grain free apple cheese danish

this homemade gluten free and grain free danish is filled with a cinnamon apple filling, atop a layer of sweet cheese.

These apple cheese danishes were a direct result of my cheese bagelach recipe. After creating the perfect sweet cream cheese-like filling for the cheese bagelachs, I wanted to experiment with it further with other types of pastries. I used to love any type of pastry that combined a sweet cheese filling with a fruit, and of course, apples are my favourite fruit~eVeR~ so here we are!

These danishes may look daunting but they are really not that difficult to make, it’s mostly a matter of prepping the many layers– there’s the pastry-like dough, the cream cheese filling and the soft-baked cinnamon-y apples, which must be prepared before you can assemble this mega-danish.

I also decided to create it as one big danish and then cut it up into pieces of varied sizes from there, simply because I thought it might be easier that way, and I also liked it aesthetically– that being said, you could totally choose to make these danishes separately, one by one, using the same steps and technique as I described below. 

These danishes will not only delight your tastebuds, they will shock (and awe) those people who are not on the SCD diet! They will be in disbelief by just how delicious grain free goods can be. Of course, I’m not going to say that these danishes are “healthy” but they are certainly a much healthier option compared to the typical gluten-full and refined sugar-full danish you might find at the store, in one of those plastic containers.

These danishes are made with both coconut flour and almond flour, thus providing a good dose of protein while also handling any sweet tooth you might have. The apples are sweetened slightly with honey, which incidentally, you could omit if you want to lower the overall sweetness because apples offer their own sweetness regardless. You’ll want to allow the dough to freeze for a bit so it’s easier to roll out and work with.

You can, of course, eat these for breakfast, with a coffee or tea or matcha depending your beverage of choice, just as much as you can serve these for dessert or brunch or a snack. If you make the sheet danish like I did below, this would look beautiful on the brunch table, even without being sliced up.

I hope the recipe instructions are clear, but if you have any issues you can always message me on my Instagram account @Grainfreee. I’d love to know if you make these! Get to the baking below.

apple cheese danish: ingredients

danish dough

• 1/2 cup of coconut flour + 1/4 cup
• 6 tbsp of almond flour
• 1/3 cup of honey
• 1/3 cup of coconut oil melted
• 1/2 cup of dry curd cottage cheese
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp of vanilla
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda

cheese filling

• 1 cup of dry curd cottage
• 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/8 cup of honey

apple filling

• 6 apples
• 2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tbsp of honey
• 1 tbsp of grapeseed oil

apple cheese danish: how to

danish dough

1. in a food processor, begin with mixing the dry ingredients together, and then proceed to blend in the dry curd cottage cheese, followed by the remaining wet ingredients, until well combined.
2. remove dough from the food processor and wrap the dough in a piece of parchment paper in a lump. freeze for two hours so, until cold and firm.
3. in the meantime, prepare your cheese & apple filling, following the steps below.

cheese filling

1. using a food processor, or a handheld mixer, mix all your filling ingredients together until well combined. it should be creamy and well mixed, without any lumps of dry curd cottage cheese remaining.
2. set aside as you prepare your apple filling in the next steps.

apple filling

1. peel and chop up all the apples into small pieces.
2. using a cast iron pan on the stove top, heat up 1 tbsp of grapeseed oil over medium heat, once hot, throw the apples, cinnamon and honey into the pan.
3. sautee and stir around for 15-20 mins, you can cover for 10 mins or so to cook faster. they should be soft, but you don’t want them to be too soft and mushy– you want them to remain in little chunks.

make your danish

1. once you have all your ingredients prepared and your dough is cold and firm, you are ready to put your apple cheese danish all together! start by rolling out the dough — you’ll want to to keep a little coconut flour in a small bowl nearby, as this will be sticky.
2. place 3/4 of dough on a piece of parchment paper and leave the rest in the freezer. cover the dough with another piece to roll it out. if you have a large baking sheet, you can do this directly on top to avoid having to transfer it after.
3. once the dough is rolled out evenly into approx 1 cm in thickness, a large oval or rectangular shape, remove the top layer of parchment paper and spread the cheese filling across the dough, almost reaching the outer-edge.
4. from here, you’ll layer the apple filling on top, spreading it evenly across the cheese layer.
5. finally, you’ll create your criss-cross topping. to do this, you’ll want to roll out long skinny pieces of the dough, and carefully place them on top of the apples, making a full line each way. you may need to roll shorter pieces and connect them, as the dough can be fragile– fear not, this will work like a charm. turn up the edges of the dough to connect the criss-cross. see my photos below for a step-by-step visual of the proceess.
6. once you’ve completed the topping, you’re ready to bake the danish in oven at 350 for 40 mins– keep an eye as the top can burn quickly if left too long. you’ll want it a perfect golden brown.