Cheese Danish

By Makinze GoreUpdated: May 16, 2024

Approved by the Delish Test Kitchen

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cheese danish with icing drizzled on top

PHOTO: JOSEPH DE LEO; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Very few things can compare to a fresh, homemade danish. These have warm, buttery, flaky layers and a just-sweet-enough cream cheese filling. Making a cheese danish is time consuming, but the effort is well worth it. Plus, while it may be time consuming, it isn't complex to create. Bookmark this for your next weekend baking project, and get ready to wake up to the ultimate sweet treat for brunch, or for an on-the-go breakfast.

A danish is a type of laminated dough—in other words, dough that has had butter folded into it several times—but to help make the process a little more straightforward, I borrow from our croissant recipe, which relies on a “rough” puff pastry. It will feel similar to making a pie dough, but you’ll leave the butter in big pieces and do a series of folds to create lots of layers in the dough. Start the dough the day before you plan to serve these so that they can have an overnight rest. Then finish them off the next morning for freshly baked danishes. If you need something that’s quicker, try this giant fruit danish!

Have you made these yet? Let us know how it went in the comments below!

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Yields:: 12 serving(s)
Prep Time:: 15 mins
Total Time:: 8 hrs 45 mins
Cal/Serv:: 360

Ingredients

Danish Dough

3 c.
all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/4 c.
plus 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp.
kosher salt
1/4 tsp.
ground cardamom
1/4 oz.
instant yeast
1 c.
(2 sticks) cold butter, cut into large pieces
1/2 c.
cold milk
2
large eggs
1 Tbsp.
water

Filling & Glaze

4 oz.
cream cheese, softened
2/3 c.
plus 2 tbsp. powdered sugar
1
large egg yolk
2 Tbsp.
milk

Directions

Danish Dough
1. Step 1In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, salt, and cardamom. Add yeast and whisk to combine. Add butter and toss to coat well. Using your hands, rub butter into flour mixture, making sure to toss and keep butter coated in flour as you go. Butter pieces should remain large; none should be smaller than a walnut half.
2. Step 2In a small bowl, whisk milk and 1 egg to combine. Add to flour mixture and mix with your hands until a dough starts to form.
3. Step 3Turn out dough onto a work surface. Fold dough over itself a couple of times to bring it together, making sure there are no large dry spots. Pat into a large square and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
4. Step 4Dust work surface with flour. Roll dough to a rectangle roughly 15"-by-12". With longer end parallel to counter edge, fold right side into center, then fold left side over (folding into thirds, much like a letter). Rotate dough 90° so seam side faces you.
5. Step 5Roll dough to a 15"-by-12" rectangle again and repeat same folds. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
6. Step 6Roll dough to a 15"-by-12" rectangle again and repeat same folds. Rotate dough 90° and repeat same rolling and folding process once more. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
7. Step 7Let dough sit at room temperature 10 minutes. Dust work surface with more flour and roll dough to a 16"-by-12" rectangle. If dough stretches back or doesn’t seem to be rolling easily, let it rest a few minutes. (You may need to let dough rest a couple times during this process.) Let dough rest 5 minutes before cutting to prevent danishes from shrinking too much.
8. Step 8Cut dough into 12 (4") squares. In a small bowl, whisk water and remaining egg to combine. Brush each corner of dough with a little egg wash. Bring corners into center to form a diamond shape, gently pressing on dough to get corners to stick. Arrange on 2 large parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets. Cover with a clean linen and let rise until puffed and, when lightly pressed, springs back slowly, but not necessarily doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
Filling, Glaze & Assembly
1. Step 1Preheat oven to 400°. In a medium bowl, stir cream cheese and 2 tbsp. powdered sugar until smooth. Add egg yolk and stir until combined. Transfer to a small resealable bag and cut off about 1/2" from one corner. Pipe about 1 tbsp. filling onto center of each dough piece. Brush edges of crust with egg wash.
2. Step 2Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden and puffed, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes.
3. Step 3Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine milk and remaining 2/3 cup powdered sugar. Using a spoon, drizzle glaze over danishes. Serve warm or at room temperature.