Blueberry Puff Pastry (Air fryer or oven)

Delicious flaky blueberry puff pastry is so easy, quick to make and perfect for breakfast, dessert or brunch. It can be baked in air fryer or oven (both methods covered in this post).

Each bite of this blueberry pastry tastes divine with crispy buttery puff pastry, juicy blueberries and sweetened cream cheese. They are simple, fun to make and it takes hardly 10 min of preparation time to make them.

The blueberry puff pastry recipe shared here is:

Vegetarian (eggless)
Ultimate easy & quick recipe
Can be baked in both air fryer or oven
Great for breakfast, high tea or quick dessert

This style of blueberry puffs is also known as danish pastry. Apart from berries, danishes can be filled with other fruits or filling like apricots, cherries, custard or nuts. In authentic danish recipe, the dough is leavened with yeast whereas puff pastry has no yeast and also in terms of texture it is lighter and flakier.

Ingredients you’ll need:

Blueberries: You can use fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe.

Puff Pastry: I have used store bought frozen puff pastry as it saves so much of time and effort. Always thaw it first before you start making danishes as this makes the rolling and cutting process easier.

Cream Cheese: The tangy sweet taste of cream cheese compliments the juicy blueberries. Soften the cream cheese by leaving it on kitchen counter as it is easier to mix softened cream cheese with other ingredients.

Flavouring: You can add vanilla extract, almond extract or combination of these two in cream cheese filling.

Lemon Juice: Lemon and blueberries makes a great pair as the tartness of lemons compliments the sweetness of blueberries.

Powdered Sugar: We will use powdered sugar to dust the blueberries and to sweeten the cream cheese. Tossing the blueberries in powdered sugar and some lemon juice ensures that they have sweet-sour flavour.

Milk: In general puff pastries are brushed with some egg before baking which gives them colour and glaze during baking. Here I have used milk as egg replacement for brushing on puff pastry.

These cream cheese blueberry danish can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature. You can lightly dust them with some powdered sugar or drizzle some sugar icing on them which is explained at the end of post.

Variations:

If you like more fruity filling, you can mix blueberries with blueberry jam or preserve. Using this same recipe and technique, you can even bake a full size square blueberry puff pastry tart.

The recipe is flexible and you can use other fruits or berries of your choice like raspberries, blackberries, cherries (pitted), sliced strawberries, peaches or apples (with cinnamon). Instead of cream cheese, you can also use thick custard as filling.

Air fryer vs Oven:

By my experience, both cooking methods gave same results with difference in cooking time. In oven it took around 30 minutes (10 min preheating + 20 min baking), whereas in air fryer it took half the time (5 min preheating + 10 min baking).

Also air fryer is perfect for small batch cooking. If you have large sized air fryer, you can make more pieces at a time but my air fryer can fit only 2-3 pieces in one go (which is kind of perfect for me and my husband!).

More recipes you may like:

Ingredients:

Puff Pastry Sheet (thawed)- 1 pack
Blueberries (fresh or frozen)- 1 cup
Powdered Sugar- 3 tbsp + 1/2 tsp (divided)
Cream Cheese (room temp)- 150 gms (~5 oz)
Vanilla Extract- 3/4 tsp
Lemon Juice- 1/2 tsp
Milk (room temp)- for brushing
For Icing (optional)-
- Powdered Sugar-1/2 cup
- Milk-1 to 2 tbsp

(The above recipe yield 12 pieces)

Directions:

Step 1: In a small bowl, mix blueberries with 1/2 tsp lemon juice. Then sprinkle 1/2 tsp powdered sugar and mix once again. Keep aside.

Step 2: Bring the cream cheese to room temp first to soften it. Add 2 tbsp powdered sugar & vanilla extract. Mix well with a fork or whisker. Taste and adjust more sugar as per your taste. Keep aside.

Step 3: If you are using frozen puff pastry, thaw it first by leaving on kitchen counter. Lightly dust the kitchen counter with flour and unfold the pastry sheet on it. Lay it flat and cut into rectangles using a sharp knife.

(While we are moving to next step, set the oven for preheating at 200°C (400°F) or air fryer at 180°C (350°F))

Step 4: Transfer these on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, while leaving some gap between them. Using tip of a knife, gently score the edges of each puff pastry as shown below (Be light handed as we don’t want to cut the pastry all the way through). Also poke a few holes in their centre using a fork.

Step 5: Add spoonful of cream cheese in the centre of each pastry and spread it carefully leaving the edges.

Step 6: Place 6 to 7 blueberries while pressing them gently on cream cheese filling. Brush some milk on the border of each puff (helps in giving colour and glaze).

Step 7 (Oven Method): Bake these blueberry puff pastries in oven at 200°C (400°F) for 18 to 20 minutes until they are golden brown in colour.

Air fryer Method:

1. Set the air fryer for preheating at 180°C (356°F) for 5 minutes. Cut the parchment paper the size of air fryer basket and poke few holes in it (for air circulation). Once it is preheated, line the basket with this parchment paper.

2. Place 2-3 blueberry danishes inside air fryer basket (depending on the size of air fryer) while leaving gap between them. Air fry at 180°C (356°F) for 8 to 10 minutes till they are golden brown. Keep an eye after 8 min.

(Note:You may have to adjust the air frying time little bit, depending on the capacity and model of air fryer.)

Once done, transfer these puff pastries on a wire rack for 10 minutes to cool. Whether you are making them in air fryer or oven, in either case don’t miss this step as otherwise the base will become soggy. Also the pastries may seem soft initially but they crisp up after cooling down.

Before serving you can dust them with some powdered sugar or drizzle sugar icing on them.

Sugar Icing: Take 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a small bowl and add milk gradually to it (2 tsp at a time). Keep mixing and adding milk till you get pourable consistency icing. Drizzle over the puff pastries.

Storage & Reheating: These leftover pastries can be stored in an airtight box in fridge for 2-3 days. For reheating, I air fried them again for 3-4 minutes at 180°C (350°F). I will not suggest microwaving them as it turns them soft.

Tips:

Do not forget to score the puff pastry inside the border with fork or skewer as it prevents the centre from puffing up.
For best results, after assembling the pastries chill them in fridge for 8-10 minutes before baking. This way the butter in pastry does not immediately start melting in oven and layers remain separated.

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