Introducing Bakery Style Cheese Danish Recipe!
Authentic yeast buns filled with sweet vegan cream cheese
Quickly though, I must address what will be the most commented phrase on this recipe:
“HOW DARE YOU! THAT IS NOT A REAL DANISH DOUGH!”
If you are one of those who want to call me out for this
Yes you are correct, this is not a true laminated danish dough
Which in and of itself is an art form and one that I am not about to teach in a 5 minute YouTube video or try to explain in a blog post.
So if it is real deal laminated danish dough you are after then look elsewhere
This post is for folks who want an easy & fast near exact replica of a danish dough without all the time and technicalities involved.
This dough recipe is actually adapted from my Babka recipe
But for all intents and purposes I am still calling it “danish pastry” for none other than familiarity reasons
Not to mention I will bet my last dollar that no one will ever know this is not a true danish dough!
Ok, rant over. Now let’s get to the recipe!
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- Chocolate Babka
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- Blueberry Crumb Buns
Notes for Success
I only use Tofutti Cream Cheese for my BAKED recipes *not sponsored
I have not had success with any other brand in BAKED recipes.
For some reason the other more expensive brands I’ve tried have broken down into an oily mess when baked.
Cornstarch is a very difficult ingredient to measure consistently with a volume spoons measure
So while I list both measures below I cannot stress enough how the grams measure with a scale is going to give you the best results.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL YOUTUBE VIDEO TUTORIAL WITH STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Divide this process into two days for fresh baked Danish in the morning!
For those who want to bake the danishes fresh in the morning, you can start this recipe the day before
Rather than proceeding with the second proofing as listed below in the instructions & video tutorial
You will instead cover the formed danish dough snails with plastic wrap
Then place the tray in the refrigerator for a very slow proof overnight
You will however have to bring them out of the refrigerator at least one hour before baking to allow them to come to room temperature and then get nice and fluffy before baking
This could actually take longer than one hour, so plan your time accordingly to the conditions in your area.
Additionally you can top the danish with nuts or fruit filling for a variation on the cheese variety!
For those who want to use aquafaba, reduce the soy milk in the recipe below by ⅓ cup (5 Tbs) and add ⅓ cup aquafaba instead
- For the Dough
- All Purpose Flour 4 cups (500g) + more for rolling the dough
- Granulated Sugar ½ cup (100g)
- Baking Powder ¼ teaspoon
- The Plant Based Egg Egg replacer by Freely Vegan 3 teaspoons **see note above
- Nutmeg ¼ teaspoon
- Cardamom 1 teaspoon
- Salt ½ teaspoon
- Soy Milk warm (approx 100°F) 14 Tablespoons (207ml)
- Dry Yeast 1 Tablespoon + ¼ teaspoon
- Softened Vegan Butter 1 cup (226g)
- For the Cheese Filling
- Vegan Cream Cheese 1½ cup (336g)
- Vegan Butter 2 Tablespoons (28g)
- Confectioner's Sugar 10 Tablespoons (75g)
- Cornstarch 3 Tablespoons (24g)
- Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon
- For the Cinnamon Schmear
- Light Brown Sugar ¼ cup (55g)
- Vegan Butter Softened 4 Tablespoons (56g)
- Cinnamon 2 teaspoons
- For the Wash
- Aquafaba ⅓ cup
- Granulated Sugar 3 Tablespoons
- For the glaze, ½ cup any jelly or jam melted with 2 Tbs water over low heat stirring constantly
- First prepare the dough by proving your yeast in the warm (100°f) plant milk with a pinch of sugar, let it stand to frothy for about 5 minutes.
- In a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment combine all the dry ingredients including the sugar and mix well
- Add the proved yeast/milk mixture along with the softened vegan butter *and the aquafaba if you are using that instead of the Plant Based Egg with the adjustments as mentioned above.
- Mix on low speed to incorporate then turn the mixer to medium speed and mix for 5 minutes (scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to help it mix evenly)
- *You can mix this entire recipe by hand by kneading it all together on a lightly floured work surface to a soft pliable dough
- Turn the dough out onto floured surface and knead it by hand about 20 turns
- Place into a lightly oiled bowl, cover and rest in a warm spot for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour or until almost doubled in size.
- Meanwhile prepare the cheese filling by combining all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand with a wooden spoon until smooth, reserve in the refrigerator until needed.
- Mix the cinnamon schmear also by hand in a medium bowl by blending all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon or spatula until smooth and to a whipped like consistency.
- Once the dough is risen, turn it out onto a floured work surface and press out the gasses while forming to a rectangle shape.
- Roll the dough to 18" X 12" approximately ¼" thick.
- Spread the cinnamon filling over the entire surface of the dough then fold the dough over in half from the long side. The resulting size of the dough will now be 18" X 6"
- Gently roll the dough to an even rectangle that is now 18" X 9" and cut strips along the short sides to 1" pieces.
- Dock a slit in the middle of each dough strip and form the snail shapes as shown in the video.
- Place the danish snails onto t a parchment lined sheet pan spaced 2" apart.
- Cover the pans loosely with plastic wrap and set to a warm spot for approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on the temperature of your room. The danishes will be fluffy and puffed.
- Once the danishes are proofed and puffy, start preheating your oven to 350°F
- Press an indent into the center of each danish and fill with 2-3 Tbs of the cheese filling.
- Brush the aquafaba sugar mixture over each danish and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 25-30minutes or until golden browned.
- *A double sheet pan will prevent over browning on the bottoms
- Immediately out of the oven brush the hot melted jam over each danish.
- Serve as soon as possible, yeast pastry goes stale fast and is meant to be eaten the day they are made
Store for up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature, or freeze for up to 1 month
3.5.3226
3.5.3251
Do you use instant (quick rise) or regular yeast in this recipe?
regular yeast
I use dry active (so: regular) , NOT quick rise
This recipe was absolutely amazing. I made them with my grandma who is not vegan and she absolutely loved them. The only suggestion I would make is don’t forget to put the cinnamon smear in the fridge because if you don’t it will melt. These would even be good if you made them without the cream cheese and you double the cinnamon smear and made cinnamon rolls.
This was amazing would be great with no cream cheese and if you double the cinnamon smear you could totally make cinnamon rolls. Diffidently buying your book.
Thank you for this amazing recipe. They turned out perfect.
These look amazing! I’m hoping to make them next week for my husband’s birthday. I have a few questions: I’d love to buy the egg replacer you recommend but I doubt it will get here in time before I want to make them. If I wanted to use aquafaba instead, how much should I use? And if I wanted to cut the recipe in half, is there anything in particular I should do or is it as simple as putting in half of each ingredient? Thank you!!
Hi Great thanks! Sorry for the late reply, but YES to AF, 3 Tbs liquid AF and take out 3 Tbs of the liquid from the soy milk portion. With any dough type recipe you may have to adjust the flour by a few Tbs anyway at the stage of mixing after everything is in, but taking out the 3Tbs of liquid that was used to compensate for the PBE will help!
I would love to make these but I live alone so it would be a lot of danish for me. Do you know if at any stage these could be frozen? Thanks!
hi Yes, you can freeze the formed danishes (unfilled) After thawing in the refrigerator overnight (covered) proceed from that step for the filling, second proofing and then baking.
OR you can freeze the finished baked danishes wrapped well for up to 1 month- just take 1 out at a time and let them thaw (you can microwave them too for a faster that)
I made these recently and completely forgot to add egg replacement altogether (was going to use aquafaba). They still turned out amazing! The only thing I noticed is that the Earth Balance that I used might have coalesced a bit at the bottom as they were baking. The bottom did brown a bit more than would be desired, but I didn’t have an extra sheet pan.
I also used an apple filling instead, by just dicing up apples, sauteeing in EB, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and deglazing with a bit of brandy to help it along. These were simply phenomenal!
Hi Gretchen,
I made this recipe using the method in your cookbook. The danishes looked great after assembling and the final rise, but during baking they all started melting. I lost the filling on most of them. Should I have put the danishes in the fridge during the last rise to keep everything cold?
Thanks!
Hmmm, sounds like they could have been OVER proofed? That would cause the butter in the danishes to melt before the baking process even happens causing very greasy, flat, dense results. NOT SURE that’s what happened?? But would be my first suspicion
I was wondering if that could be part of the problem. I wasn’t very fast at assembling them since it was my first time making them. They were delicious though, so I’ll definitely try again.
Have you been able to successfully make eclairs or puff pastry?
Good attitude! I have always said mistakes are the BEST TEACHERS since you would not know Greatness until you know Failure!!
Yes I have tried Eclairs and NAILED IT…..Until……….. CLICK HERE and be sure to READ the article 🙁
If you are on facebook, join the group Aquafabulous, Baking the Soy Whey- Moira is AMAZING and she has created the best – closest- version of eclairs AND sponge cakes!!
Can you share what brand of vegan cream cheese you used? I’ve used Daiya in the past for baking but it gets very watery and I worry it will make my danishes soggy.
Hi! YES! I only use Tofutti Brand! I have to note that here on this recipe thank you for the reminder! I have not had good luck with any other brand unfortunately!
Thank you so much for your reply! I will have to get my hands on some Tofutti so I can give this recipe a whirl!
I tried these exactly as the recipe mandated–tofutti cream cheese (I agree with you), FYH Vegan Egg (essentially the same as the PBE), aquafaba and sugar wash, lots of butter, new yeast, double sheet pan, etc., and they came out flat like cookies with the bottoms burnt. I know the yeast worked as I saw the dough rise. The cheesy filling is pretty good (though I would add some lemon extract next time), but the cinnamon snail is a grave disappointment. I think the aquafaba wash contributed to the burnt bottoms as there was a burnt sugar crust surrounding some of the danishes. Also a note to the recipe reader: use a LIGHT COLORED jelly. My test batch used elderberry jelly, and while it tasted relatively good for a glaze, it looked horrible. I used lemon marmalade for the second batch–looked much better. That glaze will be sticky, just so you know…..
Hi Amy thank you for the comments to help others, I appreciate the time you took to write this out and I’m sorry it didn’t meet your expectations 🙁
I made these over the weekend, they were OK. I wish you had more instructions on the aquafaba- when to put it in the mix, is it 5 Tbsp or 3- you have in the recipe subbing 5 T milk for the aquafaba, but in the comments you tell someone 3T. Also is grams for the yeast a thing instead of volume? My yeast/milk/aquafaba mixture had doubled in size after the 5 minute activation time, yours looked like milk with a few bubbles mine was VERY bubbly and huge, not sure if i used too much yeast or I wasn’t supposed to have the 5T of aquafaba in with the milk/yeast. The cream cheese filling was great! I used Miyokos cream cheese and it was awesome. The bread part was just kinda blah, it tasted off.. which was most likely due to one of the above issues.
Hey thank you so much for this comment, this is an older recipe from several years ago that sounds like it can use an update! I appreciate that indication and will get right to updating this recipe with more clear instructions!
I saw you added the note! Very cool!
Hello, I’d like to make these today and bake them tomorrow morning for breakfast. Do you think it would be possible to do the final proofing in the fridge overnight?
Thank you!
hi! YES! You are exactly right. Instead of proofing before baking, you will place them in the refrigerator, take them out in the morning about an hour before baking to allow them to come to room temperature and then fluff up before bakng
Hi!! Can I make this recipe non vegan???
Yeah sure, I bet you can find some cow cheese danish on the internet, just do a Google search