Danish pastry with raspberry filling is a quick and simple pastry recipe to make using crescent roll dough. It makes a sweet treat for breakfast, brunch, or even an easy dessert. Making the recipe with crescent roll dough means this homemade treat will be easy to make. Plus, it’s super delicious!

What is Danish pastry?

This is a simple but incredibly delicious dessert. A traditional Danish pastry recipe takes a long time to make because it uses puff pastry, or laminated dough. It has flaky layers of homemade pastry surrounding a sweet fruit filling. There is almost always a sweet sugar glaze on the top, and sometimes nuts as well.

Whether you enjoy homemade danish pastry for breakfast, brunch, dinner, or even a snack, it’s the perfect treat. In addition to being easy to make, it is also super easy to customize with different flavors. As a result, it’s a great recipe to make for any occasion.

We make the recipe easier to make by using refrigerated crescent roll dough.

What is the difference between regular and seamless crescent roll dough?

Using store-bought crescent roll dough makes any crescent roll recipe incredibly simple to make. It’s perfect for when you’re too busy to spend a lot of time baking.

Many grocery stores now sell refrigerated crescent roll dough that comes in a single, seamless sheet. If you’re able to find it, it will be much easier to create things with the dough other than crescent rolls.

If you can’t find the sheets, you can use regular crescent roll dough. However, it does require an extra step.

For regular crescent roll dough, open the can and unroll all of dough into a flat sheet. Then, using your fingers, press together the seams to seal them up.

Do I need to use raspberry filling?

I love the color and taste of raspberries so it’s an easy choice for me to use it in my homemade danish. I even have an easy raspberry filling recipe that is perfect to make for the Danish pastry filling.

Raspberry filling is also great to use in layer cakes, as a spread on toast, a topping for ice cream, and plenty of other delicious things.

However, if you don’t have time to make homemade filling, you can always use raspberry jam instead. Also, you’re not just limited to raspberries. Feel free to use your favorite fruit filling to make different variations of this Danish pastry recipe.

Alternate fruit fillings for Danish pastry

Experiment with some other filling ideas, like:

• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Apples
• Apricots
• Peaches
• Blackberries
• Cherries

Let your taste preferences lead the way, and maybe your family will find some new favorites!

One of the things I love about this recipe (other than how pretty it looks and how great it tastes) is how simple it is to make. A few of the ingredients may already be staples in your kitchen.

Tip: You’ll soon learn that crescent roll dough is really versatile. It can be used for so much more than making crescent rolls! When crescent rolls are on sale, plan to pick up a few rolls to keep on hand for quick desserts.

What ingredients do I need for the raspberry danish recipe?

To make this recipe, you’ll need the following:

• Cream cheese – I use full fat, but light or fat free will also work
• White granulated sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Raspberry filling or raspberry jam
• Crescent roll dough– A crescent roll sheet is the easiest to use
• Butter
• Powdered sugar
• Milk – Any variety will work, even nut milk

How to Make Danish Pastry

I think you’ll love that making this Danish pastry recipe only takes 30 minutes!

Preheat your oven. Combine the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract together. The easiest way to do this is with an electric hand or stand mixer.

Unroll and spread the crescent roll dough onto a cookie sheet.

Spread the cream cheese mixture down the middle of the dough.

Spread the raspberry filling over the cream cheese mixture. Cut slits into each side of the dough, creating long strips. Note: Be careful not to cut too far into the dough; stop when you reach the raspberry filling.

Braid– Alternating sides, fold the strips inward at an angle to braid the dough.

Brush the top of the braid with melted butter. Then, bake until golden brown. While the Danish pastry cools, prepare the icing for the top.

Combine powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl, stirring it into a smooth glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled raspberry Danish.

Slice the braid and serve!

How do I store homemade Danish pastry?

If you have leftovers after serving the danish, you can store them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Don’t leave the leftovers out at room temperature for too long, because cream cheese is best kept in the refrigerator.

Freezing Instructions

If you want the Danish pastry to last for a bit longer than a few days, then you should freeze any leftovers.

1. Slice the remaining danish into individual serving portions and place them in a single layer on a baking sheet.
2. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer.
3. After the slices are completely frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag and store them in the freezer for up to a month.

 

Other crescent roll dough recipes

Now that you know how quick and simple it is to use crescent roll dough to make Danish pastry, you can make other varieties.

If you want to make individual danishes, try my popular Cream Cheese Danish recipe.

For a really stunning dessert, this Cherry Cream Cheese Crescent Ring will impress all your guests!