Golden, flaky crust that gives way to a satisfying, doughy chew? Cheese that’s somehow rich and creamy, sweet and tangy all at once? Cheese Danish are a dream for breakfast, dessert, afternoon tea accompaniments — really, whenever, considering you can go sweet with something like a mango and lime cheese Danish or savory with an Italian herb cheese Danish. Once you have these pastries in your kitchen, you want to savor them and make sure each one can be enjoyed at its best. So, it’s key to consider how to best store cheese Danish to make their deliciousness last.
Cheese Danish should be stored in an airtight container, either in the refrigerator or the freezer. Either way, make sure they’ve cooled so their butter and cheese don’t go from hot to cold, which will impact their texture. You can layer them in the container, but put wax or parchment paper between each tier. They should last about a week in the fridge; in the freezer, they can last for two months. The only time you shouldn’t refrigerate or freeze Danish is if you know they’ll be eaten within 48 hours or less, but you should still keep them in an airtight container to avoid contact with bacteria.
How to reheat cheese Danish
All your storage efforts can go to waste if you don’t know the next step before eating. If your pastries were in the fridge, they’re good to go. If they were in the freezer, place them in the refrigerator overnight so they thaw without their temperature raising into the danger zone — between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, food is especially prone to bacteria growth. If you didn’t do this overnight and need to serve the Danish, or just want them to be nice and warm, you can remove them from the freezer and pop them into the oven for five minutes, at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. A layer of foil will make sure they don’t brown or lose moisture. They should be warm but not super hot, especially considering the cheese could become runny at such a high temperature, so make sure to keep monitoring their progress.
With a little care, cheese Danish can be quite the tasty treat almost two months after you first baked or bought them. A bit of textural change will be inevitable, as some condensation forms throughout temperature changes, but this won’t have a major impact with proper storage. If you prefer no textural changes, consider preparing and shaping your Danish pastry dough and freezing each unbaked Danish individually wrapped in plastic, then layered in an airtight container — then you can just pop your Danish with cheese and assorted fruit or herbs into the oven.
