This Starbucks cheese danish is made with a flakey and buttery puff pastry dough, topped with an easy cream cheese filling, and topped with powdered sugar.
This cream cheese filling tastes just like cheesecake, and the buttery puff pastry dough combined with the cream cheese filling is unbelievably delicious. Top this simple Danish with your favorite fruit!
If you like simple breakfast recipes, you should try our strawberry danish, lemon ricotta pancakes, puff pastry apple turnovers, tahini banana bread, bakery-style banana muffins, brown butter chocolate chips banana bread.
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Why this recipe works
- Cream cheese filling- Made with a delish creamy cream cheese filling and has a flakey texture.
- Store-bought dough- This recipe is made with store-bought puff pastry which is the easiest and fastest!
- Quick breakfast- Perfect to make when you need a quick breakfast or snack.
- Homemade puff pastry- Can be made with homemade puff pastry as well!
- Time- This recipe takes under an hour from start to finish and is topped with powdered sugar or an easy glaze.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Frozen puff pastry- we use store-bought frozen puff pastry, we find it the easiest and fastest to work with. If you want to use a homemade puff pastry, that will work great as well.
Egg- you will need 1 egg for this recipe, for the egg wash. Make sure that your egg is at room temperature.
Cream cheese- the most important ingredient in this recipe, is cream cheese. Make sure that you are using full-fat cream cheese, it's important that you use full-fat cream cheese and make sure that it’s at room temperature.
Granulated sugar- you will need one cup of granulated sugar for this recipe. The cheesecake will be sweet, but not too sweet. One cup of sugar is the perfect balance of sweetness for this recipe.
Vanilla extract- vanilla extract adds extra flavor.
Lemon zest- the lemon zest adds an aroma and a light flavor to this cake. Don’t worry, this cheesecake will not taste like a lemon cheesecake.
A pinch of salt- helps to balance the flavors.
Instructions
Step 1: Preheat an oven to 200c (400f), and let your puff pastry thaw for about 30-40 minutes or until it's easy to work with.
Step 2: Lightly flour a clean surface and use a rolling pin to roll the puff pastry slightly and cut it into 12 even rectangles using a pizza cutter. (we used two puff pastry sheets. every sheet is cut into 6 rectangles)
Step 3: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Cream the mixture with an electric hand mixer or a whisk until it's creamy and smooth.
Step 4: Use a butter knife to make a smaller rectangle into each danish piece. Top the smaller rectangle with about a tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture. Spread it around and keep it in a small rectangle. Repeat until you run out of the mixture.
Step 5: Into a small mixing bowl, add 1 egg and a tablespoon of water or milk. Mix with a fork. Brush the sides of the danishes with the egg wash. We like topping the danishes with demerara sugar for extra sweetness and crunch.
Step 6: Bake the danishes in a 200c (400f) preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown on top. Keep an eye on the danishes so they won't burn.
Step 7: Top the cheese danishes with powder sugar and serve next to a cup of coffee or tea! Another way to serve these is with a simple glaze that is made with powder sugar and milk or water.
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Feel free to make the cheese danishes in whatever size you'd like. You can make these smaller or bigger. We cut ours into 12 cheese danishes.
- Make sure that you are using room-temperature cream cheese in this recipe, this step makes it easier to mix the cream cheese with no unnecessary lumps, we don’t want that.
- Use high-fat cream cheese or the well-known Philadelphia cream cheese. Using full-fat cream cheese ensures that your filling will be stable and will not crack.
- Keep an eye on the danishes when they are baking! They are easy to burn.
- If you have a cookie scoop, use it to scoop out the filling to the danishes so they will bake evenly.
- Make these cheese danishes your own by adding or topping them with your favorite flavors. Add a teaspoon of jam, chocolate chips, lemon zest, fresh fruit, berries, etc.
Faq's
This cream cheese danish will last up to 3 days at room temperature. Cover them with plastic wrap or foil to prevent them from drying out. We recommend reheating them in the toaster oven to get them crispy again!
The danishes should look golden brown on top and puffed nicely.
The cream cheese filling is super simple to make. It's made with cream cheese, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon zest(optional).
Yes. You can make them the night before, and reheat them in the oven or in a toaster oven until they are crispy again.
Place the puff pastry at room temperature for 2-3 hours until it's thawed or place it in the fridge overnight.
Storing
Store these danishes in the fridge since it contains dairy. Make sure that you store it in an airtight container so it won’t dry out.
Reheating
Reheat these in a toaster oven or regular oven at 150c(300f) for about 5 minutes (keep an eye so they won't burn) until they are nice and crispy.
Freezing
Freeze these after they are cooled completely in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 2 months.
Substitutions
Puff pastry- you can swap the store-bought puff pastry and use a homemade puff pastry if needed!
Gluten-free- you can make this recipe gluten-free by swapping the puff pastry with gluten-free puff pastry. You can make homemade ones or use store-bought!
Variations
Citrus - add 1 teaspoon of lemon zest or orange zest to add a nice flavor to this cheesecake. This step is highly recommended. We love adding zest to cheesecakes.
Chocolate- If you like a chocolate flavor in your pastries, add melted dark chocolate onto the cream cheese filling or add chocolate chips instead and bake according to the instructions.
Glaze- top these with a simple glaze! You can use the easy glaze I made in this lemon shortbread cookie recipe.
Fruit- you can make these danishes with your favorite fruit like strawberries, apples, blueberries, etc.
More easy breakfast ideas
Bakery style banana muffins- These are great for a quick breakfast, awesome to make when you have overripe bananas and taste just like a bakery banana muffin.
Puff pastry apple turnovers- These puff pastry apple turnovers are made with a delicious spiced apple filling and wrapped with flaky puff pastry.
Lemon ricotta pancakes- These pancakes are made with lemon zest, lemon juice, and ricotta cheese which makes these pancakes moist, extremely fluffy, and flavorful.
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📖 Recipe
Starbucks Cheese Danish
Ingredients
- 2 sheets Puff pastry thawed
- 230 g Cream cheese
- ⅓ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- Egg for the egg wash
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 200c (400f), and let your puff pastry thaw for about 30-40 minutes or until it's easy to work with.
- Lightly flour a clean surface and use a rolling pin to roll the puff pastry slightly and cut it into 12 even rectangles using a pizza cutter. (we used two puff pastry sheets. every sheet is cut into 6 rectangles)
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Cream the mixture with an electric hand mixer or a whisk until it's creamy and smooth.
- Use a butter knife to make a smaller rectangle into each danish piece. Top the smaller rectangle with about a tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture. Spread it around and keep it in a small rectangle. Repeat until you run out of the mixture.
- Into a small mixing bowl, add 1 egg and a tablespoon of water or milk. Mix with a fork. Brush the sides of the danishes with the egg wash. We like topping the danishes with demerara sugar for extra sweetness and crunch.
- Bake the danishes in a 200c (400f) preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown on top. Keep an eye on the danishes so they won't burn.
- Top the cheese danishes with powder sugar and serve next to a cup of coffee or tea! Another way to serve these is with a simple glaze that is made with powder sugar and milk or water.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Feel free to make the cheese danishes in whatever size you'd like. You can make these smaller or bigger. We cut ours into 12 cheese danishes.
- Make sure that you are using room-temperature cream cheese in this recipe, this step makes it easier to mix the cream cheese with no unnecessary lumps, we don’t want that.
- Use high-fat cream cheese or the well-known Philadelphia cream cheese. Using full-fat cream cheese ensures you that your filling will be stable and will not crack.
- Keep an eye on the danishes when they are baking! They are easy to burn.
- If you have a cookie scoop, use it to scoop out the filling to the danishes so they will bake evenly.
- Make these cheese danishes your own by adding or topping them with your favorite flavors. Add a teaspoon of jam, chocolate chips, lemon zest, fresh fruit, berries, etc.
Rick says
These cheese Danishes are super easy to make and so delish!