Ingredients
Scale
Equipment:
- Food scale https://amzn.to/3Of8Kj1
- Mixing bowls
- Electric hand mixer https://amzn.to/3JYBNb0
- Rolling pin
- Parchment paper or silpat baking mat https://amzn.to/3XsQDtC
- Baking sheet
- Knife or pizza cutter https://amzn.to/3HSDVyx
- Piping bag or tablespoon
- Pastry brush https://amzn.to/3jKxhCb
- Whisk
- Wire cooling rack
Cream Cheese Filling:
- 115g – vegan plain cream cheese, softened at room temp, I used Kite Hill
- 1 teaspoon – lemon zest
- 50g – powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons – agave
- Pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon – vanilla bean paste
Pastry:
- 1 sheet – pre-made puff pastry, I used Pepperidge Farm
- Any jam/preserves you’d like, I used strawberry
Vegan “Egg” Wash:
- 1 tablespoon – agave
- 1 tablespoon – non-dairy milk, I used soy
Glaze:
- 50g – powdered sugar,
- 2 teaspoons – non-dairy milk, I used soy
- ⅛ teaspoon – almond extract, sub for vanilla extract
- Handful of toasted sliced almonds for garnish, optional
Instructions
Prep:
- Thaw one sheet of pre-made puff pastry according to the package instructions. And preheat the oven to 400F, and line your baking sheet with parchment paper then set aside.
- Make the vegan cream cheese filling:
- While you wait, use an electric hand mixer to combine all the ingredients for the filling in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside, until ready to use.
Prep the vegan “egg wash”
- In a small bowl, combine the agave and milk. Set aside, until ready to use.
Assemble:
- When your defrosted puff pastry is ready, roll your cold (but not frozen) puff pastry dough on a lightly floured surface to a 9×9-inch square. Cut the dough into a 3 by 3 grid, making 9 equal squares.
- Poke the center of the puff pastry squares with a fork to make sure that the area doesn’t puff up. Scoop out a heaping tablespoon (you can also use a piping bag) of cream cheese mixture and place it in the center of the puff pastry squares, making sure to stay clear from the edges.
- Add about 1 tsp of desired jam on top of the cream cheese and brush the edges of the exposed pastry with the vegan “egg wash”.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until puffed and golden. Allow cooling completely before adding the glaze.
Toppings:
- In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, non-dairy milk, and almond extract. Whisk until well combined.
- Drizzle the glaze over top of the cooled pastries, and sprinkle some toasted almonds on top. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Measure your flour correctly. I test my recipes, 100% in grams. A common reason baked goods fail is incorrectly measured flour. I always recommend using a scale for accuracy when baking. This greatly improves your chance for success and lessens room for error.
- If you measure by cups, avoid scooping the measuring cup directly into the flour. This tends to pack the flour into the cup, resulting in too much flour and a very dense or gummy finished product. Instead, aerate your flour (fluff it with a fork or spoon) and then spoon it into your measuring cups, leveling it with your finger or the back of a butter knife. Keep in mind though, that this method is not guaranteed to be accurate.
- Low on time? Prep ahead. You can prep everything a day ahead except the glaze as it will harden. Thaw and cut the pastries and keep them covered in the fridge. You can also have the vegan cream cheese filling made as well, stored in an airtight container. I would not fill the pastries until you are ready to bake.
- Vegan Cream Cheese. You will need a good vegan cream cheese for this recipe, something that won’t completely melt off when you bake. Kite Hill is my favorite to use for any baking recipe I do! But you’ll need to do some testing to find out what will work best. A brand that I’ve tried that doesn’t work for baking is VioLife.
- Use any jam you like! This recipe is meant to be simple, so use whatever jam/preserves you have on hand.
- How long do these vegan jam danishes last? These danishes are best served the same day but will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Whenever you’re ready, you can microwave it for a few seconds or pop it in the oven at 350 for a few minutes.
- Can this be made gluten-free? Unfortunately, I have yet to find a gluten-free and vegan frozen puff pastry.
Keywords: vegan, vegan puff pastry, vegan danish, vegan jam danish, easy vegan jam danish
