Use light pressure not to break the carefully laminated layers.
- Loosen the dough after every few rolls by carefully lifting it a little from the work surface with both hands. This helps the dough to relax and not to shrink when cutting.
- Dust lightly with flour if it starts sticking.
- Once the dough has the desired thickness, loosen it once more, then cut it into 12 squares. I made mine relatively small (4x4inch, 10x10cm). Feel free to make yours bigger; you will, obviously, get fewer squares that way.
- Place the squares onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Crack an egg and whisk it to use as an egg wash. Brush some on the center of the dough square and fold each corner of the square to the center.
- Then add about a tablespoon of cream cheese filling in the center and top it with the same amount of strawberry filling.
- Brush the dough sides with egg wash and let them rest for about 30 minutes.
- Put them in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Icing (optional):
- Combine the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and lemon juice and mix until smooth. Add more heavy cream if needed for desired consistency.
- Drizzle it over the still warm danish. Serve warm or at room temperature, and enjoy!
