Danish feels like fancy comfort food to me. Beautiful puff pastry filled with an assortment of delicious fillings that you can enjoy in your pj’s with your morning coffee. What could be better? There are so many version of danish too. You can make single serving sized danishes or a great big danish, make them square shaped, round, rectangular or even heart shaped and you can fill them with virtually anything sweet and delicious.
In addition to the many versions of danish, there are many ways to make danish too. You can make puff pastry from scratch and use this to make your danish. You can make a croissant like dough and bake up a beautiful braided pastry or you can do a little quicker version.
Today, we are doing the quicker version by using Wewalka’s fabulous puff pastry sheets and a no-bake cream cheese filling.
Once you whip up a quick batch of berry compote, you are just minutes away from slipping your danish into the oven and then 20 minutes later, you will be enjoying warm, fresh baked berries and cream cheese danish.
Let’s get this started…
The first step is to make the berry compote. If you want to skip this step, you can use pie filling instead of the berry compote. Although pie filling works, the berry compote is so delicious that it is definitely worth the effort.
If you are interested in reading step-by-step instructions on making this berry compote, check out my berry compote recipe. The short version is to combine 3 heaping cups of fresh fruit (I use 3/4 cup of strawberries, 3/4 cup of blackberries, 3/4 cup of raspberries and 3/4 cup of blueberries), 1 tablespoon of lemon zest,1/2 cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of cranberry juice (if you don’t have cranberry juice, grape or apple juice works great too) in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring this mixture to a simmer.
In a small dish, whisk 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cranberry juice until smooth and add this to the simmering berry mixture. Stir until the cornstarch is fully incorporated and the sugar is fully dissolved and then remove the pan from the heat. Transfer the berry compote into a separate bowl and allow it to cool.
This recipe will leave you with some berry compote leftovers and I suggest spooning some over an english muffin or toast for tomorrow mornings breakfast and then over some vanilla ice cream for tomorrow evenings dessert. You’re welcome.
In addition to the berry compote, you will need some puff pastry, 8 ounces of cream cheese at room temperature, 3 tablespoons of confectioners sugar, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of turbinado sugar.
Unroll the puff pastry and cut it into your chosen shapes. If you want round danish, you can use a 3 inch round cookie cutter or it you want squares or rectangular shaped danish, cut them out using a sharp knife.
Place the cut pieces onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Use a sharp knife to score a boarder about 3/4 of an inch inside the edge and then poke the inside area with a fork. This will create a boarder that will puff up nicely and also prevent the center from puffing beneath the filling.
Now the pastry is cut out and scored, brush the outer boarder with a whisked egg. This will help the boarder become a beautiful golden brown… plus, it will help our turbinado sugar to stick on the boarder and look really pretty…
Next, combine 8 ounces of softened cream cheese with 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons of confectioners sugar in a small bowl. Stir until everything is fully combined and smooth and then divide this cream cheese filling between your pieces of prepared puff pastry.
Smooth the cream cheese filling inside the boarder edge (as in the photo above) and then sprinkle a bit of turbinado over the boarder.
Bake the pastry in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes or until the edges have puffed up and are golden brown.
Transfer the baked pastry onto a cooling rack for 10 minutes before adding the berry compote….
The last step is to dust these beautiful danishes with some confectioners sugar and then taste your delicious creations…
Take a look at the layers of golden flakiness developed in the boarder of this danish. The egg wash gets credit for that beautiful golden color and the turbinado glistens. The cream cheese filling is rich and flavorful with just the right amount of sweetness and that berry compote is the perfect compliment to everything else going on here.
This danish is simple to make, bakes quickly and is 100% gorgeous. What more could you ask for out of a pastry?
Enjoy!
Berries & Cream Cheese Danish
Ingredients
Berry Compote
- 3/4 cup strawberries, halved
- 3/4 cup blackberries
- 3/4 cup blueberries
- 3/4 cup raspberries
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons cranberry juice
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons confectioners sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Danish
- 13 ounces puff pastry
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon course sugar (such as turbinado)
- confectioners sugar (optional garnish)
Instructions
Berry Compote
- Combine 3 cups of fresh fruit, 1 tablespoon of lemon zest, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of cranberry juice in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat
- Combine 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with the remaining 1 tablespoon of cranberry juice and whisk until smooth
- Once the berry mixture is simmering and the sugar has dissolved, stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook for another 30 seconds
- Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the berry compote into a glass bowl to cool
Cream Cheese Filling
- Combine 8 ounces of softened cream cheese with 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons of confectioners sugar in a small bowl
- Stir until fully incorporated and smooth
Danish
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees
- Unroll the sheet of chilled puff pastry
- Cut the puff pastry into your desired shape (for example, use a 3 inch cookie cutter to form round danishes or cut squares or rectangles out of the sheet with a sharp knife)
- Transfer the cut puff pastry pieces onto a parchment lined baking sheet
- Using a sharp knife, score a line 3/4" of an inch inside the outer edge forming a 3/4" boarder around each piece (see photos above)
- Poke the inner portion of the puff pastry with a fork (see photos above)
- Whisk the egg until smooth and brush the boarder of each piece with the whisked egg
- Spread a bit of the cream cheese filling over the interior portion of each piece of puff pastry
- Sprinkle the exterior edge of each piece with turbinado sugar
- Bake on a center rack at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until the edges are puffed and golden brown
- Once finished, transfer the pastry onto a cooling rack
- Cool for 10 minutes and then top with berry compote
- Dust with confectioners sugar and serve warm or at room temperature
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator
