Slight twist on a classic danish using ricotta cheese and a seasonal topping of strawberry and rhubarb jam. Much easier than it sounds. Let’s get started!
Who doesn’t love a cheese danish?! Maybe someone, but not here! No judgement, more for us.
This recipe uses a pre-made Danish dough. They are usually sold in rolls or layered squares in the freezer/refrigerator section of your market. Store bought Danish dough is great to have hoarded away in the freezer for just such easy and delicious bakes. There are so many ready made options available and most of what you can find in the supermarket is pretty great quality. They make for a great Danish, sweet pastry or blank canvas for your imagination.
The cheese part of the cheese Danish use ricotta cheese, that is strained of excess water, blended with a bit of cream cheese and single egg for a delicious light and creamy filling. This is a mainly assemble and bake dessert. The only cooking would be in the strawberry rhubarb jam, but again top it with any preserve you like, store bought is always a good option, but when rhubarb has such a short window of availability, I jump at any opportunity to buy and cook with it.
What is rhubarb?
Rhubarb is a spring vegetable that finds its way into lots of sweet preparations, like: pies, tarts, danishes and my other favorite: strudel. It looks like a red stalk of celery, is fairly tart and fibrous and a new surprise to me, a member of the buckwheat family. The leafy tops and roots are inedible and poisonous.
When cooked it turns into a beautiful pink. Added sweet elements like sugar, strawberries and apples amp up the floral and tart qualities of rhubarb which are usually then matched up with vanilla and almond flavorings. Rhubarb and frangipane are a classic duo. These danishes have an added crunchy sweet almond note from a sprinkling of sliced almonds and demerara sugar before baking.
How to choose and store rhubarb?
The stalks should be bright red shiny and almost opalescent from red to slightly pale red/green on the part of the stalk that rounds inward. The rounded hump should be predominantly red, with possible striations of green. Stalks that lean more toward green are less flavorful than younger bright red stalks. Rhubarb should be crisp and firm, something between celery and asparagus. If the rhubarb has been trimmed look at the ends to determine how recently the stalks have been trimmed. Dry ends are not a good indication and could result in having a compromised rhubarb stalk. Feel it. Does it still feel plump or is it woody? Firm and juicy, go ahead and take it home!
Once home, make sure the stalks are dry, pat with a towel and wrap in paper towel. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week, checking to make sure there is no rot or excess moisture.
Lastly, there have been pre-cut frozen rhubarb available in some grocery stores. I haven’t tried them but I have successfully used frozen rhubarb in baking. One key note is that frozen rhubarb like most frozen items, once thawed has a very high water content. You’ll either have to squeeze it out ( thawed rhubarb is very much opposite of crisp) or cook down the liquid, if cooking directly from frozen into a jam, syrup or sauce, before adding it into your recipe. As an added safety measure, toss every cup of the fully thawed and drained rhubarb in 1 tbsp flour before mixing into a batter calling for rhubarb.
To freeze your own rhubarb, wash the stalks, dry and trim off any parts that are dried or damaged. There should always be a satisfying “crunch” when cutting rhubarb, anything else may indicate the rhubarb is old and not of the best quality. Cut into half inch dice and spread over a freezer safe tray in a single layer. Freeze for 24 hours and transfer to a freezer safe container to use for later.
Ingredients:
1 roll Danish Dough
1/2 cup strained ricotta cheese
1/2 cup cream cheese
1 egg
1/2 tbsp flour
1.5tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon zest (optional)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup demerara sugar
4 tbsp heavy cream or 1 beaten egg to brush pastry before baking
Quick Strawberry Rhubarb Refrigerator Jam
6 stalks of rhubarb
2.5 cups diced strawberries
1 small (about 1/2 diced) red eating apple like fuji, honey crisp or gala)
3/4 cup sugar
Method:
Quick Refrigerator Jam:
Toss diced strawberries and rhubarb in sugar and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before transferring everything, including the syrupy juices into a sauce pan. Set the pan on medium low and stir until bubbling and foamy about 10minutes. Skim foam off using a soup spoon or small ladle and discard. Add in the diced apple and continue to cook on medium low heat, until apples have lost their shape and become part of the jam another 10-15 minutes. Keep simmering this mixture and taste for sugar at this point. Add sugar in increments of 1 tablespoon, waiting for sugar to fully dissolve before adding more. Some rhubarb can be more sour than others and you’ll have to adjust depending on taste. The end result should be pleasantly tart, sweet in the front with a slight pucker at either side of your cheeks. To test if the jam is thick enough, spoon a bit of the jam on a plate, wait for it to cool ( hot jam is very hot and can leave nasty burns!) and swipe your finger through it. If the jam pools back slowly, give it another 5 minutes simmering and test again, if it pools right away, simmer for longer 10-15minutes. It is best to test when you think the jam looks fairly flowy rather than syrupy as it cools it will thicken more.
Allow to cool off the heat and pour into glass jars. Sterilization isn’t necessary here, but a good rub down and a rinse of boiled water does the trick. My grandmother would add a teaspoon of citric acid at the very end of cooking to prolong the fridge-life of jam, but you can opt out if you can’t find any. Store up to 4 months refrigerated.
Danish Filling:
Place ricotta into a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and l and allow cream cheese to come to room temperature.
Typically this is done overnight but 1 hour for this quantity and this recipe is fine.
Mix ricotta, cream cheese, egg, sugar, flour, vanilla and optional lemon zest until creamy.
Roll out dough into 9×13 rectangle and cut out 6 squares.
Preheat oven to 375F
Line the square on a parchment lined baking tray.
Spoon roughly 1/4 cup portions into the center of each square and drape ends inward like making galette or trying to fit wrapping paper around and awkward shaped gift. Divide remaining cheese filling among the pastries closed pastries. Brush the edges with egg or heavy cream and sprinkle sugar and almonds.
Bake for 15-25 minutes, until edges are golden brown.
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