This easy and beautiful Strawberry Cream Cheese Danish is perfect for a breakfast treat, light dessert, or Sunday brunch. I developed this recipe so it’s simple, sweet, and has only seven ingredients. You will be delighted in every way!

Easy Strawberry Cream Cheese Danish Recipe

This Strawberry Cream Cheese Danish is one of those pastries that’s super simple but looks so impressive. It’s sweet, the puff pastry is delightfully flaky, and it requires very simple ingredients. The top is braided, which gives it a bit of a fancy touch, and I find it pairs nicely with a steaming hot cup of coffee.

For ease, I use strawberry jam in this strawberry puff pastry recipe, but I’ve also included notes on using fresh strawberries. Whether you use jam or fresh berries, this is a wonderful summer treat for the morning or as an after-dinner dessert.

Helpful Tips

• Use fresh, refrigerated pastry puff. If it’s frozen, you will need to thaw it in the refrigerator for a day, or at room temperature for no longer than an hour. If the dough has stiffened before using, coat with drops of water to soften slightly. Be careful though. If it softens too much it will be too gooey to use and you will need to cool it again.
• Flavored cream cheese. I used regular cream cheese, but if you want to try a strawberry cream cheese or mixed berry cream cheese, feel free to do so. If you get even more creative with other types of cream cheese, make sure to choose sweet cream cheeses, and not savory ones.
• Powdered sugar for texture. I prefer the smooth texture that powdered sugar provides, but you can also use granulated sugar or brown sugar.
• Use fresh strawberries. Macerate (soak) the strawberries in sugar for about 15 minutes, then add them in place of the strawberry jam. You will need about ¾ cup of diced fresh strawberries.
• Half the recipe. When sliced, this recipe is enough to feed a pretty big crowd. If you are making these for a smaller group and would like just 1 Danish, cut the ingredients in half. Everything else about the recipe will stay the same.

How to Make Strawberry Cream Cheese Danish Step by Step

Gather your ingredients and preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat the cream cheese: Using an electric mixer, blend one 8 oz. package softened cream cheese with ½ cup powdered sugar until smooth. This usually takes me about 1 minute.

Prepare the puff pastry: Lay the puff pastry sheets on the sheet pan. Use a knife to cut strips on each side of the pastry sheet, leaving the middle section completely intact.

Add the filling: Place half of the cream cheese mixture in the center of each pastry sheet, smoothing it out to cover the entire section. Top the cream cheese on each sheet with ¼ cup strawberry jam. Make sure to mix the strawberry jam with orange or lemon zest if you’d like to add it.

Braid the pastry: Fold the top slits of the pastry sheets and cross them into a wide V over the filling. Continue with the rest of the strips, creating a braid-like pattern.

Bake: Brush the top of the Danish with 1 tbsp milk and sprinkle it with 1 tbsp turbinado sugar. Bake at 375°F for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top turns a golden brown.

Add the glaze: After the Danish cools for 15 minutes, brush it with glaze. Stir 1½ cups powdered sugar with 2 tbsp milk so you get a pourable consistency and drizzle over the top of the Danish.

Serve:  Let the Danish set with the glaze, slice, and serve.

Tips for Braiding the Danish

If you’re worried about creating the perfect braid, here are a few tips that may help.

• Make sure the strips are even on both sides. It is important to get the same number of strips on both sides of the pastry. If you are worried, use a ruler as a guide to mark where to cut one side, and then the other.
• How to handle the end strips. When braiding this pastry at a downward angle, you will run into the last two, awkward strips that can’t fit directly on the pastry. It is normal to run out of room on the pastry with these last two strips, so don’t stress about them. You can either set them directly below the previous ones or fold them under the pastry slightly.
• Make sure they don’t stick to the pan. If you don’t have any parchment paper, you can spray the sheet pan with cooking spray. This pastry isn’t in too much danger of sticking unless the inside drips out, so make sure that your strips aren’t cut too far in if you decide to use cooking spray.

Serving Suggestions

These strawberry cream cheese Danish make a great addition to my Sunday brunch buffet, along with some hearty and delicious make ahead breakfast enchiladas, simple scrambled eggs, and if there is leftover challah from Friday night, I’ll turn it into challah French toast.

How to Store

You can store any leftovers you may have in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can reheat it in the oven or microwave if you’d like it warmed.

You can also wrap the Danish and store it in the freezer for up to one month. To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator and heat in the oven at about 275 degrees F for about 10 minutes.

More Strawberry Desserts To Try

• This Strawberry Rhubarb Pie features sweet fresh strawberries and tart rhubarb for the filling, then it’s finished with the most delicious crumb topping.
• Made with fresh strawberries mixed with Jello, this Easy Strawberry Pie is set in a flaky pie crust and then finished with dollops of homemade whipped cream.
• These Strawberry Crepes are filled with a luscious cream mixture and beautiful, fresh strawberries.