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A light and flaky Apple Danish Recipe made from pancake mix and stuffed with a delicious homemade apple pie filling! An easy 30-minute dessert featuring super simple ingredients- the best!
What Makes This Recipe Great
I wanted to create an ooey gooey Apple Danish Pastry Recipe with all the original’s classic tastes and textures, but with a simpler method that didn’t involve puff pastry dough. This version is just as flaky, light, and delicious as the classic, but it’s made with pancake batter.
You heard me right, pancake batter! I love these sweet apple pastries because they really come together so easily with minimal ingredients and easy instructions. The resulting pastry features a homemade apple filling, a sweet glaze, and a melt-in-your-mouth buttery crust, making this treat absolutely irresistible.
I made mine gluten-free, but this recipe is easy to make either way! You can also make it dairy-free with a few simple substitutions.
Watch a Short Video of This Recipe
Ingredient Notes
Apple Filling
I made my own apple pie filling (it’s really easy and yummy), but you can use store-bought. Feel free to experiment with other fillings, like different kinds of jam or pie fillings.
- Butter: Vegan butter will also work.
- Apple: For a sweeter Danish, use a red apple like Fuji. If you prefer a tart taste, granny smith apples work well.
- Granulated sugar
- Water
- Cinnamon
- Arrowroot starch: I used arrowroot starch, which is a healthier alternative to cornstarch, but feel free to substitute cornstarch in a pinch.
Danish
- Pancake mix: I used a gluten-free pancake mix (Birch Benders), which I found to be the perfect base for my Danish.
- Cold butter
- Granulated sugar
- Full-fat coconut milk: You can also use half and half if preferred.
- Vanilla extract
- Egg: This is for the egg wash, a crucial step that gives the dough that classic flaky texture and appearance.
Glaze
The glaze is optional, but it adds an extra bit of sweetness and a beautiful finished look.
- Powdered sugar
- Milk: Use regular or dairy-free milk of choice.
How to Make an Apple Danish
Apple Filling
- Using a sharp knife, peel, core, and chop your apple.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Add chopped apple, sugar, 1 tbsp water, and cinnamon. Cover and stir occasionally while cooking for 5 minutes until slightly softened.
- Whisk together water and arrowroot starch in a small bowl and add to the saucepan.
- Stir and continue cooking while bubbling until the apple chunks are soft and the mixture is thickened and sticky.
- Remove from heat and cool while you make the dough.
Danish
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together pancake mix, butter, and sugar. Mix with your hands until crumbly – having chunks of butter not fully incorporated is okay.
- Add coconut milk and vanilla extract, and stir until a wet dough is formed.
- Drop the dough by 2 tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2-3 inches apart.
- Grease the back of a tablespoon and make an indent in the center of each dough. Fill the centers with a spoonful of the apple filling.
- Crack the egg in a bowl and whisk to make an egg wash. Brush the top of the Danish with the egg wash, concentrating on the outer dough.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from the oven to cool completely. They’ll firm up as they cool.
- If using the glaze, stir together powdered sugar and milk in a bowl until smooth. You can add more milk for a thinner consistency. Use a fork to drizzle over the apple Danish. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Gluten-Free: Use a gluten-free pancake mix. I used Birch Bender’s, which turned out really nice!
- Dairy-Free: Use dairy-free milk and vegan butter to make this apple Danish recipe dairy-free.
Storage Tips
- Store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- To freeze, let your Danishes cool completely. Store in a freezer-safe container for 1-2 months. When ready to serve, thaw overnight and reheat in the oven for a few minutes to warm and crisp up the pastry.
Recipe FAQs
An Apple Danish is typically made with flaky puff pastry sheets filled with cooked apples, sugar, and spices like cinnamon. It’s typically baked until golden brown, then drizzled with a sweet glaze. It is usually cut into triangles or rectangles and served warm out of the oven.
For this recipe, I opted for an easier base, as puff pastry dough can be time-consuming to make. I used pancake mix, which yielded a similarly flaky dough and turned out delicious!
Easy Apple Danish Pastry Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 2 tsp butter
- 1 apple, cut in to 1/4 inch pieces
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp water
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp water
- 1 tsp arrowroot starch
Danish
- 2 cups gluten free pancake mix, i used Birch Benders'
- 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup full-fat coconut milk, or half and half
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
Optional Glaze
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp milk, of your choice
Instructions
Apple Filling
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat.
- Add chopped apple, sugar, 1 tbsp water, and cinnamon. Cover and stir occasionally, while cooking for 5 minutes until slightly softened.
- In a small bowl, whisk together water and arrowroot starch, and add to the saucepan.
- Stir and continue cooking while bubbling until the apple chunks are soft and the mixture is thickened and sticky.
- Remove from heat and cool while you make the dough.
Danish
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, and line and baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together pancake mix, butter, and sugar. Mix with your hands until crumbly – it's okay to have chunks of butter not fully incorporated.
- Add coconut milk and vanilla extract, and stir until a wet dough is formed.
- Drop the dough by 2 tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2-3 inches apart.
- Grease the back of a tablespoon and make an indent in the center of each dough. Fill the centers with a spoonful of the apple filling.
- Crack the egg in a bowl and whisk to make a egg wash. Brush the top of the danish with the egg wash, concentrating on the outer dough.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from the oven to cool completely. They'll firm up as they cool.
- If using the glaze, stir together powdered sugar and milk in a bowl until smooth. You can add more milk for a thinner consistency. Use a fork to drizzle over the danish. Enjoy!
Notes
Expert Tips
- Gluten-Free: Use a gluten-free pancake mix. I used Birch Bender’s, which turned out really nice!
- Dairy-Free: Use dairy-free milk and vegan butter to make this apple Danish recipe dairy-free.
Storage Tips
- Store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- To freeze, let your Danishes cool completely. Store in a freezer-safe container for 1-2 months. When ready to serve, thaw overnight and reheat in the oven for a few minutes to warm and crisp up the pastry.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe is great! I made some (possibly) significant changes and the dough still turned out awesome. I used ghee, instead of butter, but I did chill it till it was hard. I used paleo pancake mix – instead of gluten free- and just added a 1/2 tsp xanthan gum. Also, I used coconut cream instead of coconut milk, and I ended up having to add 5 Tbsp of water to get the dough to the right consistency. I even added the egg white to the dough and just used the yolk for the egg wash. Normally, making this many changes to baked goods does not end well. But this did! The dough has a great texture and I think it will be my go-to recipe for other flavors of Danishes.
god this recipe rocks. simple, straight forward, perfect sweetness. I think there might be a typo with tsp vs tbsp for the arrowroot step, but even so I will be making this on repeat. Thank you Jean!!!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. It’s actually not a typo, it should thicken with just 1 tsp but maybe it was a different type of starch? Anyway – thank you so much for leaving a review!