Raspberry Danish Braid - Coffeecake

Raspberry Danish Braid popped into my head when I was organizing my freezer and saw that I still had a piece of croissant dough in there. Of course, you can also make this braid with my Easy Danish Dough or my Ruff Puff - Quick Puff Pastry. Or even frozen puff pastry.

But if you’d like to make it with croissant dough, here’s How to Make Croissants – A Tutorial. The recipe makes enough dough for three braids, but I usually just make one at a time, using a third of the dough. You can use all sorts of things for the filling, but I’ve found a mere 5 tablespoons of raspberry jam works beautifully and is quick and easy.

The finished braid is longer than my longest rectangular platters, so the ends are cut off in the photos. Also, I did not put a glaze on top of the braid pictured as I didn't want the added sweetness, but you might want to add it.

It's been a bit hectic this week, so this wouldn't have been on the menu if not for my secret stash of dough in the freezer. I tell you, always always always make more dough than you need and freeze it in tidy batches. It's great to be able to whip out a special homemade treat with practically zero effort on a busy day!

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Raspberry Danish Braid

(Makes one 16-inch braid, 6 to 8 servings)

The Dough

1/3 piece (9x4 inches) of finished Croissants dough 

The Filling

5 tablespoons raspberry jam

The Egg Wash

1/2 beaten egg (save the rest to go in something else)

1 teaspoon water

The Glaze

2 tablespoons (1 ounce/28 grams) unsalted butter, melted

3/4 firmly packed cup (3 ounces/85 grams) unsifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Transfer the frozen dough to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.

2 After the 9x4-inch (one-third batch) piece of dough has thawed overnight in the refrigerator, bring it out of the refrigerator 20 minutes before you want to start rolling it out.

3 Line a heavy-duty half sheet pan with parchment paper. 

4 On lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a neat 15x12-inch rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. With a short end of dough in front of you, lightly mark vertical thirds in the dough (with something like ruler or dull knife). Using a plastic pizza cutter, cut off the top two corners and cut slanted strips in the side sections.

Tip: Don't make yourself crazy measuring the strips and getting them perfect. I just eyeballed it and it came out fine.

5 With small offset spatula, spread the jam over the center third of the dough. Fold the strips over the center, alternating from side to side. Place on parchment-lined half sheet pan.

6 Set the baking sheet in the cold oven and place a pan of boiling water (just 3 or 4 cups) on the bottom of the oven. This will keep the braid from drying out. Let rise until puffy, about 2 to 3, even 3 1/2 hours. Be sure to take it out before you preheat the oven!

OR If you have a half sheet pan with a lid and 4 little cups of some sort (these are 1.5 inch tall 2.5-ounce stainless steel sauce cups my mother got at a restaurant supply store decades ago), fill cups with boiling water and set them in the corners of the pan and put the lid on. Doesn't matter that the water cools off, it's just there to get some moisture, not heat, around the rising dough.

7 Preheat oven to 450F/230C/Gas8. In small bowl, whisk together the egg wash. Brush the braid with egg wash. As soon as you put the pan in the oven, reduce heat to 400F/205C/Gas6. Bake for about 20 minutes, until deep golden brown. 

8 Allow to cool for 10 minutes before glazing. Whisk together the glaze and drizzle over the warm, not hot, braid. Serve warm or room temperature.

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Jean