Description
This easy Raspberry Danish is a quick and simple brunch bake with flaky puff pastry, tangy cream cheese and bright raspberry filling. The best part is the crisp golden edge and soft berry center that smells like a bakery. The trick is chilling the shaped spirals before baking, so every layer lifts instead of leaking. It fits healthy breakfast ideas when served with fruit, and it also works for a holiday brunch, potluck or party without hours of work.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Frozen red raspberries
- 1/3 cup Granulated cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon Fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon Cold water
- 8 ounces Full-fat block cream cheese
- 1 cup Powdered cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- 2 sheets All-butter puff pastry
- 1 tablespoon Unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 large Large egg
- 2 tablespoons Whole milk
Instructions
- Set a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat at about 5 on a 10-dial. Add the frozen raspberries, granulated cane sugar and fresh lemon juice. Cook for 6 minutes while stirring every 30 seconds. Then press about one-third of the berries against the pan with a spoon. Stir the cornstarch with cold water and pour it in during the final 2 minutes. The filling should turn glossy and thick enough to leave a clean trail across the pan. You’ll hear the bubbling slow and smell a sharp raspberry aroma. Stop at 8 to 10 minutes total. Go past 12 minutes and the filling turns gummy after cooling. Cool it to 70°F for 20 minutes before shaping. A brief starch boil sets the filling without making it rubbery.
- Bring the full-fat block cream cheese to 68°F before mixing. Beat it with 3 tablespoons powdered cane sugar and 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract for 90 seconds. Scrape the bowl halfway through. Then fold the mixture from the bottom toward the center in broad strokes for 30 seconds. Keep the bowl at room temperature while the raspberry filling finishes cooling. The cream cheese should look smooth and softly glossy with no pale lumps. It should hold a shallow ridge when dragged across the bowl. If the cheese stays below 65°F, the filling won’t spread evenly and can tear the pastry. Stop once the texture loosens. Overbeating for more than 3 minutes makes the filling thin. Gentle mixing keeps the cream cheese stable inside the pastry coils.
- Keep both all-butter puff pastry sheets below 45°F. Roll each sheet to a 10-inch square on 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour. Spread half the cream cheese over each sheet and leave a 1/2-inch border. Spoon the cooled raspberry filling in uneven ribbons. Roll each sheet tightly from one edge and slice each log into 4 rounds. Place all 8 rounds on the lined sheet pan with 2 inches between them. Press each center lightly so the coils sit flat. Brush with the large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon whole milk. Chill at 38°F for 15 minutes. The pastry should feel firm and the filling should stay inside the spiral gaps. Skip the chill and butter leaks before the layers lift. Cold fat creates steam pockets that separate the pastry layers.
- Heat the oven to 400°F and bake the chilled rounds for 18 to 22 minutes. Rotate the sheet pan 180 degrees at minute 12. Don’t open the door before then. The sudden heat drop can flatten the layers. (My first batch baked at 375°F, the centers stayed pale while the filling soaked the lower coils.) The pastries should rise to about 1 1/4 inches with deep golden outer bands. The raspberry channels will bubble slowly and the egg-washed rims will look crisp. Pull them when the bottoms are amber and dry. Go beyond 24 minutes and the berry edges scorch. Cool on the pan for 15 minutes. High heat sets the laminated structure before the filling can spread.
- Whisk 3/4 cup powdered cane sugar with 1 tablespoon whole milk for 45 seconds. Add 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and whisk 15 seconds more. Wait until the pastries cool below 100°F. Then drizzle the glaze in thin uneven lines and dust with the reserved 1 tablespoon powdered cane sugar. Let the glaze set for 8 minutes before moving one pastry to a plate. The glaze should fall in a slow ribbon and turn satin-soft on contact. Cut one pastry through the center so the pale cream cheese and red raspberry spiral stay visible. If the pastry is hotter than 100°F, the glaze melts into a clear film. Serve while the edges still crackle. Cooling first keeps the glaze opaque and the pastry crisp.
Notes
Pro Tips:
- Keep the puff pastry below 45°F during shaping because warm butter smears into the dough and blocks flaky layers.
- Cool the raspberry filling to 70°F before spreading it, or the pastry butter will soften within 2 minutes.
- Leave exactly 2 inches between the 8 rounds so hot air reaches every edge and the spirals don’t fuse together.
- Use a light 18×13-inch aluminum pan because dark metal can overbrown the bottoms before the centers reach minute 18.
- Rotate the sheet pan at minute 12, but don’t open the oven earlier because the first steam burst builds the layers.
- Pull the pastries when the bottoms look amber and dry, usually between 18 and 22 minutes at 400°F.
- Wait until each pastry cools below 100°F before glazing, so the white lines stay opaque instead of disappearing.
Storage: Keep cooled Raspberry Danish in a shallow airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Place parchment between layers so the glaze doesn’t stick. For longer storage, freeze each pastry uncovered for 1 hour. Then wrap it tightly and place it in a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Freeze before glazing when possible because fresh glaze keeps a cleaner white finish after reheating. Reheat refrigerated pastries at 325°F for 7 to 9 minutes. Frozen pastries need 12 to 15 minutes from frozen, then 5 minutes of cooling before glazing. Don’t microwave longer than 15 seconds because the laminated layers turn rubbery. Discard any pastry with sour dairy odor, gray cream cheese spots or wet filling that has seeped through the base. Check the center before serving it again.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American bakery-style
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (of 8)
- Calories: 347
- Sugar: 45g
- Sodium: 117mg
- Fat: 13g
- Carbohydrates: 57g
- Fiber: 4g
- Cholesterol: 52mg