Starbucks Copycat Sugar Plum Cheese Danish

FOR PLUM JAM

• 453 g/1 pound (lbs) fresh Plum
• 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar 
• a pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp Fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 tsp ground Cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground clove & Nutmeg

FOR SWEET CREAM CHEESE FILLING

• 165 g (approx. 6 ounces) Full-fat Soft Cream Cheese, Philadelphia
• 43 g (6 tbsp) Icing sugar/powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt

FOR SUGAR PLUM CHEESE DANISH

• 1 sheet of puff pastry (ready to roll)
• 4 tbsp (1/4 cup) Spiced Plum jam (homemade or store-bought)
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp milk

SPICED PLUM JAM

1. Take washed, stoned and roughly chopped plum, sugar and lemon juice in a medium heavy-based pan, then cook on low heat to dissolve all the sugar, stirring constantly (for 5 minutes).
2. Now on medium-high heat, bring it to a boil, stirring frequently.
3. When it starts to bubble, slow down the heat. Let the jam simmer until it is reduced and thickened to the right consistency (for about 20-25 minutes) stirring frequently to make sure, it is not sticking to the bottom of the pan.
4. Skim the foam from the top while cooking and mash the plums using a potato masher.
5. Now it’s time to test if the jam is ready (Cold plate test). Place a small white plate in the freezer to chill when you start cooking. Once you think, your jam has thickened, turn the heat off while you test because you don’t want to overcook your jam. Spoon a small amount of jam on a chilled plate. Tilt your plate vertically, if it runs slow it is ready. Or push your finger through the jam, if it wrinkles, is gel-like and does not flood back to fill the gap, it is ready to bottle. If it doesn’t, keep cooking for more than 2 minutes and repeat the process. Test it every 2 minutes.
6. Remove from the heat, mix in a tsp of butter, a dash of ground cinnamon, a pinch of ground clove, and nutmeg and allow the mixture to cool down slightly (for about 5 minutes).
7. Fill the sterilised jar with this jam, leaving some space at the top. Clean the jar rim with a paper towel. Cover with the lid and seal the jar.
8. Store it in the fridge until needed.

SWEET CREAM CHEESE FILLING

1. Prepare the sweet cream cheese filling by mixing cream cheese, icing sugar/powdered sugar (sifted) and vanilla extract. Mix them together until smooth and fluffy. 
2. Pop in the fridge to chill. You can also make it ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.

PUFF PASTRY DANISHES

1. Take a 12-hole muffin tin and grease each hole with butter and set aside.
2. Preheat Fan oven to 160C/330F (for conventional oven, 180C/356F).
3. Roll out the puff pastry sheet and dust it with some plain flour if it is too sticky. Cut puff pastry into equal squares — one sheet will make 12 squares of equal size of 3x3 inches and 3 smaller ones. Transfer squares to a muffin tin and press gently into wells.
4. Spoon some sweet cream cheese filling (about 1 tbsp) in the middle part of each pastry square and spread slightly with a spoon. Top it with a tsp of chilled spiced plum jam. Brush the edges of each pastry square with egg wash (whisk together 1 egg + 1 tsp milk).
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until puffed, flakey and golden brown in colour from the edges. Serve immediately 😊