These strawberry cream cheese danish taste like they came from a gourmet bakery, but they’re easily made in the convenience of your own kitchen. With sweet strawberry jam, gooey cream cheese, and a sugared crumble on top- these melt in your mouth breakfast pastries are perfect to make on the weekend and then heat & heat on busy mornings!
While I’m typically a stickler for quick and easy recipe, some things are worth a little extra work.
Take these strawberry cream cheese danish for example.
Made from scratch there’s mixing, kneading, and rise times- but one bite is magic in your mouth.
A little extra time & effort is all that stands between you and a batch of the best breakfast pastry.
With warm strawberry jam, gooey cream cheese, and a sugared crumble on top- these melt in your mouth strawberry cream cheese danish are good enough to rival any high end bakery or cafe.
Totally worth it!
Ingredients Needed
This recipe does have a longer cast of characters, but they’re all common things you should have on hand or easy to find at any grocery store.
For ease of knowing what’s for what- I’m going to break it up into three parts: The Dough, Cream Cheese Filling, and Crumble Topping.
To Make The Danish Pastry Dough
- Milk – You’ll need whole milk, and you want it to be warmed. Not hot, as it can quickly scald and may be too hot for the yeast. Just warm to the church should be fine.
- Yeast – You’ll need 2 1/2 tsp of active dry yeast- NOT instant yeast. You can measure it out from a jar or use one packet, which is the exact equivalent.
- Sugar – Granulated, white sugar.
- Egg – This pastry dough requires four egg yolks- just the yolks. You can save the whites for another recipe or discard them.
- Flour – All purpose flour
- Salt
- Oils – You’ll need both oil & butter for this recipe. I recommend extra virgin olive oil, but any olive oil can be substituted. You can use salted or unsalted butter in this recipe, although it will need to be softened to room temperature. If sodium isn’t an issue- I really recommend using salted butter in baking recipes as it’s a simple way to enhance and intensify the natural sweetness of the dish.
For The Cream Cheese Filling
- Cream Cheese – You’ll need two blocks of cream cheese, softened to room temperature. You can use neaufchatel cheese if you want to shave off a few calories.
- Sugar – Granulated, white sugar
- Vanilla – You can use either the real deal vanilla extract, or the much cheaper imitation version as a substitute. I tend to spring for the higher quality, but the filling will turn out delicious whichever you use.
- Strawberry – You’ll need strawberry preserves for this recipe, although you could also use jam. Don’t use strawberry sauce- it’s too thin and will run.
For The Crumble Topping
- Flour – All purpose flour
- Sugar – Granulated, white sugar
- Butter – Specifically, three tablespoons of butter- melted.
How To Make
While making homemade dough can be intimidating if you don’t do it often- it’s really very easy to make these strawberry cream cheese danish!
Start by adding the warmed milk to a small mixing bowl.
Stir in the yeast and sugar, and set aside.
Add the flour to a large mixing bowl.
Add the egg yolks, salt, and butter- mixing to evenly combine.
After the milk mixture has sat for 10 minutes you should see nice bubbles and a yeasty bloom on top of the milk.
Pour this into the flour mixture, and using a hand mixer- mix together on medium speed for 15 minutes.
Once the dough’s evenly combined, transfer it to a lightly floured surface. I like using a clean countertop.
Knead the dough for 1-2 minutes and then shape it into a ball.
Add the olive oil to a clean, large mixing bowl, set the dough ball in the center, and cover the bowl with a clean dish towel.
Place the mixing bowl in a warm area and let it rise for one hour, undisturbed.
Uncover the dough, punch it down, then transfer it to a lightly floured work surface.
Knead it briefly, and then separate it into 10-12 roughly even balls of dough.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and divide the dough balls out between the two.
Make sure to leave plenty of space to allow for spreading during baking.
Create a well in the center of each dough ball, using the back of a spoon or even a rounded measuring cup.
Make an egg wash by whisking together one cracked egg & 1 teaspoon water, then brush this mixture evenly out over each piece of dough. Set them aside.
Add all of the cream cheese filling ingredients, except the strawberry preserves to a mixing bowl.
Whip together using a hand mixer, just until the mixture’s evenly combined & smooth.
Divide this evenly between all of the danishes, filling each well with a nice amount of filling.
Top each the center of each with a dollop of preserves.
Add all of the crumble topping ingredients to a small bowl, and stir them together until evenly combined.
Divide the crumble evenly between all the pastries, spooning it out overtop.
Bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes.
Serve warm & enjoy!
Serving Cream Cheese Danishes
These homemade danish pair perfectly with pretty much any breakfast item.
If you want to pair them with a drink they’re great with coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and capuccino.
They also taste great with just milk- making them perfect for the whole family!
How To Store Homemade Danishes
Because these homemade pastries have a cream cheese filling, they have to be refrigerated- similar to a cheesecake.
Let them cool completely, and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
If you want to keep them longer, you can freeze them (also in an airtight container) for up to 3 months.
Let them thaw completely before reheating.
How To Heat Up A Cream Cheese Danish
I recommend reheating these danishes in a toaster oven, since you want them to be flat so the filling doesn’t run off.
Alternatively, you can use an air fryer.
Whichever device you use, you’ll only need to reheat them for a couple minutes and they will still taste freshly baked.
TIPS & TRICKS
- When ready to mix the milk and flour together, start off at the lowest speed on your hand mixer and slowly work up to medium speed. This will help prevent flour from spewing out of the bowl and going everywhere.
- Since the dough will rise best in a warm area- I like to turn my oven on to ‘warm’, only for a couple minutes, and then place the bowl in there. Be careful when doing this since you only want it warm and NOT hot.
- Don’t worry about the cream cheese filling melting and making a mess during baking. It will hold together without spreading, so add as much (or as little) as you like to each danish.
- For convenience- these cream cheese danishes can also easily be made in the bowl of a stand mixer using the bread or paddle attachment. It will also eliminate the need for hand kneading!
Other Homemade Pastry Recipes
This easy strawberry cream cheese danish recipe is the perfect homemade breakfast pastry for any level of home baker.
Skip the coffee shop, whip up a batch on the weekend, and savor each bite as it melts in your mouth on busy mornings all week long.
A busy mom’s dream come true for a little indulgence on hectic mornings!
Are you looking for other homemade handheld pastry recipes?
Try these:
- Canned Biscuit Beignets
- Nutella Stuffed Crescent Rolls
- Savory Breakfast Hand Pies
- Blueberry Croissant Bake
If you’ve tried this STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE DANISH, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Strawberry Cream Cheese Danish
Ingredients
For The Dough
- 1 cup warm whole milk
- 1 packet 2 ½ tsp yeast
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 6 tablespoons room temperature butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For The Cream Cheese Filling
- 1.5-2 blocks cream cheese
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp of vanilla
- Strawberry Preserves
For The Crumble
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Warm the milk, add yeast and sugar. Stir and let sit for ten minutes.
- Add the egg yolks, flour, salt and butter to the mixing dough.
- After 10 mins add the yeast mixture and mix on medium speed for 15 mins.
- Carefully remove the dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface.
- Knead the dough just a little until smooth and in a ball shape.
- Add oil to a bowl, place the dough on top and then cover with a towel.
- Place in a warm area and let it sit, undisturbed, for 1 hour to rise.
- After one hour, pat down the dough, lightly knead it and then separate it into 10-12 balls.
- Place the balls on parchment lined baking sheets (no more than 6 dough balls per sheet)
- Create a well with the bottom of a sturdy glass OR use a rounded measuring spoon.
- Brush each pastry evenly with egg wash (1 egg + 1 tsp water, mixed together).
- Add the filling ingredients to a mixing bowl, and whip together until smooth & evenly combined. Spoon the mixture evenly into all the pastry wells.
- Top each danish with a dollop of strawberry preserves.
- Mix together the crumble ingredients until evenly combined, then sprinkle it evenly out over all of the danish.
- Bake for 350° for 18-20 mins
- Serve warm & enjoy!
Notes
- When ready to mix the milk and flour together, start off at the lowest speed on your hand mixer and slowly work up to medium speed. This will help prevent flour from spewing out of the bowl and going everywhere.
- Since the dough will rise best in a warm area- I like to turn my oven on to 'warm', only for a couple minutes, and then place the bowl in there. Be careful when doing this since you only want it warm and NOT hot.
- Don't worry about the cream cheese filling melting and making a mess during baking. It will hold together without spreading, so add as much (or as little) as you like to each danish.
- For convenience- these cream cheese danishes can also easily be made in the bowl of a stand mixer using the bread or paddle attachment. It will also eliminate the need for hand kneading!
Nutrition
Leave a Reply