Sweetheart Danish

Strawberry Danish. Picture by Preeti Maheshwari

Danishes are pastries with multiple layers of dough rolled out and folded with butter, which then can be baked into multiple shapes and filled with fruits, preserves, cream, chocolate or a variety of other fillings.

Puff pastry sheet

½ cup cream cheese

3 tbsp sugar

Strawberries (a handful, sliced)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 tsp milk

1/4 tsp lemon zest (optional)

Brown sugar to sprinkle

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut hearts out of the pastry sheet. Then, using a smaller heart-shaped cookie cutter, make an indent on the pastry as a guide for the filling.

Put the hearts on the lined baking tray.

In a bowl, add cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest. Whisk them well using a beater until soft and creamy.

Fill a piping bag with the cream cheese mixture and pipe the filling in the centre of the hearts.

Decorate the top with sliced strawberries.

Milk wash the edges of the pastry and sprinkle brown sugar over the Danish.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until they are golden brown.