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Make flaky, sweet Danishes the easy way! Made with puff pastry and topped with sweet cherries and icing, these are is the most effortless cherry Danish recipe you will ever make.
Lazy Day Cherry Danishes
Cherry Danishes are one of my favorite go-to treats, especially when I want something that tastes impressive without spending hours in the kitchen. The flaky crust, perfectly smooth cream cheese, and tart cherry topping come together in the best possible way—sweet, crispy, fruity, and creamy all in one bite. And the best part? They’re so easy to make that even my kids can whip up a batch on their own! Minimal effort, minimal mess, and maximum deliciousness—it doesn’t get better than that.
Cherry Danish Ingredients
The ingredients needed to make this easy Cherry Danish recipe are simple:
- Frozen puff pastry sheets – thawed, this makes the recipe a breeze!
- Cream cheese – softened
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Cherry pie filling – another time saver!
- Egg and a splash of water- for egg wash
- Icing – Simply made with powdered sugar and milk
How to Make Cherry Danishes Step-by-Step
- Thaw the pastry sheets and cut into 6 even rectangles.
- Next, combine the cream cheese filling ingredients until smooth.
- Score the pastries, creating a border. Then use a fork to pierce holes inside of the scores. This will make it so the outer edges of the puff pastry will puff up and the center will stay flat and keep the filling in. (see image below)
- Place about 1 tablespoon of the sweet cream cheese mixture in the middle of each puff pastry, smoothing it out towards the scored edge. Spoon cherry pie filling over the cream cheese layer.
- Make the egg wash and brush along the outside border of each pastry, then bake for 16-18 minutes, or until the pastries look golden brown.
- Make the icing by combining milk and powdered sugar. Drizzle icing over the pastries and serve!
Using Fresh Cherries
Fresh cherries add a vibrant, natural flavor to Danishes. To use them, start by halving and pitting the cherries before placing them on top of the cream cheese mixture. That’s it! For a sweeter, pie-filling-like consistency, cook the cherries down with sugar. Simply add 4 cups of cherries to a saucepan and cook on medium heat, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup of sugar and 4 tablespoons of cornstarch, then mix it into the cherry juice. Let the mixture cool and thicken before adding it to your pastries. Now you have a homemade filling that takes your Cherry Danish to the next level!
Puff Pastry Dough Tips
A great tip for impatient people (like me) is that it’s okay if the pastry dough isn’t completely thawed. In any case, you don’t want it to be really soft or you won’t be able to score it. I have even just broken the dough apart at the seams while still pretty frozen and then used a knife to cut the long rectangles in half. This made it easy to score,. By the time I was done with adding the fillings, the dough was pretty much thawed and ready to go.
Substitutions and Variations
Try other fillings: I love using different fillings to switch things up. Mixed berry, apple, blueberry, strawberry, lemon, any kind of pie filling you can find.
More topping ideas: I like it with the icing the best, but you can also add sliced almonds, coarse sugar, powdered sugar, or glaze.
Using crescent dough – If you can’t find pastry dough you can also use crescent rolls, like in our strawberry rhubarb danish recipe.
Cherry Danish Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 (8.8 ounce) frozen puff pastry sheets (thawed)
- 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling
- 1 egg (for egg wash)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉.Unfold puff pastry sheets and cut each into 6 rectangles. You can achieve this by cutting along the seams and then cross-wise right through the middle.
- Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the rectangle puff pastries between the 2 sheets and place in the refrigerator to allow them to become firm again.
- While pastry dough is cooling, use a mixing bowl and an electric mixer to mix together cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.
- Remove pastries from the refrigerator and score around each pastry about 1/2-inch from the border, being careful to not slice all the way through the dough. Then use a fork for pierce holes inside of the scores.This will make it so the outer edges of the puff pastry will puff up and the center will stay flat and keep the filling in.
- Place about 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture into the center of each pastry and smooth it out toward the scored edge. Be sure to stay inside the scoring lines.
- Add 2 tablespoons of cherry pie filling over top of the cream cheese layer and smooth it over the top, again, staying inside of the inner scoring lines.
- In a small bowl, whisk together egg and water to create an egg wash. Brush around the border of each pastry. Bake in the preheated oven for 16-18 minutes or until the pastries are puffy and golden brown. Remove from oven and allow pastries to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- While pastries are cooling, prepare the icing.Combine powdered sugar and milk until sugar is dissolved. Add more powdered sugar for a thicker icing or a little more milk for a thinner icing (only add ½ teaspoon at a time of milk).
- Drizzle icing over pastries and serve warm.
