This homemade Cream Cheese Danish is quick, easy, and the perfect breakfast pastry (or dessert) to pair with a hot cup of coffee! It’s made with a cream cheese filling inside of puff pastry topped with a sweet and creamy vanilla icing.
Easy Homemade Cream Cheese Danish
Breakfast is definitely my favorite meal of the day. I just love to make a big breakfast first thing in the morning, even if just for my family. So, I’m alway coming up with new breakfast ideas. This Cream Cheese Danish has been one of my favorites lately. It’s delicious on its own as a quick and easy breakfast, but it’s also perfect as a side with eggs and bacon.
Who would have thought that making a homemade Danish could be so easy. But, this recipe is ready in just 15 minutes, and all you have to do is pop it in the oven and wait for it to bake. And it’s topped off with a drizzle of perfectly sweet homemade icing.
Why We Love This Cream Cheese Danish Recipe
- Great as breakfast or dessert
- Quick and easy to make
- Perfect for brunch
- Simple homemade icing recipe
- Prepped quickly in just 15 minutes
- Delicious homemade pastry
Ingredients/Shopping List
- Puff pastry sheets
- Cream cheese
- Maple syrup
- Plain yogurt
- Vanilla extract
- Lemon juice
- Salt
- Egg
- Confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar)
- Milk
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How to Make Cream Cheese Danish
There are only 6 steps to making this homemade Danish. I absolutely love this easy breakfast recipe and how quickly it can be put together!
First, beat together cream cheese, syrup, yogurt, vanilla, lemon juice, and salad until smooth.
Carefully unfold the puff pastry into four equal squares.
Pro-tip: I don’t recommend letting your puff pastry sit out at room temperature for too long. Typically the box instructions will advise 40 minutes to thaw. I prefer to let it thaw until it easily unfolds, but before it becomes too warm and soggy. If that happens to you, sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the puff pastry, or let it sit in the refrigerator for a couple of minutes.
Brush beaten egg onto the edges of each square.
Fold down each corner.
Spoon the cream cheese filling into the center of the pastry.
Bake for 20-25 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees.
To make the vanilla drizzle: Mix the confectioner’s sugar, milk, and vanilla and drizzle over the top of the cooled danish.
Pro-tip: A great way to drizzle the pastries with icing is by putting the icing into a piping bag or Ziploc bag with a small hole cut from the corner. You could also just use a spoon or fork as well.
Variations / Options / Add-ins
- MAPLE SYRUP: The maple syrup can be substituted with honey, agave, or granulated or brown sugar.
- YOGURT: For additional sweetness, feel free to use vanilla yogurt instead of plain yogurt.
- LEMON JUICE: the lemon juice can be replaced with lime juice. You can use fresh juice or juice from concentrate
- EGG: The egg acts as a binding agent for the puff pastry, and also helps to add color to each pastry.
- MILK: You can use 2% or whole milk for the icing. You can also use cream or evaporated milk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
To re-crisp them, bake in a 300° F. oven for about 10 minutes. (Note: These also taste good cold). I don’t recommend freezing your danishes.
This is a favorite breakfast dish for the family and can be customized to suit your tastes.
For a sweeter danish, sprinkling sugar (granulated or turbinado) or cinnamon sugar over the top of the egg wash adds a nice crunch to each danish. To add even more flavor to each danish, you can place a tablespoon dollop of your favorite jam or pie filling on top of the unbaked cream cheese.
Other Homemade Bakery Desserts
Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies | Chocolate Babka | Sopapilla -Cinnamon Sugar Cheesecake Bars | Cherry Bars | French Toast Muffins | Cherry Breakfast Braid
Cream Cheese Danish
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Danish:
- 1½ boxes puff pastry sheets (17.3) ounce boxes – 3 sheets total
- 1 8 ounce package cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup maple syrup or more to taste
- ⅓ cup plain yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 egg beaten until smooth
Icing:
- ½ cup confectioner’s sugar
- 2-3 tbsp milk cream or evaporated milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper or spraying it with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Thaw puff pastry by following package instructions. Don’t let sit for longer than instructed on the box (typically around 40 minutes).
- While puff pastry is thawing, prepare cream cheese filling by beating the softened cream cheese, maple syrup, yogurt, vanilla, lemon juice and salt together until smooth. Set aside.
- Once the puff pastry has thawed, carefully unfold the puff pastry and cut into 4 equal squares.
- Brush the beaten egg on to the edges of each puff pastry square and fold down each corner and egg wash the tops of the corner (each edge does not have to reach the center).
- Spoon 2 Tablespoons (I used a 2” cookie scoop for this step) of cream cheese filling into the center of the puff pastry.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly golden and puffed. Do not overbake. Put the danishes on a wire rack and let cool completely.
- Mix confectioner’s sugar, milk, and vanilla until it is a good consistency for drizzling, adding more confectioner’s sugar or milk if needed.
- Put the icing inside of a piping bag or Ziplock bag with a small hole cut from the corner, and drizzle the icing over the cooled dessert, optional. You can also use a spoon or fork for this step.
I would bake them at 400 the next time so they could brown more. Otherwise, tasty.