This easy almond croissant pastry braid recipe is going to become your new go-to dessert! Flakey puff pastry filled with a homemade sweet almond frangipane and topped withs sliced almond and finished off with sweet icing.
ALMOND CROISSANT PASTRY BRAID
If you love the popular almond croissant that you find at bakeries, then this dessert recipe is for you! A delicious and easy puff pastry braid loaded with a simple homemade almond frangipane filling topped with a sweet sugar glaze. This almond croissant pastry braid gives you all the classic almond croissant flavors with the fuss of making croissants from scratch! Try this dessert recipe once and it will become your go-to bakery style dessert.
WHAT YOU NEED-
- Puff Pastry– This recipe calls for puff pastry dough; you can use either store-bought or homemade puff pastry dough. I like to use the LINK.
- Almond Flour– To create the homemade almond frangipane you will need almond flour.
- Sugar– Granulated sugar helps to sweeten the almond filling. If you want this on the sweet side, you can add more sugar or less for less sweetened almond filling.
- Egg– Adding an egg to the frangipane filling helps bind everything together.
- Butter– You can use either salted or unsalted butter for the almond filling.
- Almond Extract– The key to get that delicious almond flavor, you need to use almond extract!
- Vanilla Extract– For added flavors, the almond filling also calls for vanilla extract. You can also use vanilla paste.
- Egg Wash– To get that shiny, golden pastry you want to brush the puff pastry with egg wash, which is just a whisked egg.
- Almonds– You can use either sliced almonds or almond slivers.
- Powdered Sugar- Once the pastry braid is baked, you can top it with some powdered sugar for additional sweetness!
- Sugar Glaze– I love adding a simple sugar glaze to this pastry braid! All you need is just powdered sugar and milk. The sugar glaze topping is totally optional.
HOW TO MAKE ALMOND PASTRY BRAID
This puff pastry dessert comes together in no time and gives you a bakery level dessert!
- Remove the puff pastry from the freezer and allow it to thaw fully before making this dessert.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the almond frangipane. (Add more almond extract for more flavor if desired.)
- Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Unfold the thawed puff pastry sheet onto the lined baking sheet.
- Make diagonal cuts on both long sides of the pastry, leaving the center area uncut for the filling.
- Spread the almond frangipane filling in the center of the pastry, covering the entire uncut area. Leave some of the filling for the top of the braid if desired.
- Starting at the bottom of the pastry, fold the strips over the filling, alternating sides to create a braided pattern.
- Brush the entire pastry braid with the whisked egg, making sure the egg wash covers the pastry evenly. Spread the remaining almond filling over the top of the pastry and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
- Bake until the puff pastry is puffed and lightly golden brown.
- Remove the braid from the oven and let it cool for about 5–10 minutes.
- Dust with powdered sugar and drizzle with sugar icing. Slice and serve. (The sugar icing is totally optional.)
PASTRY BRAID VARIATIONS-
You don’t have to make this an almond pastry braid, you can totally swap out for different flavors and variations!
- Berry Cheesecake– Turn my cherry Danish recipe into a pastry braid! Add the cheesecake filling and a pie filling sauce in the center of the braid and fold. Top with egg wash and coarse sugar.
- Turnover Braid– If you love turnovers, use the apple filling from my apple turnovers and fill this braid with it. You can also use a different fruit like peaches, berries or cherries.
- Nutella– Swap the almond frangipane with Nutella for the chocolate pastry braid! This one is for all the chocolate lovers.
- Cheesecake Danish– Keep this simple and make this a cheese Danish braid, simple to my Starbucks cheese Danish recipe.
QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE:
This pastry dessert only uses one sheet, just thaw one sheet or double the recipe to make two pastry braids.
Puff pastry doesn’t take too long to thaw, all you need is about 30-45 minutes at room temp. You can also thaw it in the fridge for about 4 hours. I recommend freezing at room temp, the longer it thaws in the fridge the more flake you lose.
Yes! Once you make the almond frangipane, store in the fridge for 5-7 days. You can also freeze it for 2-3 months!
For the best results, I recommend that you make this simple almond frangipane, but you can also use store-bought almond filling.
No, adding the almond filling on top of the braid is totally optional.
Yes! Assemble the pastry braid and before egg washing it and topping it, cover and store in the fridge for up to 12 hours. You can also freeze it to bake later! When ready to bake, you can freeze it or thaw it then bake.
All you need is powdered sugar and whole milk or half and half! You want to slowly add milk until you get a thick but pourable glaze. If it seems to be too thick add more milk and if it’s too thin add more powdered sugar.
You can store this pastry braid at room temp for 2-3 days. If it lasts longer, you can refrigerate.
OTHER PASTRY DESSERTS TO TRY-
If you love pastry desserts, you need to give these other delicious and easy bakery level desserts a try!
Easy Almond Croissant Pastry Braid Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry thawed
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds
- 1 egg for egg wash
- powdered sugar optional for dusting
Almond Frangipane-
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 3 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Sugar Galze-
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp whole milk**
Instructions
- Remove the puff pastry from the freezer and allow it to thaw fully before making this pastry braid dessert.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the almond frangipane. (Add more almond extract for more flavor if desired.)
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a 9×13-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Unfold the thawed puff pastry sheet onto the lined baking sheet.
- Using a knife, make diagonal cuts on both long sides of the pastry, leaving the center area uncut for the filling. (Make about 9–10 cuts on each side, creating strips about ½-inch thick.)
- Spread the almond frangipane filling in the center of the pastry, covering the entire uncut area. Leave some of the filling for the top of the braid if desired. (You can pipe the filling with a piping bag if preferred.)
- Starting at the bottom of the pastry, fold the strips over the filling, alternating sides to create a braided pattern. (Be sure to tuck in the top and bottom pieces to secure the almond filling inside.)
- With a pastry brush, brush the entire pastry braid with the whisked egg, making sure the egg wash covers the pastry evenly. Spread the remaining almond filling over the top of the pastry and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
- Bake at 400°F for 26–28 minutes, until the puff pastry is puffed and lightly golden brown.
- Remove the braid from the oven and let it cool for about 5–10 minutes.
- Dust with powdered sugar and drizzle with sugar icing. Slice and serve. (The sugar icing is totally optional.)
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