Learn how to make a bakery-worthy cherry cheese danish recipe with just nine ingredients and 30 minutes. Flaky pastry dough features a cream cheese and cherry pie filling and is topped with a sweet sugar glaze for a treat that will leave you drooling.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe:
From chocolate cherry dump cake to cherry pie, and cherry chocolate pavlova, I love all things cherry flavored. However, one of my favorite ways to enjoy this summer fruit is in a freshly baked cherry danish.
Commonly served as a breakfast pastry alongside a cup of coffee or tea, they also double as a dessert thanks to their sweet flavor.
- Quick – Created with nine simple ingredients, this cherry cheese danish recipe comes together in just 30 minutes.
- Easy – Pre-made puff pastry makes this recipe a breeze to assemble.
- Texture – The pastry is crisp and flaky with a soft center and a sweet glaze that melts in your mouth.
This recipe yields 18 cherry danishes with each batch, meaning it’s perfect for bake sales, brunches, or a hungry crowd.
Key Ingredient Notes:
- Cream cheese – This forms the center of the filling, helping it hold its shape and infusing a sweet, tangy flavor. Full-fat, room temperature, brick-style cream cheese works best.
- Puff pastry – Find this in the frozen dessert section in most grocery stores.
- Cherry pie filling – Use store-bought filling, or make your own.
- Powdered sugar – Use this only for the sugar glaze. Regular granulated sugar will not dissolve to create the drizzly consistency we need for the topping.
Tip
Feel free to use any fruity other pie filling you like best. For example, strawberry or blueberry pie filling would work great with this recipe.
How to make a homemade cherry danish:
1. Make the cheese danishes:
- Beat the cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg, vanilla, and salt in a large mixing bowl with a paddle attachment until smooth.
- Whisk the remaining egg and water together in a separate small bowl.
- Cut each puff pastry into 9 squares, and fold each square in half to form a triangle. Cut ½-inch from the edges along all the open sides, leaving the top corner attached. Otherwise, your danishes will fall apart!
- Brush the egg wash over the puff pastry squares, coating them completely. Fold the cut corners onto the opposite side, and brush more egg wash over their edges.
- Arrange the pastries on prepared baking sheets.
- Divide the cream cheese mixture evenly, dolloping it into the center of each pastry square. You’ll use about 2 tablespoons of the mixture per cherry danish.
- Bake until the puff pastry is nice and golden, and set the danishes aside to cool slightly.
2. Prepare the glaze:
- Combine the powdered sugar and milk (or water, if preferred) until smooth.
3. Assemble the cherry cheese danish:
- Top the cooled danishes with the cherry pie filling. I use about 1.5 tablespoons per danish. Then, drizzle as much or as little glaze as you’d like on top, and enjoy!
Tips for Success:
- Heat the oven properly. Make sure to allow plenty of time for your oven to get good and hot. This ensures the puff pastry cooks quickly without burning or becoming tough.
- Thaw the puff pastry. Place your frozen puff pastry in the fridge the night before you plan to bake to give it enough time to thaw and become pliable.
- Keep the dough cold. Puff pastry is infused with butter which creates flaky, golden layers. As a result, it’s important to keep it cold before baking so the butter doesn’t melt too early.
- Don’t overfill the pastries. It can be tempting to stuff as much filling as possible into your pastries, but this will only cause them to overflow and potentially burn as they bake! Include just enough cream cheese and cherry pie filling to cover the center.
- I recommend using a stand mixer to combine the cream cheese mixture quickly and evenly. A hand mixer can be used, too. It just requires a little more work!
- Avoid overbaking. This cherry danish recipe cooks quickly. So, be sure to keep a close eye on your pastries, and remove them from the oven as soon as they puff up and turn light golden brown in color. Don’t worry if they look a little underdone. They’ll continue to bake a bit as they cool and set.
Make-Ahead Tips:
- The cream cheese filling can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for 1 month.
- Thaw it in the fridge overnight.
- Allow it to come to room temperature before filling the pastries.
Storing Tips:
- This cherry danish recipe is best enjoyed right away while the pastries are still warm.
- Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 day or in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- To reheat, place leftovers in an air fryer or oven at 400 degrees for a few minutes to allow the puff pastry to crisp back up.
FAQs:
Can you freeze this recipe?
I do not recommend freezing this cherry danish recipe, because it’s not likely to thaw well.
Should cherry cheese danishes be refrigerated?
If you aren’t planning on eating your pastries within the first day, I recommend transferring them to the fridge to prevent the cream cheese from going bad.
What is a Danish breakfast pastry called?
Danish pastries go by many different names depending on their fillings. However, the most common name for them is Vienna bread or wienerbrød in Danish.
More Cherry Recipes:
Cherry Cheese Danish
Make this bakery-worthy cherry danish recipe with nine ingredients and 30 minutes for a crowd-pleasing breakfast or dessert!
Ingredients
- 8 oz (225 g) cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs divided
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 2 sheets puff pastry thawed
- 1 ½ cups (360 g) cherry pie filling Note 1
For powdered sugar glaze, optional:
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
- 3 teaspoons (15 g) milk or water
Equipment
- 2 baking sheets
- parchment paper
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 2 small bowls
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 pastry brush
Instructions
To make cheese danishes:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg, vanilla and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds.
- In a small bowl, whisk the remaining egg with ½ tablespoon of water to make an egg wash.
- Cut each puff pastry into 9 squares. Fold each square in half to form a triangle and cut ½ -inch from the edges along the open sides, leaving the top corner attached.
- Brush on the egg wash all over the puff pastry squares. And fold over the cut corners onto the opposite side. Brush on more egg wash over the edges.
- Arrange the pastries on the prepared baking sheets.
- Divide the cream cheese mixture into the center of each pastry square, about 2 tablespoons per danish.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until nice and golden. Cool slightly.
To make the glaze:
- In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and milk (or water) until smooth.
To assemble the danishes:
- Top the danishes with about 1.5 tablespoons of cherry pie filling, drizzle the glaze on top and enjoy!
Tips & Notes
Yields: 18 danishes
Note 1: The cherry pie filling can be replaced with any other fruit pie filling like strawberry pie filling or blueberry pie filling.
Storing Tips:
– The cream cheese filling can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
– This cherry danish recipe is best enjoyed fresh while still warm.
– Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for 1 day or in the fridge for 3-5 days.
– To reheat, warm the pastries in an air fryer or oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for a few minutes just until warm.
– The cream cheese filling can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
– This cherry danish recipe is best enjoyed fresh while still warm.
– Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for 1 day or in the fridge for 3-5 days.
– To reheat, warm the pastries in an air fryer or oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for a few minutes just until warm.
Nutrition
Servings: 1 serving
Calories: 205kcal
Carbohydrates: 20g
Protein: 3g
Fat: 13g
Sugar: 5g
Sodium: 134mg
Did you make this?Share a comment or a review below!
