Cheese Danish

• Vegetarian

• Produce

  • 1 tsp Lemon

• Refrigerated

  • 1 Egg, large

• Baking & Spices

  • 1 Flour
  • 1/4 cup Granulated sugar
  • 1 Dash Salt
  • 2 tsp Vanilla extract

• Bread & Baked Goods

  • 1 sheet Puff pastry, frozen

• Dairy

  • 12 oz Cream cheese

Found on leitesculinaria.com

Ingredients

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from a 17.3-ounce or 490-gram box or substitute homemade puff pastry)
• Flour, for the baking sheet
• 12 ounces (1 1/2 cups or 340 grams) cream cheese, left at room temperature for at least 30 minutes
• 1 large egg, separated
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar, plus 2 teaspoons for sprinkling
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (preferably organic)
• Dash salt

Directions

• 1. Thaw the puff pastry at room temperature for 45 minutes.2. Place the cream cheese, egg yolk, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt in a medium bowl and beat together with an electric mixer until smooth. Cover and place in the fridge until the dough is ready.3. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Tear off a piece of parchment paper the size of a jelly roll pan or a 12-by-16-inch (30-by-40-centimeter) baking sheet. Lightly sprinkle the parchment paper with flour. 4. Unroll the puff pastry on the parchment paper and, using a rolling pin, roll it out until it measures about 12 by 15 inches (32 by 38 centimeters). After every few rolls, carefully lift up the puff pastry and sprinkle a little more flour underneath it.5. Rotate the pastry on the parchment paper so it’s vertical when you look at it. (In other words, so one of the short sides is facing you.) Use the back of a knife to lightly score the dough into 3 long, vertical columns, being careful not to cut all the way through the dough.6. Remove the cream cheese filling from the fridge and spread it in the center column, leaving a 1-inch (2 1/2-centimeter) plain puff pastry border on the top and bottom edges of the column. Fold down the top edge of the puff pastry 1/2 inch (2 centimeters) over the filling to seal it. Take your knife and, leaving the side columns attached to the center column, cut horizontal slits in the 2 side columns, starting about 3/4 inch (2 centimeters) before the cream cheese filling begins and slicing all the way to the edge of the pastry, making 1-inch-wide (2 1/2-centimeter) strips. [Editor’s Note: This will make a heck of a lot more sense when you have the ingredients in front of you. Trust us.]7. Now, starting at the top, take the top strip on the right side and pull it over the cream cheese filling at a downward angle and press it into the cream cheese. Take the top strip from the left side and cross it over the top strip from the right side and press to seal. Repeat on the right side and keep alternating until you get to the bottom. When you get to the bottom 2 strips, cross them over each other but this time go up the pastry. Fold the bottom pastry up 1/2 inch (2 centimeters) over the filling to seal it.8. Beat the reserved egg white and lightly brush it on the pastry. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar. Slide the parchment paper and the cheese Danish onto a baking sheet. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat to serve.