Apricot Puff Pastry Danish
Apricot Danish made easy with frozen puff pastry, a quick cream cheese filling, and apricot jam ~ flaky, crisp, and bakery-worthy!
Servings: 8 servings
Equipment
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- pinch salt
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed but still cold*
- milk for brushing
- 2/3 cup apricot jam or preserves
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice if your jam is very sweet
for the topping
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 2 Tbsp water, approximately, to thin
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp pistachios, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Load the 8 ounces cream cheese, 1 large egg, 2 Tbsp all purpose flour, 2 Tbsp granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste, and pinch salt into a small food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Note: You can also do this by hand if you prefer, but in that case it helps to have the cream cheese softened. If you have some very teeny tiny lumps, don't worry, these won't be apparent once the filling is baked. Set aside.
- Gently unfold your 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed but still cold* on a sheet of parchment paper. Gently roll lengthwise to 10 inches long. Cut it into two rectangles, about 10 inches by 5 inches.
- Gently score around the edge of each rectangle, about 3/4" in from the edges. This will create a frame of pastry that will rise around the filling as it bakes. Transfer the pastry, on the parchment paper, to a baking sheet.
- Very lightly brush the edges of the pastry with milk or cream and lightly dock the center portion of the dough with the tines of a fork. Bake for 10-15 minutes. The whole thing will get very puffy.
- Remove from the oven, and gently press down just the center portion of the rectangles to form an indentation for the filling to go. You don't need to press down very hard, and be sure to avoid the crust frame area.
- Divide the cream cheese mixture evenly between the two pastry rectangles, and gently spread it evenly.
- With about 4-5 spoonfuls on each pastry, dollop the 2/3 cup apricot jam or preserves across the top of the cream cheese filling. You can swirl it very slightly if you like.
- Bake the pastries for about 15 minutes, until the pastry is a deep golden brown and the cheese mixture is set in the middle. I tented mine with foil to avoid excess browning ~ just be sure your foil isn't touching the tops of the pastires.
- Remove from the oven and allow the pastries to cool before glazing.
- To make the glaze, whisk together the 1 cup confectioner's sugar, 2 Tbsp water, and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled pastries, and immediately top with the 2 Tbsp pistachios, finely chopped . Wait until the glaze has set to slice and serve.
Notes
*If you forgot to thaw your pastry overnight in the refrigerator, leave it out on the counter while you preheat the oven and make your filling. One it's soft enough that you can unfold it, you're good to go.
Most boxes of frozen puff pastry contain 2 sheets of dough. This recipe uses just one sheet to make 2 Danish. You can double the recipe if you like, to use both sheets.
It's important to work with cold puff pastry dough, so don't leave it out too long or let it get warm. Put it back in the refrigerator to chill if this happens at any point.
Nutrition
Calories: 402 kcal · Carbohydrates: 48 g · Protein: 5 g · Fat: 22 g · Saturated Fat: 9 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 9 g · Trans Fat: 0.003 g · Cholesterol: 52 mg · Sodium: 182 mg · Potassium: 82 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 28 g · Vitamin A: 455 IU · Vitamin C: 2 mg · Calcium: 38 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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