First up, plan ahead! While I say this pastry dough is easy, and it really is, it does still take time in resting periods. I like to make this dough the day before as it needs a minimum of 8 hours to rest. You can make it the morning before, then roll and fold it in the evening ready for pastries in the morning.
Traditional Danish pastry requires a laminated dough which basically means sheets of butter are rolled between layers of dough and rolled and folded over and over. It's great but it takes some elbow grease and time.
My easier version is just a rough pastry made in a bowl, which is then very simple to roll and fold as the butter is worked into the dough in smaller pieces.
If you're looking to serve these up as part of brunch for a crowd, why not add this puff pastry breakfast tart too.
Ingredients for strawberry Danish
Ingredients for strawberry danishes. Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
Danish dough: I use my tried and tested, everybody-loves-it, homemade Danish pastry dough. You could swap for frozen puff pastry but you may not get quite as good a rise or the same texture. Cream cheese: You don't need a lot of cream cheese so stick to full fat for a better flavour. Sugar: There are two types of sugar here – regular white granulated sugar and demerara sugar / turbinado sugar for topping. I recommend you don't skip that topping as it adds extra crunch. Milk: Just a little milk will lighten up the cream cheese mixture. Lemon zest: The lemon-strawberry-cream-cheese combo is just so good. Strawberry jam: Hidden under that layer of cream cheese is a little good quality strawberry jam for added strawberry flavour. Strawberries: Fresh strawberries at their ripest top these off beautifully. Egg yolk: The egg yolk gives a lovely golden colour to the outside of the Danish pastries. How to make strawberry Danish
A collage of 6 images showing how to assemble the strawberry Danishes.
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Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
I recommend starting the dough the morning of the previous day. This will allow you to roll and fold that evening and then you can make your cream cheese strawberry Danish first thing in the morning. I promise it doesn't take up a lot of time, it just requires plenty of rest.
Roll out the dough: Roll the dough out into a large rectangle (photo 1) and cut out 12 or 20 squares from it (photo 2). Obviously 12 will give you larger pastries while 20 will give you smaller ones but the latter are still nearly the size of my palm. Shape the danishes: Dab a little dot of water in the centre then fold each of the 4 corners into that centre point (photo 3), pressing each down firmly to stick. Let them rest while you make the filling. The filling: Cut up fresh strawberries into small pieces. In a bowl beat together cream cheese, sugar, milk and lemon zest (photo 4). Fill the danishes: Fill the centres with a little dot of jam and press it into the centre (photo 5). Top the jam with the cream cheese mixture, spreading it down over the jam so it doesn't escape. Dot the top with strawberry pieces, then brush the exposed pastry with egg wash (photo 6). Sprinkle over demerara sugar then bake until golden. Tips and tricks
Plan ahead: These strawberry Danish don't take much hands on time, but the dough does need to rest for an extended period. Start the day before: If you make the dough in the morning (takes all of 10 minutes) then rest it, then roll and fold (another 10 minutes) in the evening, the dough is now ready to turn into danishes, first thing in the morning. Cream cheese should be softened: Make sure the cream cheese is softened and you can literally beat the cream cheese filling together with a spatula in 2 minutes. Don't overfill: Be careful not to overfill your danishes or it may just run off the sides. The amount of jam and cream cheese don't seem much but it's the perfect amount to fill them. Egg wash not negotiable: The egg wash is so important for getting a gorgeous shiny, golden exterior. Nor is the demerara (turbinado) sugar: Ok, technically it's optional but the big granules of sugar add an unbeatable crunch to these pastries.
