For a fancy dessert (or breakfast), these blueberry-lemon cream cheese danish rings are so yummy!  Lately the grocery stores have stocked some delicious blueberries, and since these are best made with fresh berries, it's a perfect treat!  They're similarly made to my raspberry-lemon cream cheese danish that I posted years ago.  This recipe makes TWO large danish rings, but you can use half the dough to make something else, filling and baking cinnamon rolls or orange rolls.  Enjoy!

A fresh slice of blueberry-lemon cream cheese danish, gluten free! SO yummy!

Blueberry-Lemon Cream Cheese Danish!

Makes 2 Danish rings

The dough in this recipe is the same used for my cinnamon rolls. If you like, you can make one Danish and one 8x8 pan of cinnamon rolls, which is what I like to do!  Just use a half recipe for filling/frosting as in the cinnamon roll recipe for your cinnamon rolls, and use half the filling called for here.

Prepare filling:

Mix thoroughly in a bowl, then set aside:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 Tbsp ricotta

Zest of 2 lemons OR 4-6 drops lemon essential oil (I like DoTerra oils best)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

Rinse and set aside to dry:
3 cups fresh blueberries

Prepare dough:

Preheat oven to 350F.  (I do this so I can sit things on to top of a warm oven to rise)

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper (Or line 1 cookie sheet and grease an 8x8 pan if you're making cinnamon rolls)

Place in a cereal bowl:

3 eggs (still in shells)

Pour warm/hot water over eggs.  This will bring them to room temperature.

In a 2 cup measuring cup, heat until just scalding (90 seconds in the microwave should do it):

¾ cup milk

Immediately add to hot milk (and stir occasionally to help butter melt):

½ cup butter, chopped into smaller pieces

½ cup sugar

1 ½ tsp salt

In a small measuring cup or bowl combine:

1/3 cup warm water (110-115F)

4 tsp rapid rise yeast or active dry yeast

1 Tbsp sugar

Let yeast rest 5 minutes to foam and allow milk mixture to cool a bit. 

Meanwhile, mix in a large bowl:

4 ½ cups Kristin’s Gluten-Free Flour Mix * (see note at bottom of recipe for measurement amounts for just this recipe)

2 tsp xanthan gum (this is in addition to the xanthan gum in the flour mix)

Add to the flour mixture:

3 warmed eggs (you can add these to the milk)

Milk mixture

Yeast mixture

Mix well with a spoon, using the back of the spoon to help make the mixture nice and smooth.  Let this sit just a moment while you prepare the filling.

It should look like this once mixed.

Line two large sheets of plastic wrap side by side on the counter, overlapping a bit.   2-3 foot long pieces work well. 

Spoon out half of the dough and place along the middle of the plastic wrap.

Pull out another two large sheets of slightly overlapping plastic wrap to cover the dough.  You’ll then flatten out the dough between the sheets until you have – more or less – a 10”x20” piece of dough. 

Flattened dough between plastic wrap.

Try to make it nice and even.  (You can try to make the middle a bit thicker than the top and bottom since you’ll be folding it over, so then you’ll effectively double the amount of dough where it joins together. But don’t worry too much!)

You have to slightly adjust the plastic wrap as you’re flattening the dough, since it sometimes gets caught underneath the dough.  But, you’ll find the dough doesn’t stick to the cling wrap, which is fantastic!  Carefully remove the top layer of plastic wrap.

The plastic wrap pulls off cleanly and easily. 

Spread half of the cream cheese mixture over the dough, leaving a good 1-2 inches at the top and bottom.  
Sprinkle with half the fresh blueberries.

Carefully fold the dough in half, using the plastic wrap to help you lift it up and over itself.   Pull the plastic wrap back and use the other side of the plastic wrap to help lift and fold the bottom back onto itself, as shown in the picture. 

Fold the dough in half long-wise, using the plastic wrap to help

Fold back the edge onto the top of the dough, to form a log

You’ll have to carefully lift the plastic-wrapped log over to your cookie sheet.  You’ll want to roll the middle of your log onto the cookie sheet and wrap the others around to form a circle.  This is a little tricky the first time you try it, but you can use the plastic wrap to help you adjust the circle and stick the ends together.  Don’t touch the dough with your hands, use plastic wrap.  You can use the plastic wrap to help you widen the center of your circle once it’s on the pan.  (you can also use wet hands to smooth the dough and adjust slightly.  Remember, it will rise, bake AND have powdered sugar on top to hide any lumps and bumps).

I used the plastic wrap to help widen the center hole, and make a nice circular shape

If desired, you can use a serrated knife, gently cut slices around the Danish, widening the sliced areas a tiny bit using the knife to help you.  It is optional to make slices in the Danish.

You can smooth your dough with wet hands to help you shape and adjust your Danish ring!

Cover your cookie sheet with an upside-down cookie sheet and set in a warm location to rise 30-45 minutes.  (alternatively, you can butter some plastic wrap and set that over the dough).  I have also left it uncovered to rise, and it works out very well, too.  The dough won’t double in size, but should look like it’s puffed up a bit.  

Repeat with other ½ of dough, OR flatten dough and fill like cinnamon rolls.

Bake each Danish at 350F for ~30 minutes, until nicely browned on top.   Set cookie sheet on wire rack to cool.

No worries if there's any drips.  They peel right off the parchment and you can hide any mishaps with powdered sugar. 

Slice and sprinkle with powdered sugar to serve!

It's so pretty and yummy!

Slices freeze really well and heat up quickly in the microwave!  We slice and pop them into tupperwares once cooled and pull out and reheat on a plate for snacks/breakfast/treats.  Enjoy!

* If you don’t want to make up the flour mix since you’d have to make it twice for this recipe, just use the following: 

2 cups brown rice flour

1 cup sorghum flour

¾ cup + 1 Tbsp cornstarch OR 2/3 cup arrowroot starch

¼ cup + 1 Tbsp potato starch

¼ cup + 1 Tbsp tapioca starch

1 ½ tsp xanthan gum (ideally measure 1 1/3 tsp)

Blueberry-Lemon Cream Cheese Danish Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!