A sweet Danish pastry made from puff pastry filled with nuts, custard, jam, cream cheese and/or fresh fruit. They are incredibly delicious, easy to make and the perfect little sweet treat!
What are Danish pastries?
I’m not surprised if you don’t know what a Danish pastry is. Although Danish pastries have been around for a long time. In fact, it was introduced to Denmark by Viennese confectioners in 1840. They call it Wienerbrod. The most traditional recipe has 27 (!) layers of sourdough made from flour, milk, eggs, sugar and butter.
Danish pastry dough
The dough is a type of buttery pastry, but definitely tastes a bit different. In my recipe, I went for convenience and made an easy version using ready-made puff pastry, just like I did in my peach galette recipe.
You may not find them everywhere, but they are very addicting to make and eat! Another not so well known type of pastry, are these Zeeuwse bolussen from the Netherlands. Reminiscent of cinnamon rolls and very sweet and delicious.
Homemade danish pastry with fresh fruit
I love the combination of crispy puff pastry, a soft, cream cheese filling and fresh fruit. It is so easy to make, you can have it ready to go into the oven in just ten minutes. This Danish pastry recipe is nothing more than cutting the puff pastry, adding the fillings and toppings and popping it in the oven. As simple as that!
Be as creative as you want with the toppings, I like a slightly sweet cream cheese with fresh berries and a dusting of castor sugar before serving. It tastes like a bite-sized cheesecake, so good! You can use jam, custard, different types of fruits or even nuts. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 6 slices puff pastry (defrosted)
- 150 gram cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 50 gram sugar
- fresh fruit (such as berries, stone fruit or any other fruit)
- 1 egg yolk
- a splash of milk (for the egg wash)
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Basting brush
INSTRUCTIONS (how to make this recipe):
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius / 390 Fahrenheit top and bottom heat.
- Cut the puff pastry into the shape you want. Personally, I like to cut the outer edges of the puff pastry slices and 'glue' them to the borders of the puff pastry to give an extra high raised edge.
- Place the puff pastry slices on a lined baking sheet.
- Mix the cream cheese with the vanilla extract and sugar.
- Spread the mixture in the middle of the pastry slices.
- Spread the fresh fruit on top.
- Make an egg wash with the egg and milk. Brush the raised edges with the egg wash.
- Bake the Danish pastries for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Leave to cool and enjoy!
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