Apple-Almond Braid: The Bakery of You
Oct 4th, 2008 by Marilyn
I am standing at my in-laws’ dining room table, using a short serrated knife to hack through an apple-almond dessert, and my heavy bracelet keeps slipping down my wrist. I lean in to cut, bracelet whomp. Push it up, falls back down. Up, down, back, clonk. It keeps whacking the pastry and driving me nuts – soon they’ll be eating silver off the apples. I pull it off, shove it aside and get back to the knife. Coffee is being poured, and though I’m clearly busy slicing, I occasionally use one hand to pass the cream, another to pass the sugar and still another to distribute forks – more hands than I have, and that dessert is still whole. All around the table aunts, uncles and cousins sit with small glass plates, waiting.
I don’t leave home without dessert. Call it fate or my fault, but I can’t appear at birthdays, baby showers or tax meetings empty-handed. I no longer run a kitchen or own a bakery – but even when I did, this sort of dessert was greeted, time and again, with the same phrase: you didn’t make that.
Well yes I did, I’d say, I did make that. Oh come on, they’d sputter, that came from a bakery. It was cute, it was flattering, and eventually, annoying. No, that looks like professional bakery.
Uh…I work in a bakery. I am a bakery. You’re paying for it. It’s bakery.
This went on. Even now with the apple-almond braid, even with family, fifteen years among them and still the same tease:
“You didn’t make that.”
(eyes roll into back of my head)
“Yes.” I hand a slice to Millie, on my right, who takes it and smiles. “I did.”
“Come on – did you stop at the bakery?”
“No,” I said, plating a slice, “I didn’t.”
“You did not make that.”
“Mm…sure did.”
“You stopped at the bakery.”
“Fine. I stopped at the bakery, okay?” Now they were listening. “Yeah. I stopped at the bakery – the bakery of me. Now who wants a slice?”
Today we are stopping at the bakery of…you. You’re going to make this Apple-Almond Braid and amaze them – you’re going to coolly cut slices while they search for the white box. This looks fussy, but it isn’t, and looks tricky, but it’s not. It also looks delicious, and it is. Bakery? Uh-uh. Today, this is how you roll.
Apple-Almond Braid
Slice apples and saute with sugar, just caramelizing to a tasty gold.
Lightly chop the cooked apples. Run out of the kitchen in an effort not to eat the cooked apples. Come back and vow to eat just a few.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the cream cheese dough out to a wide, slightly squared oval shape, long enough to fit lengthwise across a cookie sheet. Transfer dough to ungreased cookie sheet, allowing a slight overhang off the edges.
Spread almond filling lengthwise down center of dough strip, leaving about 2 inches bare on either side.
Pile those golden cooked apples on top of the almond filling, mounding evenly lengthwise down the strip…
…like so. And now we do a great trick, the one that will make them demand to see your bakery receipt: using a small sharp knife, slash diagonal lines along both sides of the filled strip. Start with your knife on the inside, closer to the almond filling, and pull the knife out, creating short strips, about 3/4″ wide. Cut short strips along both sides of dough, leaving “overhang ends” uncut and in tact. The strip should look fringed…
…sort of like a big apple-almond fish. Now, starting at one end, pull each strip toward the center, creating a “V” with each pair, loosely pinching together in the middle. Continuing pulling and pairing strips all the way down, until filling is covered and you have a “braid.”
To finish the ends, pinch overhang dough together, then pull up and roll over the cookie sheet, pinching to meet and seal the braid.
Oh my god, look what you did! You’re some kind of domesticated bakery superstar, and you’re almost done. Sprinkle finished, unbaked braid thickly with cinnamon-sugar mixture and sliced almonds.
Bake to a gorgeous crusty brown, sprinkle some powdered sugar, and prepare for bakery heaven…
…because that’s it. You get true bakery sights, sounds and tastes with just one chunk of dough, a few ripe apples and a new trick up your sleeve. Don’t forget to keep those sleeves rolled up – and by all means, remove that bracelet.
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Apple-Almond Braid
1 batch Cream Cheese Dough (below)
1 batch Apple Filling (below)
6 oz almond filling (available in supermarkets, canned)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
cinnamon and sugar, for sprinkling
1. Make one recipe of Cream Cheese Dough, below. Flatten into a smooth oval shape, wrap in plastic and chill until ready to use.
2. While dough chills, make Apple Filling, below. Set apples aside to cool while you roll dough.
3. Preheat oven to 375 F.
4. Roll & Assemble the Braid: remove Cream Cheese Dough from refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to approximately 1/4″ thickness and roll to a large, flat oval shape, about 8-9 ” wide and as long as your cookie sheet, 17″ or more. Transfer dough to ungreased cookie sheet, allowing “overhang” off the edges at either end. Trim away any excess dough and refrigerate for other use (like…dough snacks).
Using spoon or offset flat spatula, spread almond filling lengthwise down dough strip, leaving about 2″ bare on either side. Mound cooled apples evenly on top of almond filling.
Using a small sharp knife, slash diagonal lines along both sides of the filled strip. Start with your knife on the inside, closer to the almond filling, and pull the knife out, creating short strips, about 3/4″ wide. Cut short strips along both sides of dough, leaving “overhang ends” uncut and in tact.
Starting at one end, pull each strip toward the center, creating a “V” with each pair, loosely pinching together in the middle. Continuing pulling and pairing strips all the way down, until filling is covered and you have a “braid.” Sprinkle finished, unbaked braid thickly with cinnamon-sugar mixture and sliced almonds.
5. Bake: place braid in lower third of oven and bake for approximately 35 minutes, until golden brown. Bake another 10 minutes on top rack of oven, until almonds are browned but not burnt, pastry is a dark golden brown and fruit juices begin to bubble. Remove from oven and cool.
To serve, lightly sift powdered sugar over whole braid. Serve slices warm, if desired, with vanilla ice cream.
serves 10 – 15
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Cream Cheese Dough
8 oz cream cheese, cold
8 oz unsalted butter, cold
2 cups all-purpose flour
pinch salt
Place flour and salt in food processor and process a few seconds, to blend. Chunk butter and cream cheese in pieces over flour, then process, using on-off motion, until dough just forms a ball. Turn out onto floured surface and knead lightly into a smooth mass. Wrap with plastic and chill until ready to use. Rolls best when cold but still pliable, on a lightly floured surface.
Apple Filling
5 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and thick-sliced
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
4 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Using a large and preferably non-stick frying pan, saute apples over medium-high heat with sugar and water, shaking pan occasionally, until just golden, browning and slightly sticky. Turn apples with heatproof spoon or spatula for even color. Cook until soft but not mush – watch carefully and do not burn. Reduce heat to low.
In small bowl, mix water and cornstarch to combine. Over low heat, add corn starch mixture to apples, stirring and shaking to thicken and distribute evenly. When done, apples should appear golden, glistening and still in soft slices. If too thick and pasty – i.e., white chunks of cornstarch appear – add a bit more water as necessary, turning to combine. Turn off heat, sprinkle with cinnamon and toss to distribute.
Remove apples from stove and cool until just safe to handle. Spread on cutting board and lightly chop, making large chunks. Set apples aside to cool before using as filling.
Dang. I think I can actually handle this. I don’t like crunchy apples though, I like them kinda soggy – should I saute them longer?
Marilyn,
These photos are SO delicious–I would have gobbled up the whole thing before I actually baked it. XO
OMG, I’ve died and gone to bakery heaven. Apples, almonds and dough? What’s not to love? I can’t wait to make this!! Thank you for sharing!!
Good grief, that looks amazing. I swear I can smell it through those photos.
I visited with my neighbor today, who picked some apples at Fieldstone Farms near Overbrook, KS. I need to tell her about this recipe.
I’m tempted to take a day off, so I can spend it baking. I might wait until the temperatures dip into the 50′s before I call in sick. I have a list of pumpkin and apple recipes I’m dying to try. I’m adding this to my list.
Thanks for sharing,
muddywaters
Ooh, I think I could actually do this! It really looks yummy.
This looks great ~ You make it look so easy!
Marilyn,
I may actually have to try this too. It’s almost unheard of that I should cook in my family because as a teenager I basically only ate pizza. Pita bread pizza, English muffin pizza, bagel pizza, toast pizza – pizza started coming out of my ears and then I finally grew up and moved out and had to cook REAL food!
Even with a real effort last Christmas to cook for my family, it ended – well, not quite the way I had hoped! I wanted to cook a traditional French meal which are wonderful but take 4 hours to eat. Unfortunately I forgot that we’re in America so we can’t take 4 hours, we must speed up the timeline and eat it all in just one and a half hours. Needless to say I cooked far too much food and everyone rolled home feeling a little worse for wear.
Perhaps something like this will be sufficient to please, impress, and not over feed!
Looks great.. Love how the filling oozes out.
Wow! This looks delicious! It’s Canadian Thanksgiving next weekend and now I know what I’m bringing to dinner!
Thanks.
I’m going to try this Marilyn,but I will use a tart apple…I like tart!
And I’ll try to remember about the bracelet!
When I grow up (or when our kitchen renovation is finished or when I get organized) I want to be a bakery.
Jean: you can handle it, you can! Make it a late birthday baking treat. The apples (after cooking) should be soft but still hold their shape – they won’t be crunchy at all, just good.
Mary: I am making one and meeting you at LPT with two forks. Let’s go.
Carol: I agree, apples, almonds and dough definitely equal bakery heaven – even without chocolate!
modernemama: smells even better in person – perfect fall bakery scent!
muddywaters: I always go with apples first, then pumpkin. Fall is my favorite baking season, hands-down.
amy h: you absolutely can do this – and try a lot of other fillings, too. Once you have the technique down, the sky’s the limit.
Marianne: welcome! Glad to have yet another Lawrencian on board.
Summer: this dessert is easier than it looks and does have that European feel. Should I bring three forks to LPT?
Jude: the stuff on the pan is always the best snacking, no?
Rosa: Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! Have a wonderful time.
Theresa: normally, I love tart apples – Granny Smith, always – but the texture and medium-sweetness of these apples best suit this dessert. But for snacking – only Grannies for me!
S and N: don’t we all want to be a bakery?
what a beautiful dessert. the end result looks totally worth the effort involved. thanks for the recipe–i’ll make it and pretend i work in a bakery.
The only thing I like better than baked goods that taste great, are baked goods that look fabulous while tasting great. This pastry is gorgeous!
I recently watched Lidia Bastianich make a gorgeous pastry as well (thank you PBS). Between the two of you, I’m feeling particularly inspired.
Looks really nice! Great job, and it sounds sooo delicious!
Grace: you’ll find a way to sneak peanut butter into this recipe, I know it!
Sandie: me…Lidia…in same comment. Wait, I feel faint. Will someone please revive me with a piece of apple tart?
kimberleyblue: welcome! Happy to have you here. Please visit the Lurker Buffet for more snacks.
I had some left over apples and tried this the other day. It was very very yummy! I didn’t have any of the almond filling, but I substituted a pecan tassy filling for it, which turned out great too:
1/4 c. Dark Corn Syrup
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp. Almond Extract
1/4 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/4 c. finely crushed almonds
I just made my first (and second and third and fourth) Danish braid this year. It is such a satisfying pastry to make at home and really impressed my in laws as well. Yours looks gorgeous!
My day’s agenda just changed, thanks to this recipe. My favorite cousin is visiting, and I was planning on baking my old stand by apple cake, but now I’m off to the store to buy almond paste and try this. Oh, you DO have the best stuff. Can’t wait to try your buttercream frosting. It’s come after 50 years of badly iced cupcakes, (how did my children survive the embarassment of class birthday parties with frosting that dribbled over the sides?) but a grandchild’s birthday is next week, so maybe hope for redemption?
Thanks for this!
My friend Sally sent me the link to this recipe. I have made it twice now and EVERYONE asks for the recipe. It is amazing and simple to make! The entire family is coming to Wisconisn for Thanksgiving and I am going to serve this Thanksgiving morning!
Kelly, Maggie, Olivia & David – hope you all enjoy the flaky apple goodness yourself, and thanks!
David – Sally is a genius, so I’m flattered that she chose to share it with you, and happy that it worked out. Enjoy it on Thanksgiving!
This is my go-to recipe when I don’t know what to do with an extra pie crust. While the cream cheese crust is a bit better, pie crust will do. As well as substituting pears/poppy seed or firm mango/poppy seed. I always think of this recipe when I have a few tired apples in the bottom of the fridge drawer. Thank you M!