Chocolate Cream Cheese Danish (Print Version)
# Ingredients:
→ Pastry
01 -
2 frozen puff pastry sheets
02 -
1 large egg
03 -
1 teaspoon water
→ Cream Cheese Filling
04 -
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
05 -
⅓ cup white granulated sugar
06 -
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
→ Chocolate Ganache
07 -
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
08 -
¾ cup heavy cream
# Instructions:
01 -
Place frozen puff pastry on the counter for 30 minutes to thaw.
02 -
Pour the semi-sweet chocolate chips into a bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat until steaming. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Stir gently until smooth. If chunks remain, microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring in between. Let sit for 2 hours at room temperature until the texture resembles pudding.
03 -
In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer on high speed for 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat for another minute. Mix in the vanilla extract until combined.
04 -
Roll out the pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface. Press seams together with your fingers. Using a sharp knife, cut each sheet into 3 long rectangles along the seams, then cut each rectangle in half to create 6 rectangles per sheet, totaling 12 pieces.
05 -
Whisk together the egg and water in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to spread the egg wash along the edges of each pastry rectangle.
06 -
Preheat the oven to 400°F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
07 -
Place the pastry rectangles on the cookie sheets, 6 per sheet. Using a knife, score a smaller rectangle inside each pastry, leaving a ½-inch border without cutting all the way through. Add 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling inside the scored rectangle and spread evenly. Keep the edges clear.
08 -
Place one sheet of pastries in the fridge and one in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up the butter in the dough.
09 -
Bake one cookie sheet at a time in the preheated oven for 17-20 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Let cool completely before baking the second sheet.
10 -
Once the pastries have cooled, spoon the prepared chocolate ganache on top of the cream cheese filling. Leave some cream cheese visible around the edges for presentation.