Sourdough Cream Cheese Apple Danish
There is nothing quite like a sourdough cream cheese apple Danish on a Saturday morning. The apple filling mixed with cream cheese sits perfectly atop sourdough pastry dough. It’s a common misconception that these pastries are hard to make. Well I’m here to tell you, they don’t have to be.
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Making any pastry can seem daunting. I mean it seems impossible to make bakery items in your own kitchen, right? But that’s where so many go wrong: It’s not impossible! You can whip up treats that taste professionally made right at home.
Recipe Inspiration
Costco has delicious Danish pastries that my husband loves but we hardly get them. They’re expensive and contain way too many artificial ingredients. So I decided to make my own version at home. That’s how this Danish recipe was born.
My husband prefers these homemade pastries over the store-bought ones! After developing the recipe and doing the usual double taste test, we continue to make them over and over again.
Reasons You’ll Love These Danish Pastries
- Easiest sourdough Danish recipe on the internet
- Full of wholesome ingredients
- The dough has added gut health from the sourdough starter
- Each part of this recipe is homemade
Elements of this Recipe
The dough: My sourdough Danish dough contains 7 wholesome ingredients and can be whipped up with easy steps. It avoids the troublesome steps many recipes contain, saving you time an energy.
The apple filling: My homemade apple filling contains only 5 ingredients and is easy to make. It’s a thicker filling than pie filling to prevent running during the baking process.
The cream cheese filling: With only 3 ingredients, my cream cheese filling isn’t overly sweet which complements the apple filling. Also you can whip it up in less than 2 minutes!
Cream Cheese Apple Danish Ingredients
Sourdough Danish Dough
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup cane sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 8 Tbsp cold or frozen butter (equivalent to 1/2 cup)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter (fed or discard)
Apple Filling
- 4 medium-large apples of your choice (or 6 small)
- 1/4 cup cane sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch + 1 Tbsp water
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 1/8 cup milk (any kind)
- 1 Tbsp raw honey
How to Make Sourdough Cream Cheese Apple Danish
Sourdough Danish Dough
- In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and sugar.
- Grate the butter into the dry ingredients, or cut it in with a fork. Mix until evenly combined.
- Add milk and sourdough starter, then mix with a spoon or your hands until a dough forms.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for 6 hours to ferment.
- After 6 hours, roll the dough into a 12″ by 6″ rectangle on a floured surface.
- To laminate the dough, fold the 12″ sides inward to meet in the middle, then do the same with the 6″ sides to create an envelope shape. Fold it in half again and roll it out into a 12″ by 6″ rectangle. Repeat this process two more times for a total of 3 rounds.
- Place the folded dough in the covered bowl and return it to the fridge for 2 more hours.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a 12″ by 12″ square about 1/4″ thick.
- Cut the rolled-out dough into 9 squares measuring 4″ by 4″.
- Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of apple filling and 1 1/2 tablespoons of cream cheese filling to the center of each square.
- Take the corners on the right side of each square and fold them together and twist. Repeat this with the left two corners to create an open-pocket Danish.
- Repeat step 12 for each of the 9 squares.
- Place each Danish 2 inches apart on a parchment lined sheet pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes at 450 degrees, or until the dough is lightly crisp, flaky, and the bottoms are brown. Make sure to place your oven rack in the center to prevent burning on the bottoms of each Danish.
Apple Filling
- Rinse, pat dry, peel, and core the apples.
- Cut the apples into chunks.
- In a pot, combine apple chunks, cane sugar, cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of water.
- Cook on the stovetop over medium heat, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
- Once the apples are soft and fully cooked, stir in the cornstarch slurry (1 Tbsp cornstarch + 1 Tbsp water) and cook for an additional 1 minute.
- Let the filling cool and store it in an airtight container in the fridge until needed.
Cream Cheese Filling
- In a bowl, combine softened cream cheese, milk, and honey. Mix with a hand mixer at medium speed.
- Cover and store the cream cheese filling in the fridge until needed.
Tips for Making Easy Danish Pastry Dough
- Always ensure the butter stays cold
- Don’t handle the dough too much
- When laminating, roll out as much as you can. Don’t worry if you can’t get it rolled out much by the third round.
Leftover Storage
Store cooled Danish in an air-tight container for up to 3 days on the counter. If you haven’t enjoyed them all before then, store them for up to 2 more days in the fridge.
Recipe FAQ
- Can I use canned apple pie filling? Technically you can but I highly recommend making this homemade version.
- Will low fat cream cheese work for this recipe? For sure, low fat cream cheese will work great.
- How long can I leave the dough sit in the fridge before filling and baking? You can do this for up to 24 hours.
- Can I use cane sugar instead of honey in the cream cheese filling? Yes you can use cane sugar in place of honey or even raw maple syrup.
Helpful Kitchen Tools for Danish
More Sourdough Dessert Recipes
- Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls (Less Sugar, Simple Steps)
- Easy Sourdough Pumpkin Scones with Chocolate Chips
- Sourdough Chocolate Chip Scones (The Best Recipe From Scratch)
- Homemade Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread (The Best Recipe)
I love hearing how much you love our recipes, be sure to leave a review below! 😊
Sourdough Cream Cheese Apple Danish
Ingredients
Sourdough Danish Dough
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup cane sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 8 Tbsp cold or frozen butter equivalent to 1/2 cup
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter fed or discard
Apple Filling
- 4 medium-large apples of your choice or 6 small
- 1/4 cup cane sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch + 1 Tbsp water
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/8 cup milk any kind
- 1 Tbsp raw honey
Instructions
Sourdough Danish Dough
- In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and sugar.
- Grate the butter into the dry ingredients, or cut it in with a fork. Mix until evenly combined.
- Add milk and sourdough starter then mix with a spoon or your hands until a dough forms.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for 6 hours to ferment.
- After 6 hours, roll the dough into a 12″ by 6″ rectangle on a floured surface.
- To laminate the dough, fold the 12″ sides inward to meet in the middle, then do the same with the 6″ sides to create an envelope shape. Fold it in half again and roll it out into a 12″ by 6″ rectangle. Repeat this process two more times for a total of 3 rounds.
- Place the folded dough in the covered bowl and return it to the fridge for 2 more hours.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a 12″ by 12″ square about 1/4″ thick.
- Cut the rolled-out dough into 9 squares measuring 4″ by 4″.
- Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of apple filling and 1 1/2 tablespoons of cream cheese filling to the center of each square.
- Take the corners on the right side of each square and fold them together and twist. Repeat this with the left two corners to create an open-pocket Danish.
- Repeat step 12 for each of the 9 squares.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes at 450 degrees, or until the dough is lightly crisp, flaky, and the bottoms are brown. Make sure to place your oven rack in the center to prevent burning on the bottoms of each Danish.
Apple Filling
- Rinse, pat dry, peel, and core the apples.
- Cut the apples into chunks.
- In a pot, combine apple chunks, cane sugar, cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of water.
- Cook on the stovetop over medium heat, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
- Once the apples are soft and fully cooked, stir in the cornstarch slurry (1 Tbsp cornstarch + 1 Tbsp water) and cook for an additional 1 minute.
- Let the filling cool and store it in an airtight container in the fridge until needed.
Cream Cheese Filling
- In a bowl, combine softened cream cheese, milk, and honey. Mix with a hand mixer at medium speed.
- Cover and store the cream cheese filling in the fridge until needed.
Delicious 🤤 Delicious 😋 easier than you think to make and well worth making!
These are so much better then any I’ve bought at a store or had homemade!!
I cut the recipe in half, thinking I had enough to last a few days. Nope they aren’t going to last, wish I made a full batch!
Plum Branch Home thank you for this recipe!!
Love how you put pictures, tips and other information in your recipes!
Aww reading this comment just warmed my heart! I am so happy to hear how much you loved this recipe 😊 It’s one of my favorites on the blog! So happy to hear the tips and photos throughout are helpful. Thank you for your 5-star review!!