Easy Strawberry Cream Cheese Heart Danishes

Heart Danishes are the reason my kitchen smelled like a bakery at 7:12 AM today… and also the reason I had flour on my socks. I wasn’t even planning to bake. I just opened the fridge, saw a block of cream cheese staring at me, and thought, “Okay fine, we’re doing something cute.”

And yes, I messed this up once already. First batch? I overfilled them and the cream cheese lava-ed out the sides like a tiny dairy volcano. Still ate them. No regrets.

Heart Danishes: The Not-So-Perfect Backstory :

I think I got the idea for these from my aunt… or maybe it was Pinterest? Honestly can’t remember. It was back when everyone was making banana bread during lockdown and I was out here trying to fold pastry like I knew what I was doing.

Some people make heart shaped danishes from scratch with laminated dough. Respect. I’m not that person on a random weekday. I’m using store-bought puff pastry because life is short and my oven runs hot on the left side.

Also: I’ve tried making these as strawberry heart danishes with jam only. Good, but a little one-note. The cream cheese is what makes them feel like a proper bakery treat. I think… no, I know this works better when the filling is tangy and not too sweet.

Ingredients :

Here’s what you need for strawberry cream cheese heart danishes. And yes, I’m going to tell you what I actually do, not what I wish I did.

• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed (Pepperidge Farm is my usual; it behaves)
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened (leave it out 30–45 minutes; cold cream cheese = lumpy sadness)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg yolk (save the white for egg wash)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt (sea salt if you’re fancy, regular salt if you’re normal like me)
• 1/2 cup strawberry jam or preserves (the chunkier kind is cute)
• 1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped (optional but makes it feel “real”)
• 1 egg white + 1 teaspoon water (egg wash)
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar + 1–2 teaspoons milk (quick glaze)
• Extra thing that doesn’t belong in the list: coffee. You’ll want coffee.

Shopping note: good luck finding strawberries that taste like anything in winter. If they’re pale and sad, skip the fresh ones and lean on jam. Nobody will call the strawberry police.

How to Make Heart Shaped Cheese Danishes :

Oh wait—I forgot to mention—you need to preheat your oven first. Do that now: ${200}^{\circ }\text{C}$200∘C / ${400}^{\circ }\text{F}$400∘F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

1) Mix the cream cheese filling

In a bowl, stir together:

• softened cream cheese
• sugar
• egg yolk
• vanilla
• pinch of salt

Use a spoon, not a whisk. Trust me on this one. Whisking makes it too loose and then it spreads everywhere. (Learned this the hard way.)

It’ll look a little lumpy at first, kinda gross. Keep stirring. It smooths out.

2) Cut and shape the hearts

Unfold one puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured counter. Roll it just a tiny bit to smooth seams.

Cut 6 squares per sheet (so 12 total if you use both sheets). Mine are roughly $10\text{ cm}$10 cm squares. Not exact. Life.

To make the heart shaped danishes:

1. Fold each square into a triangle (don’t press too hard).
2. Cut a curved notch at the folded edge (this becomes the heart dip).
3. Unfold—boom, heart-ish shape.
4. Use a knife to score a smaller heart border inside (don’t cut through), about $1\text{ cm}$1 cm from the edge.

If yours look like wonky hearts, congrats, you’re human.

3) Fill (but don’t overfill, please)

Spoon about 1 tablespoon cream cheese filling into the center of each heart. Then add about 1–2 teaspoons strawberry jam on top. If using fresh strawberries, add a few pieces.

Do NOT skip this step: keep the filling inside the scored border. Otherwise it runs out and burns onto your pan and then you’re scraping sugar cement later.

4) Egg wash and bake

Whisk egg white with 1 teaspoon water. Brush the exposed pastry edges.

Bake 16–20 minutes, until puffed and golden. I set a timer for 16 minutes, then inevitably forget and panic at 19. If your oven browns unevenly, rotate the pan halfway.

If jam bubbles onto the pan and starts to burn (been there), just pull the pan out and carefully peel off the burnt bits after it cools. The danishes will still taste great.

5) Glaze (optional, but… c’mon)

Mix powdered sugar with a splash of milk until it drizzles. Drizzle over warm-ish danishes. Not piping hot, not cold. Somewhere in the middle.

And yes, I drizzle like a toddler. It’s fine. Rustic.

Cheese Heart Danishes Variations :

Anyway… here are the swaps I actually use:

• For redder strawberry heart danishes: add a few drops of lemon juice to the jam, it brightens the flavor
• For “fancy”: add lemon zest to the cream cheese filling
• For kids: skip fresh strawberries (they fall off), use jam + sprinkles after glazing
• For red velvet vibes: dust with cocoa powder after glazing (sounds odd, tastes good)

My 8-year-old refuses to eat anything green, but somehow loves these. Cream cheese magic.

Tips for Strawberry Cream Cheese Heart Danishes That Don’t Leak Everywhere :

• Keep puff pastry cold-ish. If it gets warm and floppy, pop it back in the fridge for 10 minutes
• Don’t use low-fat cream cheese. It gets watery and the filling turns… sad
• Score the border. It’s not just decoration, it’s a little dam
• Use parchment paper. Your future self will thank you

Speaking of things that make people cry—onions make me cry even through sunglasses. Weird, right? Pastry doesn’t, but burnt jam smoke absolutely does.

Serving + Storing :

Eat them warm with coffee or mint tea. If you’re in Morocco like me, a glass of atay with these? Dangerous combo.

To store:

• Room temp: 1 day (they soften)
• Fridge: 3 days (reheat in oven ${160}^{\circ }\text{C}$160∘C / ${325}^{\circ }\text{F}$325∘F for 5–7 minutes)
• Freezer: 1 month, bake from frozen + a few extra minutes (glaze after)

These are best the day you bake them. Like, peak joy.

So yeah. People keep asking for the recipe, so I guess I did something right.

Let me know how yours turns out! And be honest—did your hearts come out cute or… abstract? I’m genuinely curious.

Happy cooking! (and may your smoke alarms stay quiet) 💗🥐