Danish Dessert

Serving Danish Dessert is one of my aunt's traditions for Christmas, one that I rediscovered this year. In honor of that, we're going to have it on Christmas Eve. Just in case I can't find the signature ingredient in the store, here are a couple of DIY options to try. One uses dry Koolaid, the other dry Jello, to get the signature bright red coloring.

It turns out I couldn't find a box of Danish Dessert in our local supermarkets. I went with the second substitute - the one using koolaid - and added several cups of sliced fresh strawberries for the top layer. The middle layer was our regular cream cheese mixed with sweetened whipped cream pie filling. The bottom layer was a walnut/flour crust.

Strawberry Danish Dessert
1 c. sugar
4 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. light corn syrup
4 Tbsp. dry jello mix (strawberry or raspberry flavor)
1 1/2 c. water
2 c. sliced strawberries (or fresh whole raspberries)
1/2 tsp. lemon juice

In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, corn syrup, jello and water.  Stir and heat over medium heat until ingredients come to a boil.  Stir and boil for a few minutes (3-4 min.)  Take off heat.  Stir in lemon juice and berries.  Serve warm (over waffles) or cooled.

Homemade Danish Dessert from The Red Apron Girl

1 package Kool Aid (any flavor)

4 tablespoons corn starch

pinch of salt

¾ cup sugar

Stir ingredients together and store in a tight container until ready to use.

When ready to use, in a small pot add the mix to 2 cups water. (Use 1 1/2 cups water if for pie filling.) Stir well and cook over medium heat until clear. Let cool 5 minutes and add fresh or frozen fruit. Place in fridge to allow to set up. Make about 3 hours before you want to serve.

Aunt Diane's Danish Dessert

1 cup white flour
3/4 cup margarine (not butter)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
8 ounces cream cheese
2 packages Dream Whip, prepared with whole milk
1 package Danish Dessert, prepared with
sliced frozen strawberries

Combine flour, margarine, powdered sugar, and walnuts. Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Stir and press into a baking pan, reserving 3/4 cup. Blend together cream cheese and Dream Whip and spread over crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs and top with Danish Dessert. Chill at least two hours before serving.

I added 1/4 cup wheat flour to the crumb mixture, and even then it took all of it to spread over our 9 x 13" baking pan, so we didn't have any on top of the cream mixture. I also used 16 ounces of cream cheese, mixed with 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 cup heavy cream, whipped first. Then, as mentioned above, I used the "kool-aid" substitute. Final verdict was that this is a delicious dessert!