Strawberry Puff Pastry
Our easy braided strawberry puff pastry recipe is filled with cream cheese and jam then topped with a sweet icing. It’s great for breakfast or dessert!
One of my favorite snacks as a kid were strawberry toaster strudels. You remember those, right? Those little squares of layered pastry filled with strawberry jam.
There was a packet of sweet icing to drizzle over the top. Those were so good!
Now I make the adult version with my braided strawberry puff pastry recipe. It’s flaky, buttery, and filled with strawberry jam and sweetened cream cheese.
I even add an icing over the top. It works as breakfast or dessert, and honestly, it’s one of those recipes that looks fancy but takes almost no effort.
What You’ll Need
This danish recipe uses less than 10 ingredients and many of them are pantry staples.
- Puff pastry: I use store-bought puff pastry. Just thaw it until it’s easy to roll out but still cold. You don’t want it sticky or tacky.
- Cream cheese: Make sure the cream cheese is really soft so it mixes well with the other ingredients.
- Strawberry jam or preserves: Seedless jam is my favorite but any variety of strawberry jam will work. If you’d prefer to use fresh strawberries, I’ve included some information below explaining how to do that.
- Sugar, vanilla, lemon juice: These ingredients are added to the cream cheese for sweetness and extra flavor.
- Egg and milk: These make up an egg wash that gives the strawberry puff pastry a pretty gloss instead of making it super brown like an egg wash made with egg and water.
- Optional glaze: All you need for the glaze is powdered sugar, vanilla, and a bit of milk. It’s totally optional, but I never skip it.
Quick Tips Before You Start
- Thaw the puff pastry just enough to unfold it without making it crack. If it gets too warm, chill it again for a few minutes.
- Try to cut the same number of strips on each side so you have an even braid.
- I love using a pizza cutter to make the strips. If you don’t have a pizza cutter handy, try a sharp knife.
- Use a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. No matter how tightly I braid the puff pastry or how well I tuck the ends, some of the filling always leaks out.
How to Use Fresh Strawberries
Want to use fresh strawberries? You can, but cook them down first rather than just adding sliced berries.
Cut up about a cup of strawberries and simmer them with 1–2 teaspoons of sugar (or more depending on the sweetness of the berries) and a squeeze of lemon juice until thickened.
They should have the consistency of homemade jam. Let it cool before spreading it on the pastry.
How to Make the Braided Strawberry Puff Pastry
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice until well combined. Set aside.
Sprinkle a little flour onto a work surface, and roll the puff pastry into a rectangle (about 10×12 inches). Try to keep the seams from where you unfolded the puff pastry visible. They make a great guide for spreading the filling and cutting even strips on the sides.
Cut diagonal strips on both sides of puff pastry, about ¼ -½ inch wide. Make sure to cut the same amount of strips on each side of the puff pastry.
Carefully spread the cream cheese filling over the center of the puff pastry. Add the strawberry jam over the top of the cream cheese.
Begin the braid by folding left strip over the filling, then right, alternating until it’s all wrapped. You can very gently press the strips together or use a tiny bit of water to seal them together. I don’t usually have any issues with them coming undone.
Whisk the egg and milk together, and use a pastry brush to apply the egg wash.
Bake for 18–22 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.
Optional Glaze
Let the braided puff pastry cool for about 10 minutes before drizzling with icing. To make the icing whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.
Drizzle it over the top of the danish, and serve warm or at room temperature.
How to Store Leftovers
- Refrigerator: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for 1–2 days.
- Reheating: Using an oven or toaster oven is best. Reheat at 300°F for 5–8 minutes or until warmed through. Microwaving works, but it softens the pastry.
Ingredients
For the Danish:
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
- 4 ounces block-style cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice, optional
- 4 tablespoons strawberry jam, or strawberry preserves
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon milk
For the Glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To Make the Danish:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C), and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll the puff pastry into a rectangle, about 10×12 inches (25×30 cm).1 sheet puff pastry
- In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice until well combined. Set aside.4 ounces block-style cream cheese2 tablespoons granulated sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Place the pastry on the baking sheet (See *parchment paper note below). Cut ¼-½ inch (1.5 cm) wide diagonal strips on both sides of the pastry.
- Spread the cream cheese filling down the center section. Spoon the jam over the top of the cream cheese.4 tablespoons strawberry jam
- Fold the strips over the filling, alternating left and right to form a braid. The strips should overlap as you fold.
- Whisk together the egg and milk. Brush over the top of the pastry.1 egg1 tablespoon milk
- Bake for 18–22 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Let cool for 10 min before glazing.
To Make the Glaze:
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth.½ cup powdered sugar1 tablespoon milk½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Drizzle over the cooled pastry and serve.
Notes
- Servings: The calories listed are an approximation based on the ingredients in the recipe card and a serving size of 1 slice of danish assuming it’s cut into 6 equal pieces. Actual calories will vary.
- Braid: The braid is fairly simple, but you’ll likely have extra unused puff pastry pieces at one end. You can see in the photos above that there are triangles of dough that are unable to be braided at the top end. I discarded those, but in theory you could leave them intact and tuck them over the ends.
- Jam: If you don’t like strawberry jam, try blueberry, peach, blackberry, cherry, or another flavor.
- Parchment paper: I highly recommend using parchment paper to catch any spills. Usually I start cutting the strips and assembling the puff pastry on parchment that’s placed over a large cutting board. After it’s braided, I carefully lift the parchment and move it to the baking sheet. You could also work directly on the baking sheet and be really careful not to scratch your pan as you’re cutting your strips. This is how I wrote the recipe just to keep things simple.
- Storage: Store leftovers in the fridge for 1–2 days.