Danish Pastry Braid
A classic Scandinavian pastry featuring flaky, buttery layers filled with a rich almond paste filling. These beautiful braided pastries are topped with pearl sugar and sliced almonds, then finished with a sweet almond glaze.
Ingredients
- •3½ cups all-purpose flour
- •1½ cups chilled unsalted butter
- •2 packages active dry yeast
- •½ cup warm water
- •½ cup heavy cream or undiluted evaporated milk
- •½ teaspoon freshly crushed cardamom seed
- •½ teaspoon salt
- •2 whole eggs
- •¼ cup sugar
- •¼ cup soft butter
- •1 cup powdered sugar
- •¼ teaspoon almond extract
- •1 cup finely pulverized almonds
- •1 package almond paste
- •1 whole egg white
- •1 whole egg
- •2 tablespoons milk or water
- •2 tablespoons pearl sugar
- •¼ cup chopped almonds
- •1 cup powdered sugar
- •2½ teaspoons warm water
- •½ teaspoon almond extract
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Measure 3 1/2 cups flour into a bowl or work bowl of food processor with steel blade in place. Cut the butter into 1/4-inch slices and add to the flour. Process or cut the butter into the flour until the butter is about the size of kidney beans.
10 min
- 2.
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in the cream or milk, cardamom, salt, eggs, and sugar.
5 min
- 3.
Turn the flour-butter mixture into the liquid ingredients, and with a rubber spatula mix carefully just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours, overnight, or up to 4 days.
240 min
- 4.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board; dust with flour. Pound and flatten to make a 16- to 20-inch rectangle. Fold into thirds, making 3 layers. Turn dough around and roll out again. Fold from the short sides into thirds. This should result in a perfect square. Repeat folding and rolling again if you wish.
15 min
- 5.
Wrap and chill the dough 30 minutes or as long as overnight.
30 min
- 6.
Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease and flour them.
5 min
- 7.
Divide the chilled dough into 2 parts. Roll each part out to make a rectangle 12 by 6 inches. Place these strips on the prepared baking sheets.
10 min
- 8.
To make the filling, cream the butter and sugar until light. Blend in the almond extract, almonds, almond paste, and egg white.
10 min
- 9.
Spread filling down the length of the center of the strips. Cut slanting strips at 3/4-inch intervals along both sides up toward the center using a pastry wheel. Fold strips over the filling in a crisscross manner
15 min
- 10.
Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
10 min
- 11.
Let strips rise for 15 to 30 minutes, just until the pastry strips look puffy; they will not double.
30 min
- 12.
To make a glaze, beat the egg with the milk or water. Brush the pastry lightly with it. Sprinkle the sugar and/or sliced almonds over the top.
5 min
- 13.
Bake about 15 minutes or until golden.
15 min
- 14.
Frost, if desired, with almond-water icing. Blend the sugar, water, and almond extract until smooth and thin enough to drizzle over the braids.
5 min
