Danish Cheese Puff Boxes
A puff pastry treat baked in a muffin tin, filled with a cream cheese mixture and finished with a texture similar to Danish pastry.
Ingredients
sugar (for sprinkling on the dough)
1/2 cup
rough puff pastry (or use store-bought all-butter puff pastry)
1 batch (about 350 g)
cream cheese (softened)
12 oz (350 g)
sugar (for the filling)
1/2 cup
vanilla extract
1 teaspoon
lemon zest (finely grated)
2 teaspoons
egg yolks (large eggs)
2
golden raisins (optional)
1/2 cup
Instructions
1
Prepare the dough
Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of sugar on the work surface and place the rough puff pastry on top. Sprinkle sugar over the dough and press to soften it, turning 90 degrees and continuing to press until the dough is soft enough to roll. Keep the work surface and dough lightly covered with a layer of sugar, then roll the dough into an 11 x 15 inch (28 x 38 cm) rectangle. Slide the dough onto a baking sheet or an inverted jelly roll pan and refrigerate for about 15 minutes
2
Preheat the oven
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F (190°C)
3
Make the filling
Make the filling: Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition
4
Shape
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and, using a sharp pastry wheel, cut it into twelve 3.5-inch (9 cm) squares. Place one square of dough into a muffin tin cup, pressing firmly so it fits the bottom, leaving the top corners open. Fill the dough cup with about 2 tablespoons of the filling. Fold the four corners of the dough toward the center to cover the filling. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling
5
Bake
Bake the pastries until deep golden brown (the sugar will caramelize beautifully) and the filling is set, about 20 minutes
6
Cool
Place the baking sheet on a rack and carefully slide a thin metal spatula under each pastry to lift it out of the pan. If allowed to cool in the pan, the caramelized sugar may cause them to stick. Cool the pastries on the rack
