Easy Pineapple Cream Cheese Danish

Cream cheese danish is one of my favorite pastries. Imagine biting into layers upon layers of wonderfully flaky buttery goodness, with a sweet fruit filling. Do you like flaky layered pastry? What is your favorite filling? This Pineapple Danish is to die for, super delicious with tropical flavor. You can use fresh pineapple, caramelized pineapple, cooked pineapple, or pineapple jam. Pineapple is my personal favorite, but you can use apricot, raspberries, strawberries, or whatever your heart desires. This delectable fruit treat is the perfect tea-time snack/dessert. If you love to entertain, this is a snack that never fails to impress.

Danish pastry dough usually consists of flour, yeast, eggs, and butter. They are made with a butter lamination similar to puff pastry and croissants. Like croissants, Danish pastry dough is rolled out thinly and then folded with a layer of butter. It results in forming multiple layers that are buttery and flaky. To make a quick danish store brought puff pastry is a perfect time saver. The ready-made frozen puff pastry has so many uses, and you can get creative with the filling. It is easy to use, and you can devour freshly baked pastry, that looks as if it came from a bakery. I also made a quick glaze to finish it off. You can sprinkle some sugar on the top. You can freeze the extras and warm them up as needed. Pineapple cream Danish is super yum and worth a try.

Do you like to try more easy puff pastry recipes? Kerala Bakery Style Egg Puffs, Cherry Turnovers, Cream Puffs With Chocolate-Orange Mousseline Filling, Dil Pasand (Sweet Puffs). Here are a few more delicious desserts that can be found on the blog- Peach Galette, Easy Persimmon Pudding, Kunafa Sweet Recipe/ Sweet Cheese Pastry.

The pineapple filling that I am using for this recipe is leftover pineapple tart filling. To make the filling pineapple puree and sugar are reduced and thickened. Cook on medium to low heat until most liquid evaporates, and the pineapple filling turns golden in color. Let the filling cool in the fridge. You can also caramelized pineapple or fresh chopped pineapple. I have tried using fresh pineapple with cream cheese, and it tastes delicious too.

Easy Pineapple Cream Cheese Danish Recipe

Ingredients
Puff Pastry sheets thawed - 2
Egg white-1

For the pineapple filling
Chopped pineapple- 3 cup
Sugar- 3/4 cup
Cloves- 2 optional
Corn starch- 1 tbs

For the cream cheese filling
Cream cheese - 8 0z.
Powdered sugar- 3/4 cup
Flour- 1 tbs
Vanilla essence- 1 tsp

Using a hand mixer, whip cream cheese till soft and creamy. Add confectionery sugar and whip till well blended. Finally, add vanilla essence and flour and whisk till it is creamy. Refrigerate till ready to use.

How to make the pineapple filling- Take the chopped pineapple and blend for ten to twenty seconds until they are mushy. You can also use canned pineapple. Add the puree into a heavy nonstick pan and cook till the water evaporates. Add sugar and cloves and stir well. Cook on medium to low heat until most liquid has evaporated. The sugar will caramelize, and it will color will change to golden brown with a slightly sticky texture. Let cool in the refrigerator.
Thaw puff pastry sheet according to package instructions and cut into eight squares. Preheat oven to 350°F.

To make the pinwheel shape- Make four cuts on each square corner. Each cut starts from the outside corner towards the center. Stop the slit just short of the center. Pull one side of the flap and fold it toward the center. Fold all four flaps toward the center until you have created a pinwheel shape. Place about a tablespoon of the cream cheese filling in the middle, then place the pineapple filling.

To make the diamond shape- Taking one of the squares, fold one of the edges to the opposite edge to form a loosely shaped triangle. Using a sharp knife, make a half-inch border slit, and cut about ¾ of the way, from the bottom of the triangle to the tip on both sides. Make sure the cuts do not touch. Unfold the square. Taking the top flap, fold it toward the 2 cuts near the bottom. Do the same with the opposite side. Place both fillings in the middle. Bake for 15–20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and puffed.
Place them on a cookie sheet. Brush the outside with the egg wash and bake at 375 degrees F, and bake till the outside becomes crispy and golden brown, and puffed. Place on a cooling rack, and it cools down completely before serving.