Cherry Danish Recipe: Tips for Making a Cherry Danish
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: May 14, 2022 • 3 min read
The cherry danish—a cheese danish taken to new heights with a pop of sweet, tart cherries in syrup—is an icon of the pastry case. Here’s how to make a batch of cherry danishes for your next brunch.
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What Is a Cherry Danish?
A cherry danish is a pastry that combines layers of buttery, flaky, yeast-leavened dough with sweet cherries and cream cheese filling. Like croissant dough, traditional Danish dough gets folded around layers of butter, rolled, and refolded several times to create an average of twenty-seven layers.
Bakers may garnish finished pastries with chocolate, icing, or slivered nuts. They may contain a filling of jam or preserves, marzipan, custard, or a simple mixture known as remonce: butter creamed together with sugar and finely crushed almonds. Cream cheese danishes, filled with sweetened cream cheese and often topped with fruit, are popular in the United States. They typically take the shape of a spandauer, a square with the corners folded inward.
3 Tips for Making Cherry Danishes
Danish pastries are best known as an easy breakfast treat, but they’re also delicious with afternoon tea or coffee. Here’s how to make cherry danishes at home.
- 1. Use cherry pie filling. Top this cherry danish with fresh cherries or maraschino cherries. However, cherry filling—a mixture of pitted cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch used in classic cherry pies and cherry cheesecakes—is an easy way to get the bright flavor and glazed look of a classic cherry cheese danish. You can find cherry pie filling in the baking aisle of most grocery stores.
- 2. Use frozen puff pastry. The easiest way to make danishes is with a premade sheet of puff pastry. (In a pinch, you can also use frozen cinnamon rolls or crescent dough used to make crescent rolls.) Although puff pastry dough doesn’t contain yeast like traditional danish dough, it forms similar flaky layers. Each sheet yields about four small danishes. Thaw the pastry on the counter just until pliable. Learn how to make homemade puff pastry with an easy “rough puff” pastry recipe.
- 3. Make ahead and freeze. For an even quicker morning bake, freeze the assembled danishes in a single layer, then wrap them individually in parchment paper. Store the wrapped danishes in a resealable freezer bag for up to three months.
Easy Cherry Danish Recipe
makes
8 danishesprep time
10 mintotal time
22 mincook time
12 minIngredients
- 1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- 3
In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon zest, almond and vanilla extracts, and 1 egg.
- 4
Mix with an electric mixer until well combined and smooth.
- 5
Transfer the cream cheese filling to a piping bag and snip off the tip.
- 6
In a small bowl, beat together the remaining egg and a teaspoon of water and set it aside.
- 7
Lightly flour a work surface, then unfold the puff pastry sheets. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to portion each sheet into 4 equal squares.
- 8
Place 4 squares onto each prepared baking sheet.
- 9
To shape into a traditional “spandauer,” fold the points of each pastry square towards—but not quite touching—the center.
- 10
Pipe a mound of the cream cheese mixture into the center of each pastry.
- 11
Using the back of a spoon, smooth a shallow well on top of the cream cheese.
- 12
Place 4–5 cherries and some of their syrup on top of the cream cheese filling.
- 13
Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg wash, then sprinkle with the sliced almonds.
- 14
Bake until golden brown and puffed, 10–12 minutes.
- 15
Remove the danishes from the oven and let them cool slightly.
- 16
Dust the danishes with powdered sugar, if desired, and serve.
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