Cheese Danish
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This Cheese Danish boasts a buttery, soft dough enveloping a rich blend of feta and ricotta cheeses. Drizzled with blueberry jam, it’s the perfect balance of savory and sweet, guaranteed to elevate your morning or afternoon tea.
Easy Homemade Cheese Danish Recipe
This Cheese Danish is my cherished Saturday morning creation. With its rich fusion of feta and ricotta enveloped in a buttery crust, it’s the perfect indulgence alongside my morning coffee. Every bite feels like a comforting weekend ritual, bringing warmth and flavor to my favorite day of the week.
- All-purpose flour: Provides the structure for the danish. If you’re out, bread flour can work, but it may result in a slightly chewier texture.
- Butter: Adds richness and flakiness. If needed, substitute with margarine or shortening, but expect a slight change in flavor and texture.
- Sugar: Gives a touch of sweetness to the dough. If you don’t have regular sugar, try using powdered or raw sugar.
- Salt: Enhances flavor. Omit if using salted butter.
- Egg: Provides structure and moisture. If you’re short on eggs, applesauce or mashed bananas can act as binders.
- Active dry yeast: Helps the dough rise. Instant yeast can be a direct swap, but the rise time may vary slightly.
- Water: Activates the yeast and combines ingredients. Ensure it’s lukewarm to best activate the yeast.
- Feta cheese: Adds a tangy flavor. If you don’t have feta, try using goat cheese or any crumbly cheese.
- Ricotta cheese: Creates a creamy texture. Cottage cheese, drained of excess moisture, can be a close alternative.
- Blueberry jam: Offers a sweet contrast to the cheese. You can swap with raspberry, strawberry, or any preferred jam.
- Egg (for brushing): Gives the danish a glossy finish. Milk or heavy cream can offer a similar effect but less shine.
Start by mixing water, sugar, and yeast, letting the mixture bubble up. Combine the egg with melted butter, then blend with flour and salt in a mixer, adding in the yeast mixture until a soft dough forms.
After letting the dough rise, create a savory filling with a blend of feta and ricotta cheeses. Segment the dough into pieces, flattening and filling each with the cheese mixture, then shaping them with slits around the edges for a unique presentation.
After a brief rise, brush each danish with an egg wash and spoon a dollop of blueberry jam at the center. Finally, bake until they’re golden brown, and you’re set for a delightful morning treat!
Expert Tips
- Dough Consistency Matters: Ensure the dough is soft but not sticky. If it’s too wet, add a little more flour; if too dry, a touch more water can help. This ensures your danish is perfectly flaky and not dense.
- Cheese Quality Counts: Opt for high-quality feta and ricotta cheeses. The better the cheese, the richer and more flavorful your danish will be.
- Customize Your Fillings: While blueberry jam is a delicious touch, feel free to experiment with other flavors like raspberry, apricot, or even a sprinkle of lemon zest for a citrusy twist.
- Egg Wash for Shine: Don’t skip the egg wash step; it gives the danish a beautiful golden hue and a shiny finish.
- Watch the Oven: All ovens can vary slightly in temperature. To prevent over-baking, start checking your danish a few minutes before the recommended baking time. They should be golden brown and have a slight firmness when lightly pressed.
Storage
To store your Cheese Danishes, place them in an airtight container and keep them at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, refrigerate them; they’ll stay fresh for up to a week.
If you’re planning even further ahead, these danishes freeze beautifully. Individually wrap each danish in plastic wrap, then store them in a zip-top freezer bag. They can be frozen for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy one, simply thaw it at room temperature or warm it in the oven for a freshly-baked feel. Pairing with a steaming cup of coffee is always recommended.
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Cheese Danish
Ingredients
Dough
- ⅔ cup water (lukewarm)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 egg
- ½ cup butter (melted)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
Filling
- 1 cup feta cheese (shredded)
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
Other
- 4 tablespoon blueberry jam (optional)
- 1 egg (for brushing)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the water, sugar and yeast together and let it sit until the yeast bubbles.
- In another small bowl mix the egg and the butter.
- In the bowl of your mixer, add the flour, salt and mix. Add the butter/egg mixture and the yeast mixture and using the paddle attachment, mix it all together until everything is well incorporated. The dough will be fairly soft.
- Place the dough into an oiled bowl and rub some of the oil all over the dough. Let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in size.
- In the meantime combine the ricotta cheese and feta cheese together.
- Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Flatten each ball so that it’s about 4 inches in diameter. Place a quarter of the cheese mixture in the middle then fold up the sides of the dough to fully cover the cheese. Flatten the dough, so that it’s about 4 inches in diameter again. Using a knife cut the dough, leaving about one inch in the middle, making about 12 slits all the way around.
- Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
- Preheat oven to 375℉.
- Let the pastries rise a bit for another 30 minutes.
- Brush the pastries with egg wash and add a tbsp of blueberry jam in the middle of each pastry.
- Bake for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
Notes
- Ensure the yeast bubbles when preparing to guarantee a perfect rise.
- For a more pronounced berry flavor, you can increase the amount of blueberry jam or experiment with other jams.
- Allow the Danish to cool slightly before serving to let the flavors meld.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Hello Jo, I am looking for an old Jewish/European recipe for Cheese Chechen bread-cake? (not even sure what its called)
I wondered if you knew of one. The one I have in mind is sooooo soft, almost like a Challah, slightly sweet, with a very generous lemony cheese filling. It’s to die for and the only place it’s available is Manchester England but I live in Glasgow Scotland!
I have looked at your recipe with cranberries….what do you think? Is the texture similar?
You have a lovely web site, and if you ever want some amazing Scottish recipes…let me know because I used to live in LA and ran a “WEE” catering business for 5 years and all my recipes are on my computer….with just a click! OK.
I don’t have it or heard of it. I googled it and it seems it may be similar to this: https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/feta-fry-bread/
I would love some Scottish recipes, feel free to email them to me!
Thank you!
I have never made anything that so many people loved . I’ve made it 3 times. Perfect every time. Today I. Chopped up ham and used cottage cheese and 3 other cheeses for a filling because I was out of ricotta and feta. Also forgot the egg. Amazing again. Truly a new staple in my kitchen. Im going to use strawberry rhubarb as the filling next.
That’s such a wonderful review! Thank you, Deborraha 🙂 Strawberry rhubarb sounds delish!
I love all your RECEIPES and at times I change them with your ideas because of what is in the house at the time. Love the bread recipes, started making bread a year ago because of your simple and easy recipes. Ty
Aw, thanks Gerry! You’ve made my day!
I am quite impressed with your site and thank you again for sharing all your awesome recipes!
Thanks Dee! 🙂
Jo – today morning i tried your recipe and my 8 “little flowers” turned out very tasty & pretty-great for picnic or munching in my garden 😉 with cup of coffee…
As usual thank you for sharing this delectable recipie!
You’re very welcome, I’m sure they looked wonderful. Next time I make them I will try making 8 instead of 4 as well. 🙂
Thank you very much Jo!
Its so handy to start baking strigh away without converting weight,temperatures etc first! Before i never tried any recipies from USA or Canada because i cant convert “cups” to grams,i cant find exactly how many grams is a american/canadian “cup” 🙁
Im from UK.I visited Romania in 2000,i love what i saw-especially Bucharest made a big impression on me.Unfortunately my visit was too short i wish i can stay longer!
Jo i try make 8 flowers-cant wait to start kneading the dough (im hopelessly devoted to kneading by my hands) & i will explore you blog futher 🙂
You’re welcome. Good luck with this recipe, I’m sure it will turn out great. Let me know if you attempt other recipes and I will convert them for you. The funny thing is most of my Romanian recipes were in grams obviously and I had to convert them to cups. 🙂
Jo i want try this recipe (and few other recipies from your blog) ,its challenge for me to bake this savory beauties-i love shape of your pastries-perfect for picnic 🙂 but its one problem here-can you remember about us-“baking addicts” from Europe and apart from “cups” can you give quantity of products you using in gramms/ounces? Your help will be very appreciated !!!
Hi Yveta,
I’ve updated the recipe to include grams. Good luck with this recipe, it will make 4 large flower pastries, so if you don’t want them so big, you might want to make 8 flowers instead. Where are you from Yveta?
It looks absolutely beautiful!!
And a big thanks for the instructions 🙂