Turn your kitchen into a five-star bakery with an amazingly flakey & sweet Raspberry Cheese Danish! They are simple to make and a total treat!
Raspberry Cheese Danishes are the perfect combination of sweet, tangy, and creamy on the inside and deliciously flakey on the outside! These danish are a cinch to make, and all you need is cream cheese, raspberry jam, powdered sugar, an egg, and puff pastry for a family treat everyone will love!
Fancy Secret
Absolutely everything looks fancy when it’s made with puff pastry, am I right? The flakey, buttery sheets look like they took some serious baking skills to create so I am incredibly thankful that they are sold in the grocery store for me to use and not have to make from scratch! Whipping up the cream cheese filling is quick, as is spreading the lovely raspberry jam so in under an hour I can treat myself and the whole family to these beautiful danishes that they think took hours to make!
Other Recipes to Serve with Raspberry Cheese Danish
- Are you serving these danish during brunch? Be sure to also mix up the perfect brunch drink, Raspberry Bellini’s!
- Serving up easy raspberry breakfasts is one of my favorite things so be sure to try Peach Raspberry Slow Cooker French Toast– the yummy smell alone will get everyone out of bed!
Ingredients
Puff Pastry: You will need a package of frozen puff pastry, or 8 ounces, which is typically found in the frozen food section, by the pie crusts and other desserts.
Pantry items: Raspberry jam is needed but you can also use a cherry, strawberry, or blueberry jam instead. Also, seedless jam is just fine to use. You will also need powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
Refrigerated items: You will need room temperature cream cheese and an egg.
Produce: Grab a lemon to zest.
Glaze: To make the glaze you will need powdered sugar and water.
How to Make Raspberry Cheese Danish
STEP ONE: Preheat your oven to 360 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract together, until smooth.
STEP TWO: On a baking sheet, lay out the puff pastry and cut it into 8 rectangles. Brush each square with a little bit of raspberry jam and then top each square with 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture and spread it evenly over the pastry. Place an equal amount of the jam on each piece of pastry and lightly spread it.
STEP THREE: For each pastry square, bring the opposite corners together and pinch them shut. In a small bowl, whisk an egg, and then brush the outside of each pastry with the egg wash.
STEP FOUR: Bake the danishes for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool completely before drizzling with glaze.
Tips for Success
- Adding a thin layer of raspberry jam before adding the cream cheese mixture will help prevent the puff pastry from getting a little soggy, so it’s a good idea!
- Feel free to use your favorite jam, there’s no need to stick to raspberry if it’s not your jam! Seeds and chunks of fruit are also ok to use in these danishes.
- These danish are simply amazing the day they are made but can be stored for up to 2 days after you make them.
- While you can’t freeze them after baking them, you can assemble the danishes to the point of shaping them, but don’t put on the egg wash. Instead, put the danishes in the freezer and once they are frozen you can put them in freezer bags for better storage. When you’re ready to make the danishes, simply pull them out of the freezer, put the egg wash on the outsides, and bake until golden brown. This will take a little longer since they are frozen so keep an eye on them near the end of the cooking time.
What does a danish taste like?
Eating danish is like having dessert for breakfast, but it’s not overly sweet! The outside is so flakey, and croissant-like, while the filling is the most comforting mix of sweet, tangy cream cheese and sweet-tart raspberry jam. Think of some of your favorite things to eat, like croissants, cheesecake, and jelly doughnuts, roll them all into one pastry and you’ve got yourself a danish!
What makes a pastry a danish?
When making danish, a yeast dough or puff pastry is used, with fruit or fruit and cream topping. The pastry is either left open fully or partially closed, which makes it different from other pastries like doughnuts or croissants. There is also a difference between the yeast dough and the puff pastry. When yeast dough is used, the danish is softer and more rich, while the puff pastry makes for a flakey danish.
More decadent breakfast bites
- Peach Cream Danish
- Chocolate Almond Danish
- Lemon Cream Cheese Danish
- Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls
- Blueberry Almond Turnovers
*This post was originally posted on 02/23/2014.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 8 ounces frozen puff pastry thawed (1 sheet)
- ¾ cup raspberry jam
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 360 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest until smooth. Set aside.
- Lay out the sheet of puff pastry on the prepared baking sheet. Cut the dough into 8 rectangular pieces.
- Brush each piece of pastry with a thin layer of raspberry jam. (This help keeps the pastry from getting too soft from the cream cheese.) Spread 1 tablespoon of sweetened cream cheese over each pastry piece. Then divide the remaining jam evenly between the pieces and spread it out over the cream cheese.
- Take opposite corners of one pastry piece and firmly pinch them together in the middle of the danish so they'll stay together while baking. Repeat with the remaining pastry.
- Beat the egg in a small bowl. Brush the egg wash over the outsides of each danish.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes o until golden brown and baked through.
- Remove the danishes from the oven and let cool completely.
- If you'd like to add some glaze on top of the danishes: Add the powdered sugar to a mixing bowl and 2 tablespoons of water. Add 1 teaspoon of water at a time, whisking as you go until the glaze reaches the desired consistency.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled danishes and enjoy!
Marci says
Did not see an egg listed in the ingredients.
Elizabeth says
I was wondering if you could use fresh raspberries instead of canned pie filling ?
Aubrey Cota says
When using fresh you are running the risk of having a high water/moisture content. If that is something you are willing to account for then yes you can use fresh but the pie filling allows for things to set and the filling won’t be so runny.
Jen Yager says
Instead of raspberry pie filling can i use homemade raspberry jam?
Aubrey Cota says
Absolutely!
lisaq says
I make it with purchased Crescent rolls………. yum……. roll out & seal as best you can One pkge..
put on filling….. place triangles of other pkge on top…… optional.. pour 1/4 c melted butter over ..
bake.. yum..
Jim Cutler says
These are delicious! I made them this weekend and I’ll definately be making them again. My daughter says I should try them with blueberry pie filling, so maybe I’ll try that. Thanks for sharing!
Theresa Bartlow says
That looks good
Maggie Blackwell says
Is there a suitable substitution for raspberry pie filling? Raspberries are one of the very few fruits I truly dislike. I was thinking maybe cherry, strawberry, or blueberry? Otherwise… YUM!
Aubrey says
You should be safe with any pie filling. Feel free to experiment. I think it’ll turn out for you. 🙂