Cheese Danish
Laminated pastry with a stabilised cream cheese filling that stays put rather than weeping.
Makes 8 danishes · Prep 35 min · Rise 60 min · Bake 20 min
Ingredients
Pastry
- 1 lb Rough puff pastry or Danish dough
Filling
- 8 oz Cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup Granulated sugar
- 1 Egg yolk
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 tsp Lemon zest
Finish
- 1 Egg, beaten — for the egg wash
Glaze
- 1/2 cup Icing (powdered) sugar
- 1 tbsp Milk
Instructions
Filling
- Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, then beat in the egg yolk, cornstarch, vanilla, and lemon zest if using until completely uniform. (Tip: The starch and egg are what stop this filling from weeping once baked — don't leave either out for a 'simpler' version.)
Shape
- Roll the pastry into a rectangle and cut into 8 squares, about 4 inches each.
- Fold each corner of every square in toward the centre, then press a well into the middle with your fingers or the back of a spoon. Spoon in about 2 tablespoons of filling.
Rise
- Transfer to a lined sheet, cover loosely, and let puff slightly somewhere cool.
Bake
- Brush the exposed pastry with egg wash and bake at 200°C (400°F) until deeply golden.
Glaze
- If using, whisk the icing sugar and milk and drizzle over the cooled danishes.
Tips
- Filling still weeped a little: Some minor liquid can appear even with the stabilisers if the danish is baked well past done — pull them as soon as the pastry is deeply golden rather than baking to the filling's colour, which won't change much.
- Add fruit without adding water: A spoonful of thick jam dotted on top of the cheese filling before baking works well; fresh fruit tends to release water into the filling and undoes the stabilising you just did.