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Strawberry danish braid on wooden board, white bowl in background, fresh strawberries on top

Strawberry Danish Braid

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5 from 1 review

Amazing homemade Strawberry Danish pastry! The dough is a gem of a recipe, made in the food processor. It's the best way of making and eating a flaky, creamy breakfast pastry with minimal fuss.

  • Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

Units

For the danish dough:

  • 2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • Large pinch salt
  • 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into medium pieces
  • 1 teaspoon active dry yeast (not instant)
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) tepid water (not hot)
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) cream, barely warm (not hot)
  • A few gratings nutmeg
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons (30g) sugar

For the filling:

  • 1 1/2 cups (230g) fresh strawberries, sliced
  • 1/3 cup cream cheese
  • 2/3 cups almond paste (recipe below)
  • Zest of 1/2 lime

For the almond paste:

  • 1 1/2 cups (180g) whole almonds, lightly toasted if you like
  • 1 1/2 cups (250g) powdered sugar
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1-2 teaspoons corn syrup (if needed)

For the glaze:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Fresh strawberries (to serve)

Instructions

For the quick danish dough:

  1. Put 1 ¾ cups flour and salt in the work bowl of a food processor, fitted with the steel blade.
  2. Add the cold butter, cut into chunks, and process until the butter is the size of kidney beans.
  3. In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let stand 5 minutes until foamy, and then stir in the cream, nutmeg, egg, and sugar. Mix very lightly with a fork.
  4. Transfer the flour and butter mixture to a large bowl; add the yeast mixture and mix lightly with a fork or spatula just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Similar to scone mixing.
  5. Shape into a square, it will be very irregular, transfer to a plastic, wrap and refrigerate 4 hours or up to 4 days.
  6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board; dust with a little flour. Flatten with a rolling pin to make a 16 to 20-inch (40x51cm) square.
  7. Fold into thirds, top 1/3 down and remaining 1/3 up, making 3 layers. Turn dough a quarter to your right, as if it were a book, so that the large open part it on your right, and roll again.
  8. Repeat the three folds two more times for a total of three times. Like puff pastry. This should result in a sort-of square. Wrap and chill the dough 30 minutes or as long as overnight.
  9. When ready to bake, take the dough out of the refrigerator and transfer to a floured surface.
  10. Roll into a 12x6-inches (30x15cm) rectangle. Place on a baking sheet that has been covered with lightly buttered and floured parchment paper or Silpat. What did we do before Silpat??
  11. Spread the almond cream cheese filling, down the length of the center of the strip. Top with sliced strawberries.
  12. Cut slanted or straight strips along both sides towards the center using a dough scraper or a pastry wheel. Be very careful and gentle when doing this; I slashed one of my beloved Silpats. Fold strips over the filling in a crisscross pattern.
  13. Let rise 1 hour (more or less depending on the tº), just until the pastry appears puffy. It will not double. Sprinkle with sugar.
  14. Turn on the oven to 375ºF/180ºC about 20 minutes before baking.
  15. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes, until golden.
  16. Frost with lime glaze and top with fresh strawberries cut into chunks.

For the strawberry cream cheese filling:

  1. Mix room temperature almond cream with cream cheese until smooth.
  2. Add lime zest and mix well.

For the lime glaze:

  1. Mix powdered sugar with lime juice in a bowl until completely smooth.
  2. If you want it thicker or thinner add more or less juice.

Notes

  • Pastry dough: make sure you process the butter until it's the size of kidney beans, not smaller. That makes a difference. It can be frozen. Defrost in the refrigerator, wrapped.
  • Resting: the dough needs to rest in the refrigerator the hours stipulated so that it can bake and puff as it should.
  • Glaze: you can use lemon or another citrus, or even liquor. But lime is a great partner to the other flavors.
  • Fillings: you can use a good berry jam, or another berry instead of strawberries, quince jam or just cream cheese with powdered sugar instead of the almond cream.
  • Keeping: this braid should be eaten the day it's baked.
  • I made half the dough recipe, so you can easily double it. These braids freeze perfectly after baked, wrapped first in film and then foil. Warm them up before eating.
  • Almond filling: you can simply mix ground almonds and cream cheese (half of each) for a simpler version.
  • Author: Paula Montenegro
  • Prep Time: 120
  • Cook Time: 45
  • Category: Bakery
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: International