Cheese Danish Recipe

Yield:

9

Like any good breakfast pastry, a cheese Danish starts with a delicious dough. Since everything else in this recipe is so simple, we like to take the time to make the dough by hand instead of using something like store-bought puff pastry. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be laminating dough like a pro in no time, and using it not just for Cheese Danish but for other pastries like our Danish Snails, too.

For these Cheese Danish, the finished dough is folded around a lightly sweetened farmer's cheese mixture before being baked to golden perfection. The craveable, not-too-sweet breakfast pastries are best enjoyed warm with a cup of coffee or milky tea.

Cheese Danish Components

Danish are simple pastries, so it’s important that each component is made with love and care. Luckily, those are pretty straightforward as well.

Dough: Don’t be intimidated by laminated pastry dough–it’s really not as complicated as it sounds. Lamination involves folding butter between many layers of pastry dough. This technique is what gives things like croissants and puff pastry their iconic layers. This dough is buttery, rich, and flavored lightly with ground cardamom.
Cheese Filling: Cheese is the most traditional Danish filling, but you’ll sometimes see them filled with sweet custard and fruity jam. They can even go the savory route and be filled with cheese, mushrooms, or cured meat. This particular filling is made with just six ingredients–mild farmer's cheese, sugar, and plump golden raisins for a touch of sweetness, lemon zest, and egg and flour for structure. Beat them together in an electric mixer or by hand.
Egg Wash: The top of each Danish is brushed with egg wash before the pastries go into the oven. The fat from the egg helps give the Danish a golden brown hue and makes their surfaces shiny.

Tips for Making Perfect Danish Dough

When you follow the recipe’s steps, this laminated dough comes together pretty easily. Here are a few tips to help you succeed:

Use the right kind of yeast: This recipe calls for active dry yeast. Make sure you’re using that, and not something labeled "instant" or "rapid-rise."
Check the milk's temperature: Aim to warm the milk to about 110 degrees Fahrenheit. If the milk is too hot, it could kill the yeast. Too cold and it will take the yeast a very long time to activate.
Don't over-mix the dough: Just like with most doughs, you want to try not to over-mix. As soon as the eggs are combined and there are no streaks left in the dough, it’s done. Over-mixing dough can make it tough once it bakes.
Make the butter block perfect: You’ll be folding the dough around the butter block, so make sure it’s the correctly measured size and that the edges are kept nice and square.
Let the dough rest between turns: This not only allows the gluten in the flour to settle, but it also gives the butter a chance to firm up again. The heat from your hands and/or the rolling pin can warm up the butter more quickly than you might think.

Directions

Cheese Danish Ingredients — Rachel Marek

Make cheese filling:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cheese and sugar on low speed until well combined.

Rachel Marek
Add egg:

Add the egg, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Rachel Marek
Add raisins, flour, and zest:

Add raisins, flour, and zest; mix just to combine.

Rachel Marek

Filling can be made ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Prep baking sheets and roll out dough:

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a 13-inch square, a little over a 1/4-inch thick. Using a ruler and a pizza wheel or pastry cutter, trim the edges of the dough to form a 12-inch square.

Rachel Marek
Cut dough into squares:

Then cut the dough into nine 4-inch squares.

Rachel Marek
Divide cheese filling between squares:

Dollop about 1 tablespoon cheese filling into the center of each 4-inch square of pastry.

Rachel Marek

Filling Variations

Play with the flavors of the Danish by spooning about 1 teaspoon of fruit jam, lemon curd, peanut butter, or chocolate-hazelnut spread on top of the cheese filling in each pastry.
Form Danish, folding first corner:

For each Danish, brush every corner with beaten egg, fold the upper right corner over the filling, about two-thirds of the way toward the opposite corner; press down firmly to seal.

Rachel Marek
Fold remaining corners:

Bring the lower left corner up and over first fold, pressing down to adhere. (Be careful not to fold too tightly, or you may force out some of the filling.) Repeat with the remaining corners.

Rachel Marek
Let rest:

Place the Danish on the prepared baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rest in a warm place until dough is doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Rachel Marek
Preheat oven

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush dough with the beaten egg; sprinkle with the granulated sugar, if desired. Bake, rotating halfway through, until evenly brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Can I Make Danish Ahead of Time?

Once baked, these pastries are best eaten the same day. However, you can make both the cheese filling and the dough ahead of time. The filling can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The dough can be tightly wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 1 day or frozen for up to 2 weeks. Be sure to thaw the dough in the refrigerator overnight before using.

Reheating

You can rewarm the Danish in a 375 degree oven. Place them on a baking sheet and toast for about 5 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of cheese is used in a Danish?

The cheese used in a Danish traditionally is farmer's cheese, though similar cheeses like ricotta and cream cheese are also common and can sometimes be used as a substitute. If you decide to substitute, keep in mind that farmer's cheese is much drier than these other cheeses.
Does cheese Danish have eggs?

Yes. There are eggs in both the dough and the filling. An egg wash is also used to brush over the dough before baking.
Can I use store-bought pastry for Danish?

Yes, you can use store-bought pastry to make Danish but it won't be the same as with homemade Danish dough. Our Danish dough makes a big batch and you only use half of the recipe for make these pastries. Freeze the other half for another time. If you're in a pinch, puff pastry is the closest store-bought substitute to Danish dough.
Is the cheese Danish from Denmark?

Yes and no, the cheese Danish didn’t actually originate in Denmark, but it was adapted and became well known there. There was a similar pastry in Vienna and Danish bakers put their own twist on this Austrian baked good back in the 1840s.