Name: Ina Garten’s Easy Cheese Danish
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 8 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature); 1/3 cup sugar; 2 extra-large egg yolks (at room temperature); 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons); 2 sheets (1 box frozen puff pastry, defrosted); 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water (for egg wash)

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Ina Garten's Easy Cheese Danish is light and flaky, with a rich, tart-sweet, lemony filling. Perfect for a weekend brunch, or a midday snack.

This was my first time making an Ina Garten recipe and I was both shocked and disappointed that several effeminate men didn't casually show up with fine wine selections or to create ambiance while I cooked.

Ina Garten's easy cheese danish.

I made these easy cheese danish because someone is repeatedly lured in by the Entenmann's 2 for $5 sale at the entrance of our local grocery store. They did hold up to their namesake - they were very easy to make. The egg wash gives the pastry a great color. It's a flaky, light treat, yet, the filling still makes it seem rich and decadent without bogging it down. A little sugar glaze on top really sets these off.

Puff Pastry really does take a lot of the work out of making things like Danishes. Here are some more recipes to try out now that you are addicted to it 😉

Puff Pastry Austrian Apple Strudel
Chocolate Walnut Turnovers
Chicken Bacon Brie Turnovers

If you’ve tried my version of Ina Garten's Easy Cheese Danish recipe or any other recipe on passthesushi.com please don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know where you found it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also follow along for more good eats and travel tips on Instagram @passthesushi & @girlcarnivore, Twitter & Facebook.

📖 Recipe

$Ina Garten's Easy Cheese Danish Recipe \\ See it recreated on PassTheSushi.com$

Ina Garten’s Easy Cheese Danish

Ina Garten’s Easy Cheese Danish is light and flaky, with a rich, tart-sweet, lemony filling. Perfect for a weekend brunch, or a trip to the rodeo…

4.67 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Breakfast

American

Author: Kita Roberts

30 mins

Serves: 8 Danish

Ingredients

▢ 8 ounces cream cheese - at room temperature
▢ ⅓ cup sugar
▢ 2 extra-large egg yolks - at room temperature
▢ 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
▢ ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
▢ 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest - 2 lemons
▢ 2 sheets - 1 box frozen puff pastry, defrosted
▢ 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water - for egg wash

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth.
With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don’t whip!
Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it’s a 10 by 10-inch square.
Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife.
Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares.
Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together.
Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash.
Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes.
Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.

Notes

What I’d Do Different:

Less lemon. 1 tablespoon of juice was very lemon-y for my BF’s and my taste. It was nice, but personally, I would use 1 teaspoon.

More filling! The recipe calls for one heaping tablespoon, but there were leftovers and had I known that I would have packed those suckers to the brim. It really is the best part, so why not?

Nutrition

Nutritional informations provided as a courtesy and is only an approximatation. Values will changes based on ingredients used.

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What I'd Do Different:

Less lemon. 1 tablespoon of juice was very lemon-y for my BF's and my taste. It was nice, but personally, I would use 1 teaspoon.