Raspberry Cheese Danish is incredibly easy to whip up and ready in minutes using refrigerated crescent rolls as a shortcut. With a sweet and creamy fruit jam filling, buttery bread, and cream cheese frosting, it’s the perfect treat for breakfast or brunch!
I am a big fan of refrigerated biscuits and crescent rolls, and always keep a tube or two in the fridge for quick and easy recipes. I just love how, with a simple filling, they can be easily turned into scrumptious treats.
While I like to stuff biscuits with something savory, such as in these cheese-stuffed pull apart rolls and sloppy joe beef bread rolls, a simple mixture of raspberry jam and cream cheese is my top choice for crescent rolls. It’s so easy to bake them into homemade cheese danishes, you might just say goodbye to your favorite bakery!
Ingredient notes
- Refrigerated crescent rolls– look for crescent pastry dough sheets, which are seamless, solid rectangular dough rather than perforated triangles.
- Raspberry preserves– or any fruit preserves like strawberry, peaches, blackberries.
- Cream cheese– substitute Neufchâtel for a lower-fat option
- Powdered sugar– the fine texture dissolves easily for a smoother consistency without grit than with granulated sugar. It also creates a sturdier, more stable frosting.
- Butter- keeps the frosting firm and adds a silky, velvety texture and rich, creamy flavor
- Vanilla Extract– flavor enhancer that balances the sweetness of the sugar
How to Make Cream Cheese Danish
- Beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Stir in the raspberry jam until the mixture is spreadable.
- Roll out the crescent roll into a rectangle, pinching perforations together to seal and prevent filling from leaking. Spread the cream cheese mixture on the crescent rectangle and gently roll it along the long side into a tight log.
- Cut into 1 1/2-inch thick pieces and arrange in a baking pan. Bake in a 375°F oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Beat together the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until fluffy, then spread on top of the Danish rolls.
Cook’s tip
Make sure the butter and cream cheese are at “cool room temperature.” If they are too soft, the frosting will be runny and thin. If they are too cold, the frosting will be too difficult to beat into a fluffy consistency, ending up with tiny lumps.
How to serve and store
- I can eat a whole batch of these crescent roll cheese danishes as is, but a generous slathering of cream cheese frosting does take them over the top. They’re an amazing treat for an everyday breakfast or a weekend brunch, served with coffee, tea, or Mexican hot chocolate.
- The recipe can be easily doubled for a large crowd and makes a great make-ahead sweet treat. They’ll keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- You can bake and freeze the Danish rolls unfrosted in a tightly covered baking pan. When ready to serve, thaw completely, briefly warm in the oven, then frost. You can freeze them already frosted, but they won’t heat well in the microwave or oven. Just thaw overnight in the fridge, then let sit for a few minutes at room temperature before serving.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 tablespoons raspberry preserves
- 1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a bowl, whip cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add raspberry preserves and continue to beat on low speed until combined.
- Open can of crescent rolls and unroll dough into a large rectangle, firmly press on perforations to seal.
- Spread the raspberry filling on the rectangle crescent dough, leaving about 1/2 inch of edges.
- Starting on the longest side, roll dough into a log. Cut into 12 pieces of about 1 1/2-inch thick.
- Arrange slices cut side down in a lightly greased 9-inch round cake pan, leaving a little space in between.
- Bake in a 375 F oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to slightly cool and spread with frosting.
For Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until fluffy..
- Beat in vanilla extract. With the mixer running on low speed to start, slowly add in powdered sugar. Continue to beat until smooth.
Notes
Nutrition Information
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
micheLe says
In the raspberry creme cheese danish recipe, it says “Spread half of the raspberry filling on the rectangle crescent dough, leaving about 1/2 inch of edges.” There’s no mention in the rest of the recipe for what to do with the other half of the raspberry filling. Am I missing something?
Lalaine says
Hi Michelle,
Sorry about that. I got confused, I guess I was thinking of the 1/2 inch edges when I was typing 🙁 You use the whole amount to spread on the crescent roll rectangle. I corrected the recipe. Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention.