This sweet and delicious Cherry Danish Braid Recipe is super easy, made with shortcut ingredients like pie filling and crescent roll dough!
With its luscious cream cheese filling and tangy lemon icing, cherry danish braid is a hard treat to resist, and makes a wonderful dessert for breakfast or brunch.
Everyone loves cherry danish, and with this easy recipe, you’ll be serving a deliciously sweet and creamy Cherry Danish braid in no time at all!
Made with crescent rolls and cherry pie filling, you’ll see that there is very little prep work involved in making a braided cherry danish. In fact, from start to finish this treat will be ready in only 35 minutes, including baking time!
If you love sweet breakfast pastries, you should also try my Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, easy Cheese Danish made with puff pastry or homemade Sticky Buns topped with a gooey pecan glaze.
Monkey Bread is another favorite, that’s perfect for sharing with a crowd!
Cherry Danish Recipe Highlights
- Semi-Homemade – Sweet treats like danishes don’t have to be entirely made from scratch! This recipe uses buttery crescent dough and canned cherry pie filling to simplify the process of making homemade pastry.
- Creamy and Fruity Filling – While we could fill this braid with only cherries or only cream cheese filling, it’s way better with both!
- Versatile Recipe – Once you have this easy recipe down, you can start to experiment! Replace the cherries with other fruits, or try making it with puff pastry rather than crescent roll dough.
Ingredients In Cherry Danish Braid
Here’s what you need to make this easy homemade pastry:
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Crescent Dough: If you can find refrigerated crescent roll dough in sheet form, use that. Otherwise, buy the regular perforated dough and gently press the seams together to make a large rectangle.
- Cherry Pie Filling: You’ll need about a cup of pie filling for this recipe, so pick up a small can, or use part of a larger can and save the rest for something else. Might I suggest my delicious and easy Heaven on Earth Cake, or a Cherry Dump Cake? Instead of pie filling, you can also use cherry preserves.
- Cream Cheese: Allow your cream cheese to soften at room temperature until it is soft. I suggest using regular full fat cream cheese in this recipe.
- Powdered Sugar: We’ll use this to sweeten both the cream cheese filling and to make the drizzle that goes on top of the pastry after it’s baked.
- Egg Yolk: Add this to the cream cheese mixture to thicken and stabilize it.
- Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice makes a tart and tangy icing that helps to balance the sweetness from the cherries.
- Vanilla Extract: A must for any good dessert recipe, vanilla enhances all of the other flavors in the recipe.
- Milk: To thin the icing to the perfect consistency.
How To Make A Crescent Roll Cream Cheese Danish
Tip!
Don’t stress too much about the simplified “braiding” method. Even if you twist up a piece or cut the slices unevenly, the recipe will still turn out amazingly!
Tip!
To make the lemon icing, combine the remaining powdered sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and milk in a small bowl. Drizzle it all over the danish once it’s cool.
Recipe Tips
- Try other fruit fillings: This recipe will work exactly the same with any canned pie filling. Try it with apple pie filling or blueberry pie filling or peach pie filling for a completely different flavor.
- Or skip the fruit! Leave out the pie filling and enjoy a delicious cream cheese danish braid instead.
- Double the recipe: This danish will disappear pretty quickly, especially if you’re having people over for brunch. Consider making two braids if you need to serve more than 5 or 6 people.
- Cool before frosting: If you add the icing to the danish while it’s still warm, it will just soak into the crust. Give the pasty several minutes to cool down completely on a wire rack.
- Adjust the icing: Start with just a tablespoon of milk, and add more, a little at a time, until you get a frosting that is pourable.
- Make this with puff pastry: For a danish with a bit more lift and a different texture, follow this recipe, but replace the crescent dough with a sheet of thawed puff pastry dough. Yum!
- Other Toppings: Sprinkle your braided pastry with slivered almonds or shaved chocolate.
Storing Tips
I’d be very surprised if you have leftovers of this delicious danish, but if you do, keep them in the fridge in an airtight container.
The leftovers will keep for up to 3 days. Enjoy cold, or reheat in the oven or toaster oven.
What To Serve With Braided Cherry Danish
If you’re hosting a brunch or breakfast party, I suggest serving a variety of dishes and including both sweet and savory choices for your guests!
Try some of these delicious recipes, perfect for brunch!
- Bisquick Impossible Quiche
- Corned Beef Hash and Eggs
- Smoked Salmon Platter
- Mini Quiche
- Overnight Breakfast Casserole
Recipe FAQs
How Long Does Cherry Danish Last?
If properly stored in the fridge in an airtight container, your danish should last for up to 3 or 4 days.
Do cherry danishes need to be refrigerated?
Yes. Because the filling of this danish is made with cream cheese, it should be kept refrigerated.
How do you make cherry pie filling taste better?
You make it into a cherry danish braid! Cherry pie filling is very sweet, so I like to use it in recipes like this one that include creamy elements and citrus so that the sweetness becomes more balanced.
More Easy Breakfast Sweets!
All Breakfast Recipes →
Enjoy this delicious shortcut recipe for Crescent Roll Cream Cheese Danish! I just know that your family or guests are going to love it. Don’t forget to Pin the recipe to save it for next time!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Cherry Danish Braid
Equipment
- Baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 8-oz can (225 g) refrigerated crescent dough
- 4 ounces (113 g) cream cheese softened
- 1 ⅔ cups (210 g) powdered sugar divided
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract divided
- ¾ cup cherry pie filling
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice
- 1-2 tablespoons (15-30 ml) milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C or 170°C for a fan oven), and grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, ⅓ cup powdered sugar, egg yolk, and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract until well combined and creamy. Set aside.
- Unroll the crescent dough and do not separate. Place the crescent dough sheet onto your baking sheet and press together any seams to seal.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly onto the center of the crescent dough.
- Add the cherry pie filling on top.
- Slice 10 even strips on each side of the crescent dough with a knife or pizza cutter.
- Crisscross each strip to overlap in the middle of the crescent dough.
- Bake uncovered in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the dough is cooked through and the crust is a light golden brown. Remove and allow to cool for several minutes.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the remaining powdered sugar, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of milk until a creamy icing forms. Add additional milk for a thinner icing. Spread or drizzle the icing across the top of the Danish braid.
- Slice and serve.
Notes:
- Try other fruit fillings: This recipe will work exactly the same with any canned pie filling. Try it with apple pie filling or blueberry pie filling or peach pie filling for a completely different flavor.
- Or skip the fruit! Leave out the pie filling and enjoy a delicious cream cheese danish braid instead.
- Double the recipe: This danish will disappear pretty quickly, especially if you’re having people over for brunch. Consider making two braids if you need to serve more than 5 or 6 people.
- Cool before frosting: If you add the icing to the danish while it’s still warm, it will just soak into the crust. Give the pasty several minutes to cool down completely on a wire rack.
- Adjust the icing: Start with just a tablespoon of milk, and add more, a little at a time, until you get a frosting that is pourable.
- Make this with puff pastry: For a danish with a bit more lift and a different texture, follow this recipe, but replace the crescent dough with a sheet of thawed puff pastry dough. Yum!
- Other Toppings: Sprinkle your braided pastry with slivered almonds or shaved chocolate.
- To Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Carol says
Very good
Little Sunny Kitchen says
I’m so glad you liked it, Carol!