This buttery, flaky, vanilla-scented Cheese Danish recipe is so ridiculously delicious that Beth hasn’t stopped talking about it since I made it for her. This is one of my all-time favorite recipes because this breakfast pastry is a total breeze to put together, is ready in under a half hour, and it’s incredibly budget-friendly. PS I’m going to show you how to make this easy Cheese Danish at home for a third of what you’d pay at the fancy bakery. (Seriously. They sell them for $18 for a half dozen on Gold Belly.)
What Is Cheese Danish?
Cheese Danish is a classic Danish breakfast treat made with a flaky puff pastry dough and a lightly flavored cream cheese filling. This easy Cheese Danish is also perfect for brunch or a quick after-dinner dessert and will score all of the compliments at the potluck or work party. (Pro Tip: Whip up a quick batch of Cheese Danish when a loved one has a bad day and get ready to collect All. Of. The. Hugs.)
What You Need To Make Cheese Danish
This is one of those recipes I use all of the time, so I stockpile the ingredients because when it comes to dessert, I stay ready. PS Once you make it, you will stockpile them too. TRUST. Here’s what you’ll need to make my easy recipe for Cheese Danish:
- Puff Pastry – this buttery dough forms the base of flaky Cheese Danish. Find it in the frozen aisle section of most grocery stores. If you don’t have puff pastry, I don’t recommend making this recipe.
- Cream Cheese – forms the filling of Cheese Danish. It must be at room temperature for you to mix it easily with other ingredients. In a pinch, leave it in its airtight foil wrapper and place it in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes to raise its temperature quickly straight from the fridge. If you don’t have cream cheese, I don’t recommend making this recipe.
- Powdered Sugar – sweetens the filling and the icing. If you don’t have powdered sugar, use 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and mix it into the cream cheese until completely dissolved. You will need to skip the powdered sugar icing. Instead, thin out 2 tablespoons of your favorite jam with 1 teaspoon water and spoon over the pastry.
- Vanilla – helps to flavor and lightly scent the cream cheese filling and the icing. If you don’t have vanilla, use 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon or 1/4 teaspoon of lemon zest for the filling. You can omit the vanilla from the icing and substitute it with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.
- Egg– You will use the egg yolk to help bind and add color and a velvety texture to the filling. You will use the egg white to brush on the puff pastry to seal it and add a golden sheen.
- Milk– creates a velvety icing and helps thin it.
Tips For Making The Best Cheese Danish
- Thaw the puff pastry in the fridge for an hour or two, or it will crack when you try to cut it. Don’t thaw it at room temperature, as the butter will melt into the dough, and you won’t get the flaky finish puff pastry is known for.
- Add a teaspoon of lemon or orange zest to the filling to boost flavor.
- Use an oven thermometer to ensure the oven is at the correct temperature.
- Rotate the baking sheet, front to back, halfway through cooking to ensure even baking.
- Mix a tablespoon of melted butter into the icing to add flavor and an even more velvety finish.
- Cool the Cheese Danish before adding the icing so it doesn’t melt into the pastry. To get lines of icing instead of pools of icing, use a fork, not a spoon, to drizzle the icing.
How To Store Cheese Danish
Cool the Cheese Danish completely and then store in an airtight container with wax or parchment paper between layers and over the top surface. Store in the fridge for up to seven days or in the freezer for up to two months. Thaw in the fridge before serving or reheat in a 350°F oven, until warm, about 5 minutes.
Cheese Danish
Servings 6 danishIngredients
Cheese Danish
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened ($2.19)
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar ($0.11)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.58)
- 1 pinch salt ($0.01)
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed ($2.75)
- 1 egg, yolk and white separated ($0.09)
Icing
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar ($0.16)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract ($0.15)
- 2 Tbsp milk ($0.03)
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place your oven's rack in the center and preheat it to 400°F. Mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, egg yolk, and salt until smooth and light in texture.
- Unfold the sheet of puff pastry, dust off excess flour, and place it on the baking sheet. Cut down the seams of the folds so you have three equal-sized strips. Cut the strips into halves.
- Use a fork to perforate around the sides of each puff pastry rectangle, leaving a half-inch border. This prevents the puff pastry from rising in the middle.
- Add 2 heaping tablespoons of your cream cheese mixture to each square. Spread evenly, making sure to leave the borders clean.
- Beat the egg white until frothy. Dip a pastry brush into the beaten egg white and trace lightly along the borders. This will give the puff pastry a glossy finish and golden color.
- Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes then rotate the baking sheet, front to back. Continue to bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the borders of the puff pastry have risen and are golden brown. Use a spatula to remove the pastries from the sheet pan and cool on a rack.
- In a separate bowl, mix the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Finally, drizzle over cooled Cheese Danish and watch your loved ones gobble them down! Optional: drizzle with 2 tablespoons of strawberry jam thinned with 1 teaspoon of water.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
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How to Make Cheese Danish – Step by Step Photos
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place your oven’s rack in the center and preheat it to 400°F. Mix 8 ounces of cream cheese, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 egg yolk, and 1 pinch of salt until smooth and light in texture.
Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry, dust off excess flour, and place it on the baking sheet. Then, cut down the seams of the folds so you have three equal-sized strips. Cut the strips into halves. Do not pull your knife through the dough, as it will make it lose its shape. Just press down.
Use a fork to perforate around the sides of each puff pastry rectangle, leaving a half-inch border. This prevents the puff pastry from rising in the middle.
Add two heaping tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture to each square. Then, spread the mixture evenly, making sure to leave the borders clean.
Beat 1 egg white until frothy. Then, dip a pastry brush (in a pinch, just use your finger) into the beaten egg white and trace lightly along the borders. This will give the puff pastry a glossy finish and golden color.
Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes, then rotate the baking sheet, front to back. Continue to bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the borders of the puff pastry have risen and are golden brown. Next, use a spatula to remove the pastries from the sheet pan and cool on a rack.
Then, in a separate bowl, mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk. Finally, drizzle over cooled Cheese Danish.
It’s optional, but I love to drizzle the Cheese Danish with 2 tablespoons of strawberry jam thinned with 1 teaspoon of water. Now all you have left to do is chow down and collect compliments!
You can easily double this recipe to use both sheets of puff pastry that come in the package (especially if you’re serving the Cheese Danish for brunch because they will go fast!). You can also use the second sheet of puff pastry to make our Easy Quiche Lorraine or Spinach Pie!
Amazing, And very helpful instructions. I am an 11 year old and it was super easy for me to do! Thank you so much!
This was a good treat! We had leftover pastry and cream cheese from Christmas. We did the strawberry jam drizzle. One bit did taste a bit eggy so I had to hold one star back.
Mine tasted eggy too!
Delicious, but I would halve the cream cheese mix. It was way too much. Also put significantly less milk in the icing (maybe a half tbsp), it was watery as written.
I added a little lemon to the filling, like the other commenters suggested, and it turned out very nice. My only edit is that next time I might try making twelve, using both pieces of puff pastry in the package, instead of six. I didn’t measure as I scooped the filling, just divided it evenly because I didn’t want to waste any, and some were a little overloaded.
I loved this recipe! Easy to follow and turned out so yummy :)
One thing missing is a little lemon juice in the cream cheese. Disregard the salt….not needed. Other then that great recipe. Bon Appétit!
I really hoped this recipe would taste like the bakery but for some reason the cream cheese filling seemed too much like an egg breakfast filling. Do you think omitting the egg yolk would help with that or possibly not putting as much egg yolk in by maybe scrambling a little into the cream cheese mixture? I’ll have to experiment myself if a response isn’t received. Glad this recipe is up!
You can try using half of an egg yolk if the flavor was too strong for you. But one egg yolk to 8 oz. of cream cheese is already a fairly small ratio, so I’m a little perplexed about how it seemed so eggy for you! Did you use an entire block of cream cheese?
Made this tonight with the lemon zest in the cream cheese mixture and I thinly sliced a couple of peaches and laid slices over the danishes before turning them for the final ten minutes of cooking. When they came out, I sprinkled a little coarse sugar on the top. Absolutely phenomenal.
Could you make these into little squares, as a finger-type dessert for a tea party?
Absolutely!
Yum!! In the Czech Republic, this is made with farmers cheese mixed with lemon rind, vanilla and sugar all mixed together. It is lovely as well!
Love these recipes!! Thank you for all the inspiration!
Can you add fruit filling on top of the cream cheese before baking?
Yes, as long as it isn’t juicy fruit. I sometimes top with blue berries. But if it’s juicy fruit, it’s best to cook down the fruit first so it doesn’t water down the pastry.
I’m in the UK and I can’t really find what would be a block of cream cheese, we just have the type in a tub which is softer to begin with. I’ve tried making these but the cream cheese mixture is SO runny due to that. Any ideas on how to make it so that you don’t have cream cheese soup?
Hi Allison,
Unfortunately, I don’t have experience with that kind of cream cheese and don’t have any guidance for you. The best I can do is have you strain your cheese overnight. You place the cheese wrapped tightly in a cheesecloth inside of a mesh strainer then set the whole thing in a bowl. Finally weight the cheese down with a heavy can or something else that fits inside of the strainer and directly on top of the cheese.
Cream cheese was the result of trying to make neufchatel. Do you have access to that? I think it would work as a substitute. I have also had success in other recipes with mascarpone is place of cream cheese.
Love it , easy to make and fast to cook and serve. Thanks
Thanks Michelle!
These sound easy and I love cheese Danish so I’ll have to try these. Have you frozen them after baking? Since it would only be me eating them, I would want to freeze them for other mornings.
Absolutely! Check out the paragraph on storage for more deets. xoxo
Hi Monti, I think there is a mistake in your storing info:
Cool the Cheese Danish completely in an airtight container…..I think cool and THEN put in an airtight container…..
Thanks Judy!
Do you think light cream cheese will work? My roommate accidentally bought some and we’re looking for a way to use it up. Thanks
I haven’t tested it- but I recommend mixing in a few tablespoons more of butter and experimenting.
xoxo