Cream Cheese Strawberry Danish with Puff Pastry
Hosting a brunch party soon? Make sure a batch (or two) of these cream cheese strawberry danish pastries is on the menu! With puff pastry, vanilla, and lemony glaze, they're flaky, jammy, and beyond delicious. Serve them with a hot cup of coffee and find brunch bliss.
Ingredients
Strawberry Danishes
- 1 pound strawberries (454 grams)
- 1 egg white
- 1.1 pounds puff pastry, thawed (490 grams/2 sheets)
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
- 2 Tablespoons apricot preserves (40 grams)
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounces full fat cream cheese (227 grams)
- 1/4 cup sugar (50 grams)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
Lemon Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (60 grams)
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (or milk)
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- Cutting board (or pastry board)
- Paring knife
- Hand mixer, (or rubber spatula)
- Parchment paper
- Pastry brush
Instructions
Prep the ingredients
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Core and thinly slice the strawberries. Then, in a small bowl, whisk the egg white with 1/2 Tablespoon of water to make egg wash. Set aside.
Cut the puff pastry
- Next, unroll the thawed puff pastry on a lightly-floured cutting board or pastry board. Using a rolling pin, roll the puff pastry a few times width-wise and length-wise just to seal the seams together.
- Cut the puff pastry in half length-wise with a pizza cutter or a sharp paring knife. Then, cut each strip of puff pastry into 3 equal rectangles width-wise.
- Using a paring knife, score a 1/4-inch border around the outside of the puff pastry rectangles. Don't cut all the way through! The scoring will allow the edges of the puff pastry to rise and create a border to keep the filling in place.
- Transfer the puff pastry rectangles to the prepared sheet pans, spacing them at least 2-inches apart. (They will puff up quite a bit.) Place the puff pastry rectangles in the fridge.
Mix the filling
- Add the cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla bean paste or extract to a large mixing bowl. Use a rubber spatula or hand mixer to beat the filling until it's well-mixed and there are no lumps of cream cheese.
Assemble the danishes
- Remove the puff pastry rectangles from the refrigerator. Use a pastry brush to brush the edges of the puff pastry rectangles with egg wash. This will help the danishes bake up shiny and golden-brown!
- Dollop about 1 Tablespoon of the cream cheese filling in the center of each puff pastry rectangle. Use a rubber spatula or butter knife to evenly spread the filling, making sure not to go past the borders.
- Top the centers of the danishes with a few slices of strawberries, letting some of the cream cheese filling peek through. Depending on the size of the strawberries, you will have anywhere between 4-6 slices. Don't over-crowd the danishes, or the strawberries will be too heavy for the delicate pastry.
- Bake the danishes on the middle rack of the oven for 18-20 minutes, until the filling is set and the edges of the puff pastry are golden-brown. Meanwhile, microwave the apricot preserves in a small bowl until it's runny.
- Right after you remove the danishes from the oven, use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the berries with the apricot preserves. Let the danishes cool on the sheet pan for 5-10 minutes. Then, transfer the pastries to a wire rack to cool until they're warm.
Add the glaze
- While the danishes cool, combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice together in a small bowl. The glaze should be the consistency of glue. If it's too thick, add a bit more lemon juice 1 teaspoon at a time. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar 1 Tablespoon at a time.
- Using the tines of a fork, drizzle the lemon glaze over the warm danishes. Let the glaze harden for about 10-15 minutes. Enjoy the danishes right away with coffee or tea!
Notes
To make sure the recipe comes out amazing every time, I always recommend using a scale to weigh the ingredients instead of measuring cups. A kitchen scale is the best way to accurately measure the ingredients!
For smaller, bite-sized pastries, feel free to cut the puff pastry into smaller rectangles or squares. Just reduce the amount of filling to about 1/2 Tablespoon so it doesn't overflow.
Frozen puff pastry needs to thaw before you roll it out. I usually pop it in the fridge overnight or let it warm up for 30-60 minutes on the counter. Just don't let it warm up too much or the pastry will come out dense instead of flaky.
For equal-sized pastries, use a ruler to measure the puff pastry into 6 rectangles. I also like to use the ruler as a guide for cutting straight lines!
Always keep the puff pastry as cold as possible! In pastry school, they taught us that cold fat is essential for those flaky layers. If the pastry starts to warm up too much or sticks to the surface of the cutting board, pop it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, until cold and firm.
Use room temperature cream cheese. Not only is room temp cream cheese so much easier to mix, but it also keeps lumps from forming!
Don't over-fill the pastries or the filling with overflow in the oven. You want to leave about 1/4-1/2 inch of space between the filling and the edges of the pastry.
If your strawberries are particularly juicy, pat them dry before placing them on top of the pastry. You don't want them to leak too many juices or they will make the puff pastry soggy.
Avoid over-baking the pastries or the cream cheese filling will crack and become dense. The pastries are done when the filling is set (not liquid-y), the berries are jammy, and the pastry is golden-brown.
Serving: 1danish, Calories: 256kcal, Carbohydrates: 25.2g, Protein: 3.9g, Fat: 16.1g, Saturated Fat: 6.5g, Cholesterol: 36mg, Sodium: 122mg, Potassium: 98mg, Fiber: 1.1g, Sugar: 12.4g, Calcium: 26mg, Iron: 1mg
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