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Updated March 28, 2022
Are you looking for the perfect air fryer copycat Starbucks cream cheese danish recipe?
You’ve found it!
Cream cheese danish is my favorite pastry from Starbucks.
We can’t always get to our local Starbucks, which made me determined to re-create their cheese danish in my air fryer.
Air Fryer Copycat Starbucks Cream Cheese Danish
With the big change for many people towards working from home, you’ve likely been eating at home more!
With that comes certain cravings, especially if you were regularly getting a certain item.
The Starbucks Cream Cheese Danish is a popular choice, and we think we’ve found the perfect copycat to satisfy that urge from the comfort of your own home.
With a few simple and easy to acquire ingredients you’ll be back in business with this delicious breakfast treat.
Pair it with your morning cup of coffee and you’ll be ready to grind out plenty of work for the day!
(Yields 12-16 pastries)
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 7 minutes
Ingredients:
This recipe is relatively light on the ingredients, and they’re all super easy to get at the store!
To save time (after all, this is primarily a replacement for a quick Starbucks breakfast) we used store-bought puff pastry.
You can substitute homemade if you want to, just be ready for some extra work!
The filling/topping is an easy mix of cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and lemon.
Combine them all together and you’ll have an absolutely amazing breakfast to keep you satisfied while saving so much money!
Ingredients:
· 2 sheets of homemade or store-bought puff pastry
· 1 8oz package of cream cheese
· 1 cup of sugar
· 1 teaspoon of vanilla
· 1 lemon
Instructions:
These copycat cream cheese danishes are incredibly easy to make if you follow the instructions!
The first thing you should do is get all the ingredients ready, including the mixing bowl and air fryer.
You’ll want to make the topping/filling first, there’s a pretty quick turnaround with the pastry.
Start with whisking the cream cheese, sugar, the zest of half a lemon, the juice of half a lemon, and the vanilla.
Once it’s whisked and thoroughly combined, you’re good to start working on the pastry!
Then, cut your pastry into rectangular pieces.
You should be able to get 6-8 pieces per sheet of puff pastry.
Once they’re cut you can start baking them in the air fryer!
When they’re almost done, place a spoonful of the filling into the center of the pastry and return to the air fryer for another two minutes.
Now that the time is up, they’re ready to eat or store!
For step-by-step instructions, look below!
1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, sugar, juice of 1/2 lemon, zest of the other half lemon, and vanilla.
2. Cut sheets of puff pastry into rectangular pieces.
If your goal is to feed multiple people, you can easily cut eight pieces from the pastry and make them slightly smaller.
3. Place pastry into the air fryer basket and cook on 370 for 5 minutes. Brush with egg wash optional.
The egg wash is mostly visual, but it’s definitely a nice touch!
4. Remove and place a dollop of cream cheese frosting in the center, cook for 2 more minutes
This allows it to properly set and bond to the pastry, on top of helping combine the ingredients even more.
This stores well, especially if kept in a sealed container!
If you don’t have one that suits it well you can also wrap them in plastic wrap.
Just be sure to eat them within the next day or two, that’s when they’ll be best!
What to serve with cheese danish:
Cheese danish makes a fine breakfast on their own.
But what if you want something more?
When it comes to serving food with cheese danish, the sky is the limit.
You can choose from sweet or savory options, depending on your mood and what you are in the mood for. Here are 10 delicious ideas to get you started:
1. Fruit: fresh berries, sliced grapes, or diced apples all pair nicely with the sweetness of cheese danish.
2. Nuts: toasted almonds, pecans, or walnuts add a crunchy contrast to the softness of the pastry.
3. Jam: any flavor of jam or jelly makes a delicious addition to a cheese danish.
4. Chocolate: whether it is in the form of chips, shavings, or melted and drizzled, chocolate takes a cheese danish to the next level.
5. Savory toppings: think outside the box with savory toppings like crumbled bacon, diced ham, or even a sunny-side-up egg.
6. Whipped cream: a dollop of whipped cream adds a touch of elegance (and deliciousness) to any cheese danish.
7. Sauces: caramel, chocolate, or even simply powdered sugar all make for scrumptious sauces to top off a cheese danish.
8. Dips: fruit dips, yogurt dips, and even savory dips like ranch dressing or hollandaise are all great choices for dipping your cheese danish.
9. Oils and vinegar: a drizzle of olive oil or balsamic vinegar gives a cheesy danish an unexpected zing.
10. Spices: a sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg, or even pumpkin pie spice can take a cheese danish from good to great.
Other ideas: get creative with other toppings like shredded cheese, diced onions, or even crumbled-up cookies.
If your family is like mine they might want something more substantial than a cheese danish for breakfast.
I make this a filling breakfast by serving it with scrambled eggs, bacon, or breakfast sausage.
This recipe also makes an excellent air fryer dessert or late-night snack!
So there you have it! Ten delicious ideas for what to serve with your cheese danish. Now all that’s left to do is enjoy!
What kind of cheese is on the cheese danish at Starbucks?
The cheese in Starbucks Cheese Danish is called Neufchatel.
It is very similar to in texture and taste of cream cheese.
You can use Neufchatel in place of cream cheese in the recipe above if you’d like.
Here is another super yummy copycat Starbucks cheese danish recipe!
Final Thoughts
Whether you were brought here because of a sudden craving or you’ve been looking for an easy way to lower your spending during the week, we hope you enjoy this recipe.
The subtle but noticeable lemon taste combines perfectly with the cream cheese and vanilla to make this the perfect breakfast treat.
There’s no reason to pay full price every day at Starbucks when you can make them this easily at home.
Give these a shot, you won’t regret it!