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Danish Sourdough Pastry with Cream Cheese Filling

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These sourdough cream cheese danish pastry recipe is a fun sourdough recipe. Tender, Flakey pastry dough is filled with cream cheese pastry filling and topped with fruit.
 
close up of sourdough pastry with cream cheese and fruit filling
sourdough pastry with cream cheese and strawberries in center

While these danish’s have what seems like to be a ton of steps, they are actually very easy to make. And while it seems like they also take forever to make, the majority of the time is actually down time, so they aren’t too bad at all!

These sourdough cream cheese danish pastry recipe is a fun sourdough recipe. Tender, Flakey pastry dough is filled with cream cheese pastry filling and topped with fruit.
close up of sourdough pastry with cream cheese and fruit filling

They turned out perfectly! The dough handled absolutely beautifully, and I am totally in love with laminated sourdough now! I will be making these again, and I am already thinking up all kinds of variations!

three danish pastries sitting side by side

 

Love Sourdough? Check out over 60 great sourdough recipes, including other fun breakfast sourdough recipes:

  • Plum, Oat, and Almond Sourdough Quick Bread – Super moist and packed with flavor, this quick bread is a fun way to use your sourdough discard.
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  • Sourdough Blueberry Muffins – This easy sourdough muffin recipe is a perfect use of your sourdough starter discard! These muffins are dense and flavorful, with just a hint of sourdough tang, and many juicy blueberries. Topped with a lovely crunchy topping, these sourdough blueberry muffins are a breakfast delight!
  • Gingered Pear and Cranberry Sourdough Scones – These scones are hearty and flavorful.
sourdough danish pastry

How to make Sourdough Laminated Dough

  1. Mix the levain and allow to sit at room temperature, covered, for 12 hours.
  2. In the morning mix all the ingredients (except for the roll in butter) in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined.
  3. Switch to the dough hook and knead for 3 minutes at the low speed and then 3 minutes at medium speed, until the dough is not sticky but not completely smooth, either.
  4. Pat the dough flat, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 2 hours to overnight.
  5. Prepare the butter to roll in by placing the butter in the microwave for 5 second intervals until you can just squeeze the butter without it being too “room temperature”.
  6. Cut the butter into pieces and place on a sheet of waxed paper.
  7. Cover the butter with a second sheet of waxed paper and smoosh the butter together a little bit.
  8. Use your rolling pin to roll the butter out into a 7.5″x7.5″ square.
  9. Place the butter in the fridge until needed.
how to roll out dough for sourdough laminated dough
  1. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out until it is an 11″x11″ square.
  2. Remove the butter from the fridge, and take off the top waxed paper layer.
  3. Turn the butter out onto the dough square, so that the butter forms a diamond shape on the dough.
  4. Lightly run your hands over the bottom layer of waxed paper to attach the butter to the dough, and remove the waxed paper.
  5. Fold the dough into thirds and seal the edges.
  6. Roll the dough out into an 8″x24″ rectangle and fold into thirds again.
  7. Wrap in saran wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
  8. Take out the dough, roll it into an 8″x24″ rectangle and then fold into thirds.
  9. Wrap it back in saran wrap, and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
  10. Take the dough out, roll it into an 8″x24″ rectangle, and then fold into thirds.
  11. Place the dough in the fridge for 90 minutes.
adding butter to sourdough pastry dough
how to fold sourdough pastry dough

How to Make Sourdough Danish Pastry:

  1. Use this time to make the cream cheese filling:
  2. Using a hand mixer, beat together the soft cream cheese and butter until incorporated.
  3. Add the sugar and flour in three portions, mixing well after each addition.
  4. Beat in the egg, then the vanilla.
  5. Place in the fridge until needed, but bring to warm temperature before using.
  6. Take the dough out of the fridge roll the dough out into 9×36 inches. ** If at any time during the next steps if it seems that the butter is getting too warm or the dough is getting elasticy, stop what you are doing and let it sit in the fridge for an hour!
  7. Using a pizza cutter type tool, cut the dough into 4.5″x4.5″ squares.
  8. Place a small dot of the cream cheese filling in the center of the square and fold all four corners into the center.
  9. Allow the squares to rise at room temperature for 3-4 hours. If any seals open during this time, just press them back into the center.
  10. Preheat your oven to 425.
  11. Mix the remaining egg from the cream cheese mixture with 1 tsp of water and give all the pastries an egg wash.
  12. Squeeze the cream cheese filling into the center of each square and decorate with fresh fruit of your choice.
  13. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 375 and bake for an additional 15 minutes more.
how to fold sourdough cream cheese danish

 

close up of sourdough pastry with cream cheese and fruit filling

Danish Sourdough Pastry with Cream Cheese Filling

These sourdough cream cheese danish pastry recipe is a fun sourdough recipe. Tender, Flakey pastry dough is filled with cream cheese pastry filling and topped with fruit.
4.43 from 7 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 1 day
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 day 25 minutes
Servings: 12 Servings
Calories: 528kcal
Author: Jenni

Ingredients

Levain:

  • 44 grams 100% mature starter
  • 75 grams water
  • 134 grams bread flour

Final Dough:

  • 361 grams all purpose flour
  • 135 grams milk
  • 77 grams egg
  • 60 grams sugar
  • 10 grams salt
  • 41 grams butter softened
  • all the levain
  • 310 grams butter to roll in do not mix this in the dough!

Cream Cheese Filling:

  • 226 grams cream cheese room temperature
  • 113 grams sugar
  • 19 grams butter room temperature
  • 28 grams flour
  • 21 grams egg lightly beaten (this is a little less than half of a large egg, save the rest for the egg wash)
  • 4.5 grams vanilla extract

Instructions

!How to Make Sourdough Laminated Dough:

  • Mix the levain and allow to sit at room temperature, covered, for 12 hours.
  • In the morning mix all the ingredients (except for the roll in butter) in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined.
  • Switch to the dough hook and knead for 3 minutes at the low speed and then 3 minutes at medium speed, until the dough is not sticky but not completely smooth, either.
  • Pat the dough flat, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 2 hours to overnight.
  • Prepare the butter to roll in by placing the butter in the microwave for 5 second intervals until you can just squeeze the butter without it being too “room temperature”.
  • Cut the butter into pieces and place on a sheet of waxed paper.
  • Cover the butter with a second sheet of waxed paper and smoosh the butter together a little bit.
  • Use your rolling pin to roll the butter out into a 7.5″x7.5″ square.
  • Place the butter in the fridge until needed.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out until it is an 11"x11" square.
  • Remove the butter from the fridge, and take off the top waxed paper layer.
  • Turn the butter out onto the dough square, so that the butter forms a diamond shape on the dough.
  • Lightly run your hands over the bottom layer of waxed paper to attach the butter to the dough, and remove the waxed paper.
  • Fold the dough into thirds and seal the edges.
  • Roll the dough out into an 8"x24" rectangle and fold into thirds again.
  • Wrap in saran wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
  • Take out the dough, roll it into an 8"x24" rectangle and then fold into thirds.
  • Wrap it back in saran wrap, and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
  • Take the dough out, roll it into an 8"x24" rectangle, and then fold into thirds.
  • Place the dough in the fridge for 90 minutes.

!How to Assemble Danish Pastry:

    Use this time to make the cream cheese filling:

    • Using a hand mixer, beat together the soft cream cheese and butter until incorporated.
    • Add the sugar and flour in three portions, mixing well after each addition.
    • Beat in the egg, then the vanilla.
    • Place in the fridge until needed, but bring to warm temperature before using.
    • Take the dough out of the fridge roll the dough out into 9x36 inches. ** If at any time during the next steps if it seems that the butter is getting too warm or the dough is getting elasticy, stop what you are doing and let it sit in the fridge for an hour!
    • Using a pizza cutter type tool, cut the dough into 4.5"x4.5" squares.
    • Place a small dot of the cream cheese filling in the center of the square and fold all four corners into the center.
    • Allow the squares to rise at room temperature for 3-4 hours. If any seals open during this time, just press them back into the center.
    • Preheat your oven to 425.
    • Mix the remaining egg from the cream cheese mixture with 1 tsp of water and give all the pastries an egg wash.
    • Squeeze the cream cheese filling into the center of each square and decorate with fresh fruit of your choice.
    • Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 375 and bake for an additional 15 minutes more.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1g | Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 612mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g
    graphic for sourdough course - reads "new to sourdough? learn the skills to impress your family and friends with your sourdough baking. Click here".

    16 Comments

    1. Can I leave out the yeast in the recipe? Any adaptation I could make to leave it out?
      Tysm

    2. Hi! Was really pumped to try out this wonderful recipe with my new sourdough starter, then I realised all the measurements were in grams. Please give us eager, but not so precise, amateurs the equivalents in regular measurements, as I do not have a scale.
      Thank you so much

      1. Hi! I understand your frustration! I do include cup measurements for the easier discard recipes, but this recipe is more technically challenging and it needs to be precise! Using cups can give such varying results depending on how you measure them, which could change the results you get when you make this pastry dough. In order to help the most people be successful with this recipe, it is written in grams. I hope you get a scale soon and come back to try this recipe!

    3. Yeah, I was surprised by how easy going the recipe was. I fitted the stages around my day(s), so I didn't realise how long it took until I sat down and totted up the hours. As far as hands-on works goes, tis a doddle. 🙂

      Your pastries are so beautiful! What a fantastic way to christen a kitchen.

    4. Sawsan @chef in disguise says:

      I love what you guys are doing with sourdough. I didn't carry on with mine after the daring bakers challenge but I think I should start up again

      1. Thanks, Sawsan! We are having so much fun playing with our starters! We would love to have you join us! 🙂

      1. Oh, Ilan! You should try sourdough, its so fun to play with! Its like a science experiment! 🙂 Your laminated dough tutorial turned out great, and those plum danish look soo delicious! I think plums are highly underrated! 🙂

        1. I’m on step 19 but can’t rool my dough it keeps tearing. What should I do?

          1. Uh-oh! If the dough is tearing, you might need to roll more gently. Use long, firm strokes when rolling and don’t push down with force, being gentle so you don’t over work the gluten in the dough. If you feel like the dough is sticking to the counter, you can give a light dusting of flour, but make sure you dust the flour off before you fold. Your butter could also be too cold, maybe trying shortening the chill time a little or let it sit on the counter for just a little bit before you roll out. Its a delicate balance of making sure the butter stays cold but that it isn’t so cold that it makes rolling difficult!

    5. Wow – those are mouthwateringly beautiful – flaky and gorgeous and I bet they tasted amazing!! I am so glad that Sourdough Surprises got to make it's new kitchen debut with this one! 🙂

    6. They turned out so well!! So delicious, and you're right, not as hard as I thought they would be 🙂

      1. I love how easy they were! Maybe that is all in prospective after making croissants, but still, these weren't too bad! 🙂 And tasted so amazing!

    7. Yum! I love cheese danish, but have never thought to try to make them at home before. Yours look really delicious.

      1. I know you can make laminated dough, so you would find these to be a breeze!! And actually, I think these were easier to make than croissants!

    4.43 from 7 votes (7 ratings without comment)

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