Pastry recipes are definitely not usually my thing, and I have absolutely almost zero experience in making them. And I’m not even adept at braiding hair, let alone pastry. But I followed the directions obsessively for this Danish Braid from Sherry Yard’s The Secret of Baking– and all turned out great. I’m sharing my experience in making this deluxe, impressive pastry with you. This is not an easy recipe. I’m just getting that out of the way right up front. There are many steps involved, and I’ve laid them out nicely for you in the recipe. But the outcome is super impressive, so if you’re up for the challenge then I suggest you try making a Danish Braid.
Ingredients needed:
active dry yeast whole milk white sugar orange zest ground cardamom vanilla extract one whole vanilla bean eggs orange juice all purpose flour salt butter apples ground cinnamon lemon juice
How to make a Danish Braid with Apple Filling:
It’s helpful if you have a stand mixer to make this recipe. Prepare the dough as indicated in the recipe, chill the dough, and then it’s ready for rolling. Look at the photos above for guidance. Roll the dough into a rectangle. Spread a mix of butter and flour over 2/3 of the dough. Then fold over the left side and then the right side. This is called, “completing a turn.” And you have now completed the 1st turn. Refrigerate the folded dough for 30 minutes. Then roll out into a rectangle again. No butter is needed on the 2nd turn since butter has already been added. Fold in the same way again, and refrigerate for another 30 minutes. The 2nd turn is done. Do this two more times– for a total of four turns. Now the pastry dough is ready to use for assembling the Danish Braid. That’s the most time-consuming part. It’s not hard… just time-consuming.
Prepare the apple filling. Sauté apples that have been tossed in sugar, cinnamon, vanilla bean seeds and lemon juice in butter until softened and caramelized. Let them cool.
Filling and braiding a Danish Braid:
Roll the ball of dough into a large rectangle. Cut strips along each side of the dough, leaving the middle intact. Spoon apple filling down the middle of the pastry. Tuck the end over, and then wrap the side strips one at a time in a braiding fashion until you reach the other end. Then fold the other end in too. Brush with egg wash, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to let rise for two hours at room temperature.
Bake until golden brown. This is definitely one of those challenges where you’re going to be really proud of the outcome (if you have a good outcome, that is- and I’m confident you will!) This Danish Braid with apple filling turns out to be a tender, flaky, buttery pastry with wonderful caramelized, cinnamony apples cooked inside.
When I made this Danish Braid, I plated it and brought it to the teachers at my son’s school for an end-of-the-year breakfast meeting. Suffice to say, they enjoyed it a lot! I snuck a slice for my kiddo, and then I begged for a sampling. He reluctantly gave me a bite. I felt that the orange zest in the dough worked really well with the apples. All was delicious! It’s the perfect recipe to make ahead for the holidays (freezing instructions are in the recipe below).
Yes, it’s all definitely a lot of work making this Danish braid. But if you’re up for a challenge, and you really love to bake and create… then this is a recipe for you to try. Remember I said before that making this sort of thing was not my specialty?? I did it though. Follow the directions carefully, and the photos should help. Good luck!
If you enjoy pastries, here are a few more recipes to try:
Easy Apple Turnovers Maple Apple Tartlets Apple Cinnamon Strudel Candy Cane Coffee Cake Cinnamon Twist Pastries
