2-Ingredient Lemon Curd Danishes

Lemon curd is one of my favorite treats to make when I have a surplus of fresh lemons in my kitchen and I use it regularly in all kinds of sweet treats, from quick breads swirled with lemon curd to homemade ice cream. These 2-Ingredient Lemon Curd Danishes are an easy brunch option that is a fantastic way to put lemon curd to good use. The quick-fix danishes start with a puff pastry base and are filled with lemon curd for a bite-sized pastry that is sure to be a new favorite.

You can use homemade puff pastry or store-bought, although store-bought will need to be defrosted before you can use it. Now, traditional Danish pastries are made with a dough that contains yeast and is a little bit more like croissant dough than puff pastry is. That said, puff pastry is not too far off the mark and the buttery, layered pastry is incredibly easy to use. These may be “cheating” a bit when it comes to a traditional Danish, but they’re so delicious that I doubt anyone at your next brunch will complain!

Once you have your pastry, roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it is even, then cut it into squares. The exact size of the pastry doesn’t matter very much, but I recommend aiming for a 4-inch x 4-inch square so that you have room for filling. Most packages of pastry are around 1 lb and you should make about 16 pastries with that amount, although your exact yield might vary a little.

To make this shape, gently fold a square in half diagonally. Make two diagonal cuts along the outside edge of the triangle, leaving a border of about 1/4-inch as shown below. Next, unfold the pastry square completely, then turn the cut borders over one by one (one on top of the other) to create a diamond shape.

Once your pastry squares have been transformed into diamonds, fill each with 2-3 teaspoons of lemon curd. You don’t want to overfill the pastries because the curd will run out in the oven if you add too much! If desired, sprinkle the pastries with coarse sugar before putting them into the oven, then bake until they are crisp and golden brown. The finished danishes should be the perfect size for brunch snacking, with crisp and buttyer pastry complimented by a vibrant lemon filling.

Just as with the pastry, you can use homemade lemon curd or store-bought lemon curd. Store-bought will save you some prep in the kitchen and it’s not a bad way to go with this easy recipe. If you want to mix up the flavors of these danishes, you can use a good-quality fruit preserve as a filling, as well. The pastries are at their best the day that they are baked, but will keep for an extra day if stored in a non-airtight container.

2-Ingredient Lemon Curd Danishes
1 lb puff pastry, defrosted
approx 1 cup lemon curd
coarse sugar (optional), for topping

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
One a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to remove any creases in the dough and cut into squares approximately 4-inches x 4-inches.
Fold each square in half diagonally, then make two diagonal cuts along the outside edge of the triangle, leaving a border of about 1/4-inch and not cutting all the way through the pastry at the corner. Unfold the pastry, then fold one of the cut borders over to the edge of the next cut border, then fold the second border back over to create a diamond shape.
Fill each pastry with 2-3 teaspoons of lemon curd. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired.
Bake for 18-21 minutes, or until pastries are light golden brown and crisp. Allow to cool before serving.

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