Blueberry Cheesecake Danish. Oh my, oh my. Where have you been all my life! I think you are really going to enjoy this quick and easy recipe I am sharing with you today.
One thing I always keep in my freezer is all butter puff pastry. It comes in handy for baking all sorts of things, both savory and sweet. When you have puff pastry in the freezer you are never very far away from being able to bake your family a sweet or savory treat!
There is only one of me and so I cut the recipe in half. I am going to my sister's for supper and I was going to bring the Pumpkin Pie I posted yesterday, but my dad informed me he doesn't like pumpkin pie and so I decided to bake these pastries so that he will have something to eat that he enjoys.
Or else he will have to suffer one or the other. Hmmm . . . I don't like to make my dad suffer.
Nothing too complicated or out of the ordinary!
- ground cinnamon
- granulated sugar
- cream cheese (I use the full fat one)
- flour
- all butter puff pastry (one sheet)
- butter, melted
- blueberry preserves
- icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
- milk
- toasted flaked almonds
Nobody but you has to know that they are so easy and quick to make. We can keep it as our own little secret!
These are so simple to make you will find yourself wondering how something which is so beautiful to look can be so easy to make. They only look complicated.
These Danishes have two distinct fillings that deliciously mingle together on baking. You will need to make a very simple cream cheese filling which is as simple to do as stirring together softened cream cheese and sugar. You could also add a drop or two of vanilla if you wanted to.
Not fond of blueberries? Try using cherry jam or strawberry jam. In short you can use any kind of jam you do enjoy!
Unroll the puff pastry onto a flour dusted surface. You will be brushing the surface of the pastry with some melted butter and then dusting it with cinnamon sugar, which is always very easy to make.
When I was a child it was always a real treat if mom made us cinnamon toast. She didn't spoil us with anything like that very often and I can assure you Danish was never on the menu!
The hard part is twisting each strip, one at a time, into a rope, or at least it was for me. I found it easier to twist each strip from both ends of the strip towards the middle.
Each strip is then brushed with more butter and the loose end tucked underneath so that they doesn't spring free when they are baking.
I used my thumb to create a hollow in the center of each pastry and then dropped a teaspoon each of the cream cheese filling and the blueberry jam into those hollows.
Twenty minutes is all it takes. I threw my almonds into the oven on a small baking sheet for the last five minutes of bake time so that they were toasted to perfection.
While they are cooling you can whisk together some icing sugar and milk to make a thin drizzle icing.
This is very easily done. You will only need a very small amount of milk. Once you have made the drizzle you can flick it over top of each pastry and then sprinkle the toasted flaked almonds on top.
And that's it! Your pastries are now complete and ready to serve!
Don't you love how pretty they are? I can see where these would be perfect to serve for brunch on Christmas morning, well any morning really.
Quick to make, easy to make and oh-so-delicious, these are destined to become firm family favorites!
Blueberry Cheesecake Danish
Yield: 6Author: Marie RaynerPrep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 MinPrepared puff pastry and a few other simple ingredients combine to make a delectable Danish pastry, filled with sweetened cream cheese and blueberry preserves!Ingredients
- 1/2 TBS ground cinnamon
- 2 1/2 TBS granulated sugar
- 2 TBS cream cheese, softened
- 1 TBS flour
- 1 sheet (10 inches square) all butter puff pastry
- 1 TBS butter, melted
- 3 TBS blueberry preserves
- 1/3 cup (about 45g) icing sugar, sifted
- milk to thin
- 2 to 3 TBS toasted flaked almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/gas mark 6. Have ready a baking tray that you have lined with some baking parchment.
- To make the cream cheese filling, whisk together the cream cheese and 1/2 TBS of the sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk the remaining sugar together with the cinnamon in another bowl. Set aside.
- Dust your countertop with the flour and unroll the puff pastry on top. Brush with 1/2 the melted butter. Sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar. Cut the pastry sheet into 6 even widths.
- Twist one cinnamon coated pastry strip and then form into a spiral coil. Place onto the baking sheet. Repeat with all six strips.
- Brush with the remaining melted butter and tuck the loose end underneath. Make a small indentation in the center of each coil with your thumb. Place 1 tsp each of the cream cheese filling and the blueberry jam into the indentation.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove to a wire rack and cool for five minutes.
- Whisk the icing sugar together with just enough milk to make a drizzle icing. Drizzle this over top of each pastry and sprinkle on the toasted almonds.
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator in a tightly covered container.