Description
Chocolate cream cheese danish brings European bakery charm directly to home kitchens with silky chocolate and tangy cream cheese nestled in flaky, buttery pastry. Sweet indulgence meets elegant simplicity, creating a pastry you cannot resist enjoying with morning coffee or afternoon tea.
Ingredients
Scale
Pastry Ingredients:
- 2 frozen puff pastry sheets
- 8 ounces (226 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
- ⅓ cup (67 grams) white granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Egg Wash:
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon water
Chocolate Ganache:
- 1 cup (170 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup (180 milliliters) heavy cream
Instructions
- Unwrap the frozen puff pastry and allow it to soften at room temperature for approximately half an hour, ensuring the dough becomes pliable without becoming too warm.
- Create the chocolate ganache by placing chocolate chips in a heat-resistant bowl. Gently warm the heavy cream until it releases delicate steam, avoiding a rolling boil.
- Pour the heated cream over the chocolate chips and let the mixture rest for precisely 90 seconds. Stir carefully until achieving a silky, uniform texture, using short microwave bursts if any stubborn chocolate chunks remain.
- Allow the ganache to cool and thicken, transforming into a luxurious pudding-like consistency over two hours at ambient temperature.
- Whip the cream cheese using an electric mixer, incorporating sugar and vanilla extract until the mixture becomes exceptionally smooth and airy.
- Dust a clean work surface with a light coating of flour. Carefully unfold the pastry sheets, pressing seams together with delicate fingertips.
- Slice each pastry sheet into precise rectangles, creating 12 individual pastry bases with clean, even edges.
- Prepare an egg wash by whisking egg and water together, then delicately brush the pastry borders to ensure a golden, glossy finish.
- Position oven racks to the middle position and preheat to 400°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Gently score an inner rectangle on each pastry piece, creating a border that will rise beautifully during baking.
- Distribute the cream cheese filling centrally on each pastry rectangle, spreading evenly within the scored boundaries.
- Strategically chill the prepared pastries – one sheet in the refrigerator, another briefly in the freezer – to maintain optimal butter temperature and ensure maximum flakiness.
- Bake the danishes individually, rotating sheets for even golden-brown coloration, approximately 17-20 minutes.
- Cool the pastries completely on wire racks, allowing them to set and develop a crisp texture.
- Drizzle the prepared chocolate ganache over the cream cheese filling, creating an elegant, artistic finish that reveals glimpses of the creamy underneath layer.
- Serve immediately, presenting these decadent pastries as an indulgent morning delicacy or sophisticated dessert.
Notes
- Thaw pastry sheets completely at room temperature to ensure even baking and prevent cracking.
- Create smooth ganache by allowing hot cream to melt chocolate thoroughly, microwaving gently if needed.
- Chill pastry sheets before baking to maintain flaky, crisp layers by keeping butter cold.
- Use egg wash along pastry edges to create a beautiful golden-brown seal and shine.
- Score pastry rectangles lightly to help create a raised border that contains filling perfectly.
- Serve freshly cooled to enjoy the best texture and temperature of the delicate danish.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes (per sheet)
- Category: Breakfast, Snacks, Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Danish
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 17 g
- Sodium: 160 mg
- Fat: 30 g
- Saturated Fat: 18 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 50 mg