Almond Custard Braid

A great breakfast treat, perfect for a fall or winter morning! One of the bakery's most popular treats for order, especially during the lovely Christmas season around the corner.

Don't you just love waking up to a warm, crisp slice of Swedish coffee bread in the morning?

I made this Swedish treat for the first time for the last Swedish class I ever took. For our last fika, I wanted to bring in something especially yummy, so I decided to experiment with a braid recipe. I absolutely love almond paste (as did all the students in my class and my teacher), so I decided to try my hand at a traditional almond-custard pastry braid and see how it went. I had been tweaking this recipe for a quite a while now, but this time I felt like I had finally achieved nirvana! The balance of almond filling and custard was perfect, and the flakey dough is heavenly (just don’t think about all the butter going into it!). This recipe reminds me so much of Sweden, and seriously heightened my excitement for my upcoming study abroad exchange (and I didn’t think that was even possible).

A word on almond paste

I absolutely love almond paste, okay. Like, seriously, it's ah-mazing. If you haven't tried it, I would definitely recommend picking up a box or a tube and trying your hand at this recipe or another Scandinavian recipe that calls for it. It is the most incredible foodstuff invention ever created.

That is all. That is all I had to say about almond paste. On to the recipe...

Almond Custard Braid (makes 2 braids)

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 1/3 cup warm water

• 1 tablespoon dry yeast

• 1/2 cup buttermilk

• 1 egg

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 1/2 cups flour

• 2 sticks (1 cup or 16 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into pieces

• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons) extra butter, cold and in pieces

For the custard:

• 1 recipe custard from here, except using 2 egg yolks and 2 whole eggs (you will have custard leftover!)

• 2 tablespoons butter

For the almond filling:

• 1/2 cup almond paste

• 3 oz full-fat cream cheese

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1 tsp each cinnamon and cardamum

• 1/4 tsp salt

For the finishing touches:

• 1 egg, beaten with a little water

• Flaked almonds

Method

1. For the dough: Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let sit for 5 minutes until foamy. Then, whisk in the buttermilk and egg. In another bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Crumble butter into the flour mixture, leaving medium size pieces intact. Fold in the wet ingredients (gently!). Cut in half. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

2. The next day, take the half dough out of the fridge and place on a floured surface. Roll out into a 1/4 inch or so rectangle. Take the half of the extra butter and place small pieces all over the rectangle. Fold into thirds (like folding a letter), and roll out again. Repeat the fold and rolling process 2 more times, for a total of 3 times. Fold into thirds one more time, wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. Repeat with the other half of dough.

3. For the custard: make the custard using the recipe linked above, but use 2 whole eggs and 2 eggs yolks instead of just 3 egg yolks. When the custard is done, turn off the stove and whisk in the butter. Wrap and refrigerate.

4. To make the almond filling: Using an electric mixer, whisk together all the ingredients for the almond filling until a smooth paste forms. Set aside.

5. For the assembly/baking: Roll out a piece of dough into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle on a floured surface. Spread a line of almond filling done the middle of rectangle, and then top with a line of the custard. Repeat with the other half of dough. Cut and the fold the dough rectangles according to this picture:

6. Brush the pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with the flaked almonds. Let rest for about 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the braids turn a nice, golden brown. Let cool slightly. Drizzle with coconut cream glaze if desired, and enjoy!