An easy recipe for a cream cheese-filled puff pastry dessert. This sweet treat will amaze you with its crispy but fluffy texture!
➜ About this puff pastry recipe
We Czechs love home baking. However, not everyone has time to stand in the kitchen for long hours, so we like to use store-bought puff pastry to prepare various baked sweets.
For this recipe, you need a chilled or frozen puff pastry sheet and a few basic ingredients for a tasty cream filling. The preparation is very simple; no special cooking skills are required! Simply follow the steps as described in the recipe.
And the Czech name for this recipe? Probably the closest option is "tvarohovy strudl z listoveho testa," which means puff pastry strudel filled with cream cheese!
MY TIP: Try this easy puff pastry apple strudel too (it tastes so good!)
➜ Ingredients
To make homemade puff pastry filled with sweet cream cheese, you will need:
- Puff pastry sheet; ideally chilled. If you can only get frozen puff pastry dough in the store, let it thaw properly. Either on the kitchen counter at room temperature, which will take a couple of hours, or overnight in the fridge. For this recipe, I used puff pastry on parchment paper rolled out into a sheet about 10x16 inches (25x40cm). Please make sure you have a baking tray or a cookie sheet large enough to fit the longer side of the dough!
- Cream cheese; at room temperature. Czechs often prepare sweet fillings from fresh cheese called tvaroh (see how to make homemade tvaroh). A suitable alternative in the US is farmer's cheese. If the cheese is too dry and contains chunks of curds, add a couple of tablespoons of milk or heavy cream. Use full-fat cream cheese if possible. The lighter the version of cheese, the less firm and less tasty the baked filling will be.
- Egg yolk; to firm up the cheese filling. Reserve the egg white as an egg wash for brushing the dough later.
- Cornstarch; a very helpful ingredient that improves the texture of the cream filling!
- Powdered sugar; to sweeten the filling, plus more for dusting the baked treat
- Dried cranberries; or raisins. Dried berries add a juicy note to the creamy filling. For even more flavor, the Czechs soak the dried fruit in alcohol, usually spiced rum (tuzemak), the day before.
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
➜ Instructions with photos
STEP 1: Make sweet cream cheese mixture: Place the cheese, icing sugar, egg yolk, cornstarch, and dried cranberries in a medium bowl. Stir well to combine.
TIP: To make the cream filling taste better, grate some fresh lemon zest and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
STEP 2: Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface into a rectangle about 10x16 inches (25x40cm). Transfer the sheet of dough to lightly floured baking paper.
From top to bottom, lightly mark half of the rolled-out sheet. I used a skewer stamped on the dough sheet as a center dividing line.
Using a sharp knife, carefully make a few diagonal slashes in the left half of the dough.
Spread the sweetened cream cheese mixture in the middle of the right half, but leave at least 1 inch (3 cm) of empty space on the sides.
Brush all sides with the egg white left over from making the cream filling. A proper pastry brush will make your job easier.
STEP 3: With the help of baking paper, fold the left side of the dough over the right half with the cream filling.
With a fork, press the edges where the folded dough ends meet.
STEP 4: Carefully transfer the finished shape with the parchment paper to the baking sheet. Fold down the edges, previously pressed with a fork. Brush egg white on the pastry surface.
STEP 5: Preheat oven to 356°F (180°C) and bake puff pastry with cream filling for 40 minutes until it turns golden brown.
➜ Serving
Let the baked puff pastry cool for a while, then dust it with powdered sugar and cut it into slanting slices about 2 inches (5 cm) thick.
Serve on a dessert plate with a cup of coffee or tea for an afternoon snack or tasty breakfast.
➜ Useful tips
- This type of pastry is sometimes called "cream cheese danish" in the USA.
- STORAGE: If you have any leftovers, store them in a sealable container in the fridge, where they will keep for about five days.
- As the name suggests, the dough puffs up when baked, resulting in a beautiful buttery pastry that is both soft and crisp. Cut the top of the raw dough, as the recipe says so that air can escape while it's baking.
More sweet recipes:
- Puff pastry with poppy seed filling
- Czech cream cheese cake
- Strawberry dumplings
- Slovak nut roll
- Farmers cheese pancakes
Tried this recipe?
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Puff Pastry with Cream Cheese Filling
Tap or hover to scale
Ingredients
- 1 puff pastry sheet thawed (10x16 inches/25x40 cm)
- 12 ounces cream cheese full-fat, at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons dried cranberries or raisins
- 1 egg white for egg wash
Instructions
- Make sweet cream cheese mixture: Place 12 ounces cream cheese, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 egg yolk, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, and 2 Tablespoons dried cranberries in a medium bowl. Stir well to combine.
- Roll out 1 puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured work surface into a rectangle about 10x16 inches (25x40cm). Transfer the sheet of dough to lightly floured baking paper.
- From top to bottom, lightly mark half of the rolled-out sheet. I used a skewer stamped on the dough sheet as a center dividing line.
- Using a sharp knife, carefully make a few diagonal slashes in the left half of the dough.
- Spread the sweetened cream cheese mixture in the middle of the right half, but leave at least 1 inch (3 cm) of empty space on the sides.
- Brush all sides with 1 egg white left over from making the cream filling.
- With the help of baking paper, fold the left side of the dough over the right half with the cream filling.
- With a fork, press the edges where the folded dough ends meet.
- Carefully transfer the finished shape with the parchment paper to the baking sheet. Fold down the edges, previously pressed with a fork. Brush egg white on the pastry surface.
- Preheat oven to
350 °F and bake puff pastry with cream filling for 40 minutes until it turns golden brown.
Notes
- The basic recipe makes about 8 slices.
- SERVING: Let the baked puff pastry cool for a while, then dust it with powdered sugar and cut it into slanting slices about 2 inches (5 cm) thick. Serve on a dessert plate with a cup of coffee or tea for an afternoon snack or tasty breakfast.
- STORAGE: If you have any leftovers, store them in a sealable container in the fridge, where they will keep for about five days.
- TIP: To make the cream filling taste better, grate some fresh lemon zest and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Suzi
My interest is peaked, at your creations! However, I am supposed to be gluten free. 🥺So, I should probably unsubscribe.
Keep inspiring! Your creations look decadent!!
Petra Kupská
Suzi, thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, classic Czech cuisine is not very supportive of gluten-free recipes, but I'm glad you can at least enjoy looking at Czech dishes. Good luck in the new year, 2023!
Eva Jenkins
Please add me to your list!
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com
Hello Eva, I believe you have already been added 🙂
Mirra
Great recipe and flakey crust. I increased the temperature as the pastry was not puffing. Over all good and will remake with some adjustments.
Petra Kupská
Thank you, Mirra, for your feedback!
Jill
This is such a fantastic recipe. It’s easy, delicious and looks impressive. The texture of the filling is perfect, and I believe it is the cornstarch as mentioned in the article. I took the advice included all the tips, used lemon zest, macerated dried cranberries and vanilla. I also added a dash of almond extract. I’ll be making this often. Thank you for an excellent recipe!
Petra Kupská
Thank you, Jill, for your kind words! I'm so glad the recipe turned out well. The cornstarch helps hold the cream cheese filling together so it doesn't ooze out when baked. The almond extract is a great idea!
Deborah Holbrook
Have you ever substituted blue berries. Are they too moist?
Charmaine Krob
Can I add mini chocolate chips to the cream cheese instead?
mandica horne
'Love to see these Old World recipes! 'Just like my mum used to make! So many great memories of being a kid and biting into warm, sweet dough and cream cheese creations. Nothing in our house was baked without citrus zest and raisins. I'm so glad that I happened upon this site. 🙂
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com
Thank you so much for the lovely comment! I am delighted to hear the recipes bring back fond memories.
Bill Evans
I’ve made this twice, once with regular cream cheese, and another time with vegan cream cheese and gluten free puff pastry. Both turned out wonderfully, and were big hits! I used dried cherries instead of cranberries, and added sliced almonds to one of them.
These instructions are so easy to follow; if I can do it, anyone can!
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com
Thank you so much for your feedback and kind words, Bill! I am delighted to hear you enjoyed the recipes.
Do not sell yourself short - from what you wrote, you sound like a wonderful cook 🙂
Greetings from the Czech Republic.