Description
Apple Cheese Danish drizzled with icing.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
- 3 Tablespoons Ricotta Cheese
- 1 whole Lemon, Zest And Juice Used, Divided Use
- ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- ⅛ teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 5 Tablespoons Sugar, Divided
- 2 whole Gala Apples
- ½ teaspoons Cinnamon
- 1 whole Box Puff Pastry, Defrosted, 14-17 Ounce Box
- 1 whole Egg, Beaten (for Egg Wash)
- ¾ cups Confectioners Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Whole Milk
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, place the cream cheese, ricotta, lemon zest, vanilla, salt, 4 tablespoons of sugar and mix until smooth, using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Set aside.
Peel and slice your apples into 1/4-inch slices. In a small bowl toss them with 1 tablespoon of sugar, cinnamon and juice from the one lemon.
Carefully unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry and roll it out slightly with a floured rolling pin until it’s about 1/4-inch in thickness. Since mine was a circle, I cut it into an 11″ x 8″ rectangle. Transfer the sheet of puff pastry to a piece of parchment.
At an angle, slice off the top corners of the rectangle and cut two notches (just cut a little triangle about an inch from the center on both sides) out of the bottom. Slice 1-inch strips diagonally down both sides of the puff pastry, leaving the center uncut. Try to cut the same length of strips on both sides. I had about 8 strips per side. (Click on the related blog link for a photo tutorial).
Add three tablespoons of cream cheese filling, spreading it evenly down the center (the uncut part) of the puff pastry. Top with apple slices.
Fold in the bottom and top flaps. Then braid the puff pastry, by folding the strips over the filing, alternating sides, until you’ve worked your way down the length of the puff pastry. Use your knife to trim off any leftover strips or extra dough.
Transfer the danish (with parchment) to a baking sheet, and brush top with egg wash. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and the remaining filling ingredients. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until puffed up and golden brown.
While baking, mix confectioner’s sugar with milk and mix. When the danish comes out of the oven, drizzle top with icing and serve warm.
