Blueberry & Cream Cheese Cheat’s Danish

Cook Time 1 hour

Servings makes 8 pastries

Ingredients

2 x 125g punnets of blueberries

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

¼ tsp salt

80g cream cheese, room temp

1 roll butter puff pastry, fridge defrosted and sliced into 8 rectangles (I like Careme)

1 egg, for egg wash

2 tbsp sifted icing sugar, for dusting

Method

In a small saucepan on medium heat, mix the blueberries, lemon zest, juice, caster sugar, and salt together. Cook for 15 - 20 minutes until the blueberry mixture has turned into a jammy consistency. Set aside and completely cool.

Preheat the oven to 190°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Working with one puff pastry rectangle at a time, using a sharp knife against the cold pastry (working quickly as the pastry becomes harder to cut as it warms up), make 6 - 8 small slices on one-half side of the pastry, be sure not to cut all the way through to the edges. The slices should be contained to a small square, leaving a 0.5 cm border.

On the unsliced half of the puff pastry, take a tablespoon of cream cheese mixed with vanilla and spread it evenly. Top with one teaspoon of the blueberry jam. Carefully egg wash the 0.5 cm border of the puff pastry rectangle and then fold the sliced side over the filled side. Seal the edges with a fork and brush the tops with egg wash. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Dust with icing sugar.