Swirled Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish
Make the best blueberry cream cheese danish with this easy recipe! Puff pastry dough is twirled and topped with a sweet cream cheese mixture and homemade balsamic blueberry sauce.
taste and texture
Fresh from the oven, each blueberry danish is soft and sugary with a hot, creamy center. The blueberry sauce is sweet and tangy, with some slight acidity from balsamic vinegar – just enough to enhance the flavor. A sprinkling of turbinado (or demerara) sugar to the edges adds a little crunch.
Once they are no longer warm, the flaky layers in the puff pastry begin to dry out and the creamy center stiffens into a (still soft) circle of sweet, blueberry swirled cream cheese. They are still delicious, but more satisfying with a glass of milk or cup of coffee, or as part of a large spread.
why you should make danishes with puff pastry
While delicious and rewarding, a traditional danish pastry dough takes time and patience to perfect. This isn’t a big deal if you’re making these for a lazy Sunday at home, but when planning to serve these to a crowd or as part of a large breakfast spread, convenience is something to be considered.
Puff pastry is a similarly laminated dough and easy to purchase pre-made. It’s a lifesaver if you’re short on time and don’t want to worry about counter and/or freezer space.
The two main brands found in the US are Pepperidge Farm and Dufour and both are excellent store bought options. Pepperidge Farm uses shortening and Dufour uses real butter. When baking for a large crowd Pepperidge Farm, at nearly half the price of Dufour, is my choice.
Sally’s Baking Addiction has a really solid “rough” puff pastry recipe using a blender or food processor, if you want a homemade option with less fuss. Puff pastry also freezes really well, so it can be made from scratch ahead of time and frozen until needed.
more blueberry recipes
Yep – I have a thing for blueberries. Here are more recipes using blueberries I think you might like!
- Blueberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast
- Blueberry Goat Cheese Appetizers
- Blueberry Lavender Mini Cheesecakes
until next time. x
Swirled Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish
Make the best blueberry cream cheese danish with this easy recipe! Puff pastry dough is twirled and topped with a sweet cream cheese mixture and homemade balsamic blueberry sauce.
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
Blueberry Sauce:
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Cream Cheese Filling:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Pastry:
- 1 lb puff pastry dough (2 sheets), thawed
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp water
- 2 Tbsp turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Start thawing the puff pastry according to the package or recipe instructions, if not already.
- In a small saucepan, bring the blueberries, sugar and balsamic vinegar just to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Place the cream cheese, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, egg and vanilla in a mixing bowl and use a hand mixer to beat 2 minutes on high until smooth.
- Strain the blueberry sauce through a mesh strainer and discard the solids.
- Unfold the puff pastry and roll out into a 10 x 10″ square, then use a pizza cutter to slice into 12 strips. Pinch two strips together and twist, then press one end flat and wrap the rest of the strip around it, making a circle (pictured). Pinch the ends to the rest of the pastry or tuck underneath, flatten the center with your fingers or a narrow glass and gently poke it a few times with a fork. Repeat this step with the remaining puff pastry for a total of 12 danishes.
- Divide the cream cheese mixture among the pastries and drop 1 tsp of blueberry sauce on top of each. Use a toothpick to swirl them together – a lifting motion will bring more cream cheese to the top.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water until fully mixed, then brush the egg mixture along the edges of the filled danishes with a pastry brush and sprinkle turbinado sugar on top.
- Transfer each pastry to the prepared sheet pan and bake 18-20 minutes, or until puffed up and golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes and serve warm. Danishes will last 1-2 days covered and stored on the counter or up to 1 week in the fridge.
Notes
Tools:
- parchment paper
- toothpick(s) or butter knife
- pizza cutter
- rolling pin
- sheet pan
- small saucepan
- mesh strainer
- mixing bowls
- pastry brush
- hand mixer, stand mixer or whisk
Turbinado sugar is a coarse type of sugar typically used on top of muffins and pies. It’s also known as raw sugar or sugar in the raw and can be substituted with demerara sugar or omitted altogether.
When working with thawed puff pastry, the goal is to just flatten the seams. Be careful not to press too hard or there wont be as many flaky layers.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Danish
- Diet: Vegetarian
