Pastries are not something I typically make; they are more likely a spur of the moment decision when walking past a bakery case and spying a favorite. In my case that would be a cheese danish; always. I might consider something else but given the options it's the one that I want. I might sort of covet cherry or blueberry or almond but cheese always wins. You do see where this is going right?
Why yes I did combine my favorites together! I had this notion that if I loved cheese but sort of wanted fruit and nuts that I would have to make them. I happened to have had this notion on a Saturday afternoon with friends coming for coffee the next morning so a yeast dough and it's lengthier time requirement was out and this one using a refrigerated puff pastry dough was perfect. I can not take credit for creating this idea; no, that goes to my bestie Ina Garten (so what if she doesn't know?) I used her Cheese Danish recipe as a starting point and simply added some ingredients for this Blueberry Cheese and Almond Danish and the rest is history.
How were they? Seriously everything I could have hoped for. The sweet ricotta cheese filling with just enough blueberries and almonds to complement it. Ina did not include an almond glaze and I need to have a word with her; it was perfect.
The real beauty of these babies is the Puff pasty; makes the work easy and the light crispy pastry is just perfect with the rich, fruity, crunching filling. Oh my word good!
The only problem with making my own batch of 8? I bet I couldn't eat just one and I won!
Cheese, Blueberry and Almond Danish
- 2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup blueberries
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2-4 Tbsp half and half
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Unfold 1 sheet of 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 sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. See notes on how to cut each square and fold it; place pastries on the parchment paper.
- Repeat with the second sheet of pastry dough.
- Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt and mix until just combined. Don't whip!
- Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 8 squares. Top with a Tbsp of berries and a tsp of almonds.
- Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash.and refrigerate the pan of filled pastries for 15 minutes.
- Put the pastries in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown.
- Whisk together the half and half, powdered sugar and almond extract Drizzle over the warm, baked pastries. Allow to cool slightly and serve warm.
