Blueberry Cheesecake Danish

 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!

 

This is a recipe I have adapted from one I discovered on the Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry site.   Their original recipe made a dozen pastries.  

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.

 

At least I hope that he will like these. He likes blueberries and he likes pastry, but oh heck, I just remembered he doesn't like cream cheese.  Oh well.  Guess I will have to stop off at the shops to pick something up that he will like.

Or else he will have to suffer one or the other. Hmmm . . .  I don't like to make my dad suffer.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE DANISH

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

 

Danishes are a quick and easy brunch dish or dessert that always go down a real treat with everyone. Not only can you make them well ahead of time, but they always look so pretty sitting on a plate.

Nobody but you has to know that they are so easy and quick to make. We can keep it as our own little secret! 

 

HOW TO MAKE BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE DANISH

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.

 

The other filling is blueberry jam.  Simple.  No fuss no muss. I used my sister's homemade wild blueberry jam today.

Not fond of blueberries?  Try using cherry jam or strawberry jam. In short you can use any kind of jam you do enjoy!

 

I like to use all butter puff pastry.  I am not a fat of artificial fats, or trans fats.  I prefer the simple pure taste of butter.  For this recipe you will need one sheet of puff pastry.

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.

 

I do so love the flavor of cinnamon and it goes so very well with blueberries and with cream cheese. 

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!

 

Now here is where it gets a bit complicated. You need to cut the sheet of cinnamon sugar dusted pastry into six equal strips.  That's not the hard part.

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.

 

Once you have done that it is a simple thing to shape the twisted strips into round coils.  You can then place them onto a lined baking sheet.

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.

 

The recipe was quite vague as far as how to put the fillings onto the Danish. I took matters into my own hands and this is what I did.

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.

  

They are now ready to bake.  Just pop the baking sheet into the oven and let it do its job.

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.

 

Baked these pastries are lovely and golden brown. Flaky and crisp. Just scoop them off the baking sheet and onto a wire rack to cool for a few minutes.

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: 6

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min

Prepared 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

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/gas mark 6. Have ready a baking tray that you have lined with some baking parchment.
2. To make the cream cheese filling, whisk together the cream cheese and 1/2 TBS of the sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Whisk the remaining sugar together with the cinnamon in another bowl. Set aside.
4. 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.
5. Twist one cinnamon coated pastry strip and then form into a spiral coil. Place onto the baking sheet. Repeat with all six strips.
6. 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.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden brown.
8. Remove to a wire rack and cool for five minutes.
9. 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.
10. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator in a tightly covered container.

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