Cherry Cream Cheese Danish Pastry for busy mornings

Happy October Everyone!

The first post of 2020 October will be a super easy-baked sweet goodie. This cherry cream cheese danish pastry is super easy and quick to make. But they were so delicious they didn’t last long in our household. The combination of cherry jam, puff pastry, and cream cheese makes this danish pastry irresistible.

Why do I love baking?

Baking reminds me of family. Some of my best memories involve the smell of baked goods coming out from the kitchen when visiting my grandmother.

I find comfort and deep satisfaction in baking. When my mind is full sometimes I turn to baking to slow down a little bit and be mindful.

It’s a creative outlet and my love language. It is very satisfying, taking ingredients that don’t amount to much on their own and combining them in such a way that you can create something extraordinary. And sharing your passion is possibly the best part—making another person happy by giving them a homemade goodie is a delightful feeling.

Credit goes to Julie from Lovely Little kitchen for the original recipe.

Ingredients:

1 puff pastry sheet (pâte feuilletée)
115 g cream cheese (I bought one tub of Philadelphia cream cheese which is 150 g) (1/2 cup)
50 g of sugar (1/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of whatever jam you desire (I used cherry.)
1 egg and tablespoon water for egg wash

You can drizzle icing on top…I am not a fan, so I skipped it.

Icing:

120 g powdered sugar (1 cup)
1-2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 200 °C (400 Fahrenheit).
If you use a frozen puff pastry sheet: Lay it on a clean work surface and allow it to thaw for 10 minutes.
For the cream cheese filling: Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar into the cream cheese. Add the vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Set aside.
Unfold the puff pastry and cut it into equal parts.
With a sharp knife, score an inner rectangle. You don’t want to cut all the way through. This helps the puff pastry rise around the filling, and creates a little wall so the filling doesn’t escape.
Place about 1 teaspoon of the filling onto the center of each puff pastry. Top with a few small dots of the jam, and swirl it around with a toothpick. Don’t worry about being precise with your swirling because you really won’t be able to tell after baking.
In a small bowl, beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush only the edges with a pastry brush. This adds a pretty sheen to the finished pastry. Sprinkle the edges with granulated sugar if desired.
Bake for 13-14 minutes. They will puff up, and the edges should be golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
If you wish to drizzle it with icing, allow them to cool completely before you do it.

This amount made about 18 little danishes.

1 cherry cream cheese danish provides about 89 calories, 5 grams of fat, 7 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of protein. (Without icing!)

For other sweet recipers click here.