Introducing Bakery Style Vegan Cheese Danish!
Authentic bakery style yeast buns filled with sweet vegan cream cheese
Quickly though, I must address what has been the most commented phrase on my vegan cheese danish recipe:
“HOW DARE YOU! THAT IS NOT A REAL DANISH DOUGH!”
If you are one of those who want to call me out for this~ Yes you are correct, this is not a true laminated danish dough!
Which in and of itself is an art form and one that I am not about to teach in a 5 minute YouTube video or try to explain in a blog post.
So if it is real deal laminated danish dough you are after then look elsewhere
This vegan cheese danish recipe is for folks who want an easy & fast near exact replica of a danish dough without all the time and technicalities involved.
Not to mention I will bet my last dollar that no one will ever know this is not a true danish dough!
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Notes for Success
I only use Tofutti Cream Cheese for my BAKED recipes *not sponsored
However I recently tried Violife again and it actually worked, though I still prefer Tofutti brand!
Cornstarch is a very difficult ingredient to measure consistently with a volume spoons measure
So while I list both measures below I cannot stress enough how the grams measure with a scale is going to give you the best results.
Divide this process into two days for fresh baked Vegan Cheese Danish in the morning!
Rather than proceeding with the second proofing as listed below in the instructions and video tutorial
You would instead cover the formed danish dough snails with plastic wrap and place the tray in the refrigerator for a very slow proof overnight
However you must still bring them out of the refrigerator at least one hour before baking to allow them to come to room temperature and then get nice and fluffy before baking
This could actually take longer than one hour, so plan your time accordingly to the conditions in your area.
Additionally you can top the danish with nuts or fruit filling for a variation on the cheese variety!
Re: Egg Replacer:
In the video I note that I am using The Plant Based Egg by Freely Vegan
This product is no longer available which has me greatly regretting my heavy promotion of this product in so many of my recipes and videos
That said, I now use Bob’s Red Mill with great results.
Feel free to use any egg replacer you like the most, this is a very friendly recipe
WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO FOR HOW TO MAKE THESE CHEESE DANISH!
Yield: 18
Vegan Cheese Danish
Prep Time3 hours
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time3 hours 25 minutes
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- All Purpose Flour 4 cups (500g) + more for rolling the dough
- Granulated Sugar ½ cup (100g)
- Baking Powder ¼ teaspoon
- Egg replacer 3 teaspoons *see notes above
- Nutmeg ¼ teaspoon
- Cardamom 1 teaspoon
- Salt ½ teaspoon
- Plant Milk warm (approx 100°F) 14 Tablespoons (207ml)
- Dry Yeast 1 Tablespoon + ¼ teaspoon
- Softened Vegan Butter 1 cup (226g)
For the Cheese Filling:
- Vegan Cream Cheese 1½ cup (336g) *see notes above
- Vegan Butter 2 Tablespoons (28g)
- Confectioner's Sugar 10 Tablespoons (75g)
- Cornstarch 3 Tablespoons (24g) *see notes above
- Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon
For the Cinnamon Schmear:
- Light Brown Sugar ¼ cup (50g)
- Vegan Butter Softened 4 Tablespoons (56g)
- Cinnamon 2 teaspoons
For the Wash:
- Aquafaba 1/3 cup OR your favorite egg replacer wash
- Granulated Sugar 3 Tablespoons
For the Glaze
- ½ cup any jelly or jam * I use apricot for a neutral color
- 2 Tablespoons water
Instructions
- First prepare the dough by proving your yeast in the warm (100°f) plant milk with a pinch of sugar, let it stand to frothy for about 5 minutes.
- In a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment combine all the dry ingredients including the sugar and the egg replacer and mix well
- Add the proved yeast/milk mixture along with the softened vegan butter
- Mix on low speed to incorporate then turn the mixer to medium speed and mix for 5 minutes (scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to help it mix evenly) *You can mix this entire recipe by hand by kneading it all together on a lightly floured work surface to a soft pliable dough
- Turn the dough out onto floured surface and knead it by hand about 20 turns
- Place into a lightly oiled bowl, cover and rest in a warm spot for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour or until almost doubled in size.
- Meanwhile prepare the cheese filling by combining all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand with a wooden spoon until smooth, reserve in the refrigerator until needed.
- Mix the cinnamon schmear also by hand in a medium bowl by blending all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon or spatula until smooth and to a whipped like consistency.
- Once the dough is risen, turn it out onto a floured work surface and gently press out the gasses while forming it into a rectangle shape. that is 18" X 12" approximately ¼" thick.
- Spread the cinnamon filling over the entire surface of the dough then fold the dough over in half from the long side. The resulting size of the dough will now be 18" X 6"
- Cut strips along the short sides to 1" pieces.
- Dock a slit in the middle of each dough strip and form the snail shapes as shown in the video.
- Place the danish snails onto a parchment lined sheet pan spaced 2" apart.
- Cover the pans loosely with plastic wrap and set to a warm spot for approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on the temperature of your room. The danishes will be fluffy and puffed.
- Once the danishes are proofed and puffy, start preheating your oven to 350°F
- Press an indent into the center of each danish and fill with 2-3 Tbs of the cheese filling.
- Combine the aquafaba and sugar together & whisk to loosen it up & dissolve the sugar then brush over each danish
- Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 25-30minutes or until golden browned *A double sheet pan will prevent over browning on the bottoms
- While the Danish are baking heat the jelly/jam & water over low heat to melt
- Immediately out of the oven brush the hot melted jam over each danish.
- Serve as soon as possible, yeast pastry goes stale fast and is meant to be eaten the day they are made
Notes
yeast pastry goes stale before it will go bad, so be sure to serve these the same day they are baked.
They will stay fresh for an entire day loosely wrapped and some people keep for 2-3 days & reheat before serving
