Sweet cream cheese and fresh fruit is nestled into a buttery, flaky puff pastry for a perfect fruit and cream cheese danish! Use your favorite fruit - raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, or peaches to create the best combination.
Why You'll Love this Recipe
Simplicity - this fruit and cheese danish breakfast pastry is so easy and simple to make, yet makes a big impact. These will be on your table in about 45 minutes, and can make a weekend breakfast feel a bit more special. It would be perfect to make for house guests, and they'll be so impressed!
Texture - biting into the fruit gives you a burst of juice, then you go into the creamy cheese, and finish with the flakiest pastry of all time. It's soft and crunchy all at the same time, and revs all of the senses!
Flavor - the tangy cream cheese paired with sweet, juicy fruit and buttery pastry is a combination made in heaven. Use your favorite fruit, or a combination of a few different fruits so you can have the best of all worlds.
My favorite is the raspberry cream cheese danish. Serve the danish alongside these strawberry almond croissant bostock or pistachio muffins!
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Ingredients
- Puff pastry. Frozen puff pastry is perfect for this recipe, which you can find frozen in the grocery store. Only one sheet is required for the recipe (makes 6), but you can easily double it to make more. Be sure to put it in the fridge overnight so it's thawed and ready to use!
- Cream cheese. Full fat cream cheese is best. I recommend Philadelphia brand, brick-style cream cheese.
- Fruit. A variety of fruit can be used in this recipe.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar is used in both the fruit and cream cheese.
- Cornstarch. This is necessary to thicken the fruit juices that release during baking. This should not be omitted.
- Vanilla.
- Egg. To egg wash the edges of the pastry. This helps with browning, and is completely optional.
- Jam. An optional step to add a bit of sheen to the tops of your fruit after baking. It's best to pair flavors (i.e. strawberry jam for strawberry cream cheese danish).
See the recipe card for full ingredients list and amounts.
Fruit Toppings for the Cream Cheese Danish
Here are some of my favorite options, but you could really do this with any soft fleshed fruit:
- Strawberry
- Raspberry
- Cherry
- Blueberry
- Blackberry
- Peach
A raspberry cream cheese danish may be my favorite, but cherry is a close second. Some in-season peaches also get me really excited. How great does a peaches and cream danish sound?!
How to Make this Recipe
One: Mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until very smooth.
Two: Slightly roll out the puff pastry until it's about ⅛" thick. Keep it in a rectangular shape. Cut into 6 even pieces.
Three: Use the tip of a paring knife and score a 1cm border in all of the rectangles. Take care not to pierce the whole way through the pastry.
Four: Add a heaping tablespoon of cream cheese into the centers of the borders. Use a spoon or spatula to smooth it to the border markings.
Five: Add the prepared fruit to a bowl(s), then mix with sugar and cornstarch.
Six: Spoon a heaping ¼ cup of fruit onto the cream cheese, keeping it inside the borders.
Hot tip! Be very gentle when mixing the fruit and adding it to the pastry so you don't break it up too much.
Seven: Brush the edges with egg wash with a small pastry brush or your finger. Bake the pastry until golden and bubbly.
Eight: Brush warmed jam over the fruit to make them glisten and add an extra pop of sweetness. Mix together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla and drizzle over the glaze (optional)
Hot tip! Take care not to let the egg wash fall over the edges of the cut pastry (or else that will seal them and prevent the flaky layers from rising).
Expert Tips
- Use a large knife to cut a very thin amount off of the edges that weren't cut. Freshly cut edges lead to the flakiest layers. Don't saw, just cut down then lift up.
- Brush off any excess flour from the pastry before adding the cream cheese.
- The fruit danish bakes best when very cold. It's best to refrigerate the pastry with cream cheese while you prepare the fruit.
- Eat the fruit danish warm. This is when they are flakiest and most flavorful.
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Substitutions & Variations
- Double the recipe to make 12 fruit and cheese danish. Using store bough puff pastry will provide you with two sheets of pastry, anyway!
- Use a heaping ¼ cup of various fruits and split up the remaining ingredients accordingly to toss the different fruits. Or, mix a few fruits you enjoy together.
- Use a cookie cutter to create any shape of pastry. Don't turn the cutter - just press down and then pull straight up. This will lead to the flakiest layers.
- Use frozen fruit by thawing completely, slicing if necessary, then toss with the sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch. For frozen fruit, use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch instead of ½ tablespoon.
Making the Danish with Rough Puff Pastry
While this recipe calls for store-bought puff pastry, which makes this recipes ultra easy, you can also try making your own rough puff pastry if you'd like to try more of a project.
Rough puff pastry is basically a cheat version of puff pastry that produces practically identical results. You can make your own rough puff pastry for the fruit and cream cheese puff pastry danish from my Rough Puff Pastry Recipe. It takes a bit of time, but only because most of it is time resting in the fridge! Active time is only about 30 minutes.
You can also watch my video on how to make the rough puff pastry.
Recipe FAQs
No. While similar in that they’re both laminated doughs, danish pastry contains yeast and puff pastry does not.
Sure! Follow all steps to prep except for adding the fruit and egg wash. Cover the cream cheese topped pastry rightly with a piece of plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Store the prepared fresh fruit in a bowl, then toss with the sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch only before you plan to bake. When ready to bake, add the fruit, egg wash the sides, and bake!
These are made to be eaten fresh. Due to the cream cheese filling in the danish, these can be stored in the fridge for one day. Note that they will lose their crispiness.
Storage
Store the cooked fruit danish at room temperature for one day (add them to a paper bag if you have one), and in the fridge (covered) for an additional day. Note that the pastry will lose its flakiness. They can be re-crisped in a 400℉ oven for 5-7 minutes.
To freeze the pastry, wrap each one is plastic wrap, then add them to a zip top bag and freeze for one month. Unwrap completely, then bake from frozen in a 400℉ oven for about 10 minutes.
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📖Recipe
Fruit and Cream Cheese Puff Pastry Danish
Equipment
- Pastry brush (optional)
Ingredients
- 4 oz full fat cream cheese room temperature
- 1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 sheet puff pastry or homemade rough puff pastry
- 1½ cups fresh fruit strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, cherry, peach are good options
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg for egg wash
- jam, jelly, preserves optional, for glaze
Vanilla Icing
- ½ cup powdered sugar 60g
- 1-2 tablespoons milk or water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉/205℃.
- In a small bowl, mix together the soft cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with a spoon or small rubber spatula.4 oz full fat cream cheese, 1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Roll out the dough to ⅛”-¼” thick. Cut the pastry into six desired shapes. Rectangles and squares work well and cookie cutters can be used to make circles.1 sheet puff pastry
- Transfer the cutouts to a parchment lined baking sheet. Take care not to touch the sides too much or it will seal the edges and prevent flaky layers.
- Lightly score a ½” border on the inside of the pastry with the tip of a sharp knife, careful not to cut through the dough completely.
- Add a heaping tablespoon of cream cheese to the center of each piece of dough, and spread evenly to the scored border.
- Add the pastry (on the pan) to the fridge while you prepare the fruit. The colder the pastry, the better it bakes.
- Prepare whatever fruit you want to use. If using strawberries, cherries or peaches, hull/pit, then slice - leave blueberries and raspberries whole.1½ cups fresh fruit
- Add the fruit to a bowl, then sprinkle on the sugar and cornstarch and carefully mix to combine.1 tablespoon granulated sugar, ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- In another small bowl, whisk together an egg and a splash of water.1 egg
Assembly
- Add a ¼ cup of fruit to the top of each area of cream cheese.
- Using a small pastry brush or your finger, rub the egg wash on all exposed sides of the dough. Try not to let the egg wash fall over the edges or it will seal the layers and prevent them from puffing up.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the exposed edges are golden brown and flaky.
- While the danishes bake, heat a few tablespoons of jam in the microwave for a few seconds until loosened.jam, jelly, preserves
- Note: Try to pair flavors appropriately (i.e. apricot or peach preserves with peaches, strawberry jam with strawberries, etc).
- When the danishes are done, brush the jam over the fruit. This step is not required, but add a nice sheen and a touch of extra flavor.
- Mix together the powdered sugar, milk (start with 1 tablespoon), and vanilla, then drizzle on top of each danish.½ cup powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons milk or water, 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Marc says
Hi. I know this comment/question is a few years after the fact, but... when you say freeze the pastry, you mean the already baked pastry, right? I know, probably a very stupid question! But I just want to make sure! Im new and absolutely love your recipes, btw!!
Callan Wenner says
Hi Marc, not a stupid question at all (I should have been more clear in the post)! Yes, freeze the baked pastry after wrapping tightly in plastic wrap. You can then refresh them in the oven directly from frozen.
Heather says
Hello! Could I use frozen fruit that has been thawed and drained in place of fresh?
Callan Wenner says
Hi Heather - toss the frozen fruit with sugar and cornstarch and bake them up! No need to thaw it first.
Luci the Cat says
Looks like recipe is missing a step - it says to spread cheese filling, top with fruit (strawberries, other berries) then bake.
Are you sure the strawberries should go into the oven?
Callan Wenner says
Hi there, no steps missing. The fruit goes on top of the cream cheese, and then the entire thing gets baked. This makes the fruit tender and the cornstarch (tossed with the fruit) helps to thicken the juices that release during bake time. See the step-by-step pictures within the post write up for reference!
Ana says
So good! Highly recommend using homemade puff pastry (also by The Cozy Plum) as it tastes so much better than store bought. Thanks for the recipe!
The Cozy Plum says
Yay! Totally agree with you on the homemade pastry - it's worth the effort!
Olivia says
These are SOOO DELICIOUS!! I was careful to follow the instructions to be mindful of the edges and I can't believe how BEAUTIFUL the layers are!! I did nothing fancy -- used store-bought puff pastry, made sloppy and oblong-shaped cuts, used regular blueberries with regular blueberry jam -- yet the end result STILL looks so impressive and tastes absolutely delicious. I love The Cozy Plum recipes because I feel like a rockstar baker even though I'm a total newbie... she makes baking feel so easy and accessible!! THANK YOU!!
The Cozy Plum says
Olivia thank you so much for this review! You are the best and this is so nice. Glad you enjoyed them!