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Friday, July 10, 2009

Easy Cheese Danish

My dad saw Ina Garten make these Cheese Danish when I was home back in March. He kept asking when I was going to make them for him :) I went home the weekend before Father's Day and thought that was the perfect time to try this recipe. I had made Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes for breakfast (which by the way are even better with my favorite pancake mix, Aunt Jemima!) so we had some blueberries left over. My sister suggested I stick a few in some of the danish, and it was a great idea! The ones with blueberries were a hit! The combination of lemon and blueberry went really well together, otherwise the lemon is a bit overpowering. I might suggest backing off on the lemon zest if you don't use blueberries, unless you really like lemon.

This was my first time working with puff pastry. I have to say, it's amazing! I really couldn't believe how wonderfully it puffed up in the oven. This is such a quick, simple recipe that would be great for a brunch or even as dessert!

With blueberries:
Without blueberries:



Easy Cheese Danish

Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese (I used light)
1/3 cup sugar
2 large or extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 Tablespoons ricotta cheese (I used part-skim)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest, or less to taste (~2 lemons)
2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten with 1 Tablespoon water (for egg wash)
fresh blueberries, optional

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

2. Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and cream together on low until smooth. With mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don't whip!

3. Unfold 1 sheet puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheets into quarters with a sharp knife.
 
4. Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes.

5. Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.

8 comments:

  1. They're so cute and I love that you added blueberries! I always forget how fun working with puff pastry is, I should play with it more often!

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  2. I can't wait to try these. Do you have recommendation for puff pastry?

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  3. Hi Nirmala,
    I used Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, and it worked beautifully. Since this was my first and only time using puff pastry, I can't comment on how it compares to other brands. Hope you enjoy this recipe!
    Meghan

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  4. How funny is that I am sitting here watching this episode of Barefoot Contessa and decided to check my blog and saw you on the foodieblog roll and you are mentioning the same episode. lol I love cheese danish yummy! Yours look great!

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  5. I'm making this tomorrow with my grandkids!

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  6. Oh be still my heart, your Danish are breathtaking! How sweet to make them for your Dad! And the blueberries are a genius touch.

    In response to the sub for almond flour in the twix recipe, I'm sure you could just add addtional white or wheat flour and it would work out just fine. I'm so sad for you that you're alergic to almonds {and possibly other nuts}!

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  7. these look amazing came from foodieblog roll by the way, i bet you could be anything in them, will follow along Rebecca

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  8. I love danish and these look deeeelicious!

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