This is a perfect Cheese and Cherry Danish recipe with tender yeast dough, creamy cheese filling, and sweet cherry topping. This bakery-style pastry brings professional results to your home kitchen with easy step-by-step instructions.
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🥐 Cranberry cream cheese danish is a delicious way to enjoy seasonal cranberries. They add a bright, tart flavor that pairs perfectly with rich cream cheese and buttery pastry.
My 2 Best Tips For Making Cheese and Cherry Danish
Master the Braided Pattern: When creating the signature lattice design, cut your side strips uniformly at exactly 1 inch wide and 2 inches long. Work systematically, alternating sides as you fold each strip over the filling at a slight angle. Keep gentle, consistent tension to ensure even spacing and a professional bakery appearance that will impress everyone.
Don’t Overfill Your Danish: Resist the temptation to add extra filling. Too much will cause leakage during baking and prevent proper sealing of the braided strips. Use about half the cheese mixture and half the cherry filling for each danish, reserving some cherries for final decoration.
This cheese and cherry danish recipe delivers the same flaky, buttery pastry you’d find at your favorite bakery. The combination of enriched yeast dough with sour cream creates an incredibly tender texture that rivals any professional kitchen.
The creamy cheese filling provides a delightful contrast to the sweet cherry pie filling, while the vanilla-scented dough adds depth to every bite. This harmony of flavors makes each piece absolutely irresistible!
🩷 Melissa
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Easy Cream Cheese and Cherry Danish
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast* (1 package)
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Filling
- 6 oz. cream cheese, room temperature (two 3 oz. packages)
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 can 1 lb. 5 oz. cherry pie filling
Icing
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water
- 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine yeast, 1 cup flour, salt and sugar.
- Heat water, sour cream and butter to 120º to 130º F; add to dry ingredients. With mixer, beat 2 to 3 minutes on medium speed.
- Add eggs and vanilla; beat 1 minute.
- Gradually add remaining flour by hand or with a mixer that has dough hook(s); knead for 5 to 7 minutes until smooth and elastic.
- Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and turn to grease top. Cover; let rise until dough tests ripe, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.
- To prepare filling, cream together cream cheese, egg, sugar, and salt. Set aside
- Punch down dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half to a 12 x 17-inch rectangle.
- Spread half of filling lengthwise over center third of dough. Top with approximately half of pie filling. (Save a few cherries from filling to decorate danish after it is baked.)
- On each long side, cut 1-inch wide strips, 2 inches long. Starting at one end, fold strips at an angle across filling, alternately from side to side.
- Place dough on greased baking sheet. Cover; let rise until indentation remains after lightly touching the side of the dough, approximately 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350º. Bake in preheated oven 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Drizzle with icing; place a few cherries on small lattice openings to decorate. Cut into individual danishes, if desired.
Notes
- Store cooled danish in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- For longer storage, wrap individual pieces and freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat gently in a 300°F oven for best texture.
Nutrition
How To Make Cheese and Cherry Danish
Step 1: In mixing bowl, combine yeast, 1 cup flour, salt and sugar. Heat water, sour cream and butter to 120º to 130º F; add to dry ingredients. With mixer, beat 2 to 3 minutes on medium speed. Add eggs and vanilla; beat 1 minute. Gradually add remaining flour by hand or with a mixer that has dough hook(s); knead for 5 to 7 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and turn to grease top. Cover; let rise until dough tests ripe, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.
Step 2: To prepare filling, cream together cream cheese, egg, sugar, and salt. Set aside
Step 3: Punch down dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half to a 12 x 17-inch rectangle.
Step 4: Spread half of filling lengthwise over center third of dough. Top with approximately half of pie filling. (Save a few cherries from filling to decorate coffeecake after it is baked.) On each long side, cut 1-inch wide strips, 2 inches long. Starting at one end, fold strips at an angle across filling, alternately from side to side. Place coffeecake on greased baking sheet. Cover; let rise until indentation remains after lightly touching the side of the coffeecake, approximately 30 minutes.
Step 5: Preheat oven to 350º. Bake in preheated over 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Drizzle with icing; place a few cherries on small lattice openings to decorate coffeecake.
Recipe FAQs
The dough is ready when it has doubled in size and passes the “poke test.” Gently press two fingers into the dough – if the indentation remains and doesn’t spring back, your dough has risen sufficiently and is ready for shaping.
If your dough is excessively sticky, add flour. One tablespoon at a time during kneading. However, slightly sticky dough is normal and preferable to overly dry dough, which can result in tough pastry. Use lightly floured surfaces when rolling.
Absolutely! You can prepare the shaped danish, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight. Allow extra rising time (45-60 minutes) the next morning before baking, as cold dough takes longer to rise.
More Delicious Sweet Rolls Recipes to Consider
Did you try this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ rating below and share it on Instagram.
Donna
Barbara can I use puff pastry dough such as pepperidge farms dough? Would you know how to make a cinammon pecan coffee cake.
Janet
You might check out the temperature for the water your recipe says 120-130 degrees. I made this yesterday following your directions and my bread didn’t puff up as much. I checked the red star yeast website after and theirs state 80 degrees. The cherry and cheese inside tasted good but the bread could have been better if it puffed more. Another tip you might put down makes 2 loafs like the red star yeast site has so people know. I didn’t really want two cherry and cheese loaves so I made a chocolate one with the extra dough.
Julie Mo
My parents seriously thought I bought this at a bakery, and they were very impressed to find out I made it at home! I love that you get two big coffee cakes per recipe!
I added 1 tsp almond extract to the cheese filling and icing, plus slivered almonds on top before baking. It is such a great recipe!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks for the rave review Julie! Sounds like tasty additions. So fun to hear your coffee cakes impressed your parents.