King’s Hawaiian Strawberry Cream Cheese Danishes

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My original King’s Hawaiian cream cheese danishes are still one of the most popular things I’ve ever posted, so I gave them a spring glow-up and I’m kind of obsessed with how they came out! These King’s Hawaiian strawberry cream cheese danishes swap the cinnamon butter for a lemon zest brown sugar glaze, pipe a bright, lemony cream cheese filling into those pillowy sweet rolls, and finish with a spoonful of strawberry jam on top. You brush, pipe, dollop, bake for 10 minutes, and that’s literally it. If you want a strawberry cream cheese danish that tastes like it came out of a bakery case but only asks about 15 minutes of you, this is the one! 🙌

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What Makes These King’s Hawaiian Strawberry Cream Cheese Danishes So Good

It’s the sweet-tart thing, and I promise you feel it in every single bite. The cream cheese filling gets this bright lemon zest lift so it stays rich but not heavy, the strawberry jam melts into a jammy, slightly gooey pool up top, and the King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls bake soft and pillowy underneath. You get this contrast where the tangy filling and the sweet berry bounce off each other, and the lemon keeps the whole thing from ever tipping into too-sweet territory. It’s SO good!

Plus, they’ve got that spring and summer vibe baked right in, and I am here for it. My original danishes lean warm and cozy with cinnamon, but swapping in lemon and strawberry makes these feel like brunch on a sunny patio. They’re perfect for Mother’s Day, Easter brunch, a baby shower, or honestly just a random Tuesday when you want something that looks fancy and took you almost ZERO work.

Tips for Making Strawberry Cream Cheese Danishes

These are about as foolproof as baking gets, but a few small moves make them come out clean and golden every time.

1. Soften the cream cheese first

Cold cream cheese fights you and leaves lumps in the filling, and nobody wants a lumpy danish. Let it sit out until it’s soft, or microwave it for about 20 seconds so it whips up smooth. If you want the fast lane, here’s a quick rundown on softening cream cheese. Smooth filling pipes clean, lumpy filling clogs the tip.

2. Hollow out the rolls, but leave the bottom

Use a small knife to cut a well in the center of each roll and scoop it out, but stop before you go through the bottom. That intact base is what holds the cream cheese and jam like a little boat instead of letting it leak all over the pan.

3. Do not skip the lemon zest

The zest is doing real work here, so please do not sleep on it! It goes in the brown sugar butter glaze AND the cream cheese filling, and it’s the thing that makes these taste like spring instead of just another sweet danish. Zest a fresh lemon right before you mix, since that oil fades fast once it’s cut.

4. Pipe it if you can

A piping bag gives you that clean bakery look, filling each well without smearing it everywhere. No piping bag? A small spoon totally works, it just won’t be as tidy. You can also snip the corner off a zip-top bag and fake it, which is what I do half the time anyway.

5. Pull them at 10 minutes

Ten minutes at 350F is the sweet spot. You want the tops just set and the rolls warmed through, not browned into hockey pucks. They keep cooking a little as they cool, so trust the timer and pull them while the jam is still glossy!

Storage & Leftovers

These are unreal warm, and I mean drop-everything unreal, but they keep pretty well too. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temp for a day, or in the fridge for up to 3 days (the cream cheese means fridge is the safer call past day one). To bring them back, warm them in a 300F oven or the air fryer for a few minutes so the rolls soften up again. The microwave works in a pinch, but it makes the bottoms a little gummy, so I’d go oven if you’ve got the time.

Why King’s Hawaiian Rolls Make the Best Easy Danishes

The rolls are secretly the whole cheat code. King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls already have that soft, slightly sweet, almost brioche-like crumb, so they soak up the butter glaze and bake into something way richer than plain bread ever could. And yes, you’re absolutely supposed to bake them here, a quick 10 minutes warms them through and sets the filling without drying them out. They also come pre-portioned in that 12 pack, so every danish is already the perfect size with zero cutting or shaping. Less work, more danishes! You can grab the Original Hawaiian Sweet Rolls at basically any grocery store, and they’re the move for this one.

Equipment

• Ceramic baking pan
• Basting brush
• Piping bag (or a zip-top bag)
• Mixing bowls
• Measuring spoons

Ingredients

• 1 pack King’s Hawaiian Original Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (for the glaze)
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp lemon zest (split between glaze and filling)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (for the filling)
• strawberry jam
• powdered sugar, for topping

Substitutions and Swaps

This one is easy to make your own, so have fun with it. Here’s what actually works and what I’d leave alone:

• The jam. Strawberry is the classic here for that spring vibe, but raspberry, blueberry, apricot, or even a mixed-berry jam all slot right in (I’d bet the raspberry version is even better). Just keep it to a thick jam, since anything runny will slide off the top instead of setting into that jammy pool. If you want that same strawberry-and-cream-cheese combo in a flakier format, my strawberry cream cheese puff pastries pull the exact same pairing into rolled-up puff pastry.
• The lemon. No fresh lemon? A little orange zest gives you a different but still bright citrus lift, and a splash of bottled lemon juice in the filling gets you partway there. I wouldn’t drop the citrus entirely though, it’s what keeps the filling from reading as flat and one-note sweet.
• The cream cheese. Full-fat is what gives you that rich, tangy filling. Light cream cheese works but comes out a touch looser, and a spoon of mascarpone mixed in makes an extra decadent version if you’re feeling fancy.
• The rolls. King’s Hawaiian is the whole point, but any soft, sweet dinner roll or a brioche roll will get you close. Plain crusty rolls won’t, they’re too dense and not sweet enough to carry it.
• Less sweet: cut the powdered sugar in the filling to 2 tbsp and lean on the jam for sweetness. You’ll get a tangier, more balanced danish that leans breakfast instead of dessert.

Instructions

1. Separate the rolls and place them into a baking pan, keeping them snug side by side.
2. Use a small knife to hollow out the center of each roll, leaving the bottom intact so it can hold the filling.
3. Melt the butter in a small bowl, then stir in the brown sugar, half the lemon zest, and the vanilla until combined.
4. Use a food-safe brush to coat the tops and insides of each roll with the butter mixture. Be generous.
5. In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth, then mix in the vanilla and the rest of the lemon zest.
6. Pipe the cream cheese filling into each hollowed-out roll, then top each with a spoonful of strawberry jam.
7. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes, until the tops are just set and the rolls are warmed through.
8. Dust with powdered sugar before serving, and dig in!

Can You Make These Danishes Ahead of Time?

You can prep the pieces ahead, but I’d bake them close to when you want to eat. Whip the lemony cream cheese filling and mix the brown sugar butter glaze a day early and keep both covered in the fridge, so the morning of is just hollow, brush, pipe, and bake. If you truly need them done in advance, bake them fully, cool completely, and refrigerate, then warm them in a low oven right before serving so the rolls go soft again. You can also freeze the baked danishes: wrap them well, freeze for up to a month, then reheat straight from frozen at 300F until warmed through. They won’t be quite as pillowy as day one, but they’re still really good, and I never mind having a stash of strawberry cream cheese danishes waiting in the freezer.

Real talk, this is one of those recipes that makes you look like you tried way harder than you did. Four steps, one pan, and about 15 minutes of hands-on work, and you’ve got a plate of bright, jammy, lemony danishes that look like they came straight out of a bakery!

I love these for a lazy weekend brunch, or anytime the weather turns warm and I want something that tastes like spring. If cinnamon rolls are more your thing, my King’s Hawaiian French toast bites are another 20-minute sweet-roll move I keep in my back pocket.

If you make these strawberry cream cheese danishes, drop a star rating on the recipe card below and leave a comment to let me know which jam you went with. I’m always curious what people reach for! 😋

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