How to Make Danish Cheese Filling

Cheese-filled danishes are traditional and much loved pastries. While there is little variation in fillings for cheese danishes, there are two basic types of fillings: the traditional filling made with dry farmer's cheese, and an updated filling made with cream cheese. Both recipe contain nearly identical ingredients and methods.

Things You'll Need

• For Cream Cheese Filling:
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 ½ tbsp. flour
• 2 tsp. lemon zest
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• For Traditional Filling:
• 12 oz. farmer's cheese
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions

Cream Cheese Filling

1. Cut 8 oz. cream cheese into chunks. Place it in a food processor, along with 1/3 cup sugar, and blend until it is smooth and creamy.

2. Add egg yolk and 1 ½ tsp flour, pulsing the machine after each addition. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure it all incorporates evenly.

3. Add the lemon zest, vanilla, and blend just until completely combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Traditional Cheese Filling

1. Combine the farmer's cheese and sour cream in a food processor and mix until combined.

2. Add to the cheese mixture 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tbs. flour, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 egg yolk and 2 tsp. lemon zest.

3. Blend well, transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

Tips & Warnings

• Farmer's cheese is an advanced form of cottage cheese. During the cheese-making process, rennet (an animal enzyme) is added to curdle the milk, thus separating the curds and whey. When the whey is drained off, the remaining product is known as cottage cheese. Pressing some of the moisture out creates pot cheese, and pressing nearly all of the moisture out results in farmer's cheese. For this recipe, you can either use farmer's cheese (known as queso fresco in Spanish), pot cheese, or dry cottage cheese.

References

• It's Not You It's the Brie: Farmer's Cheese
• Pink Stripes: Cream Cheese Danish