Strawberry Puff Pastry Braid With Cream Cheese Recipes

STRAWBERRY PUFF PASTRY BRAID WITH CREAM CHEESE

Steps:

• Pre heat the oven at 390 F.
• In a mixing bowl, add cream cheese and icing sugar and mix on medium for 2 minutes than on high until smooth and creamy. Keep refrigerated.
• Dice strawberries and strain well through a fine sieve. Discard the juice.
• Place a piece of baking paper on the working surface large enough to fit the pastry sheet. Roll out the thawed pastry. I would recommend lightly roll out the pastry with a rolling pin (i didn't and the pastry was a bit too thick to bake).
• Spread the cream cheese evenly, using a spatula.
• Add a layer of diced strawberries.
• Sprinkle orange zest and sugar.
• Roll up the puff pastry, not very tight though or the filling will spill out.
• If the edge end up on top of the roll flip it under.
• Using a sharp knife, cut the roll in half, lengthwise.
• Twist each of these halves then braid the twists together, without applying pressure. Both the twists and the braid should be pretty loose. Don't worry if some filling spills out, you can clean it when you're done braiding and add it on top of the braid.
• Grab the baking paper by the ends and transfer the roll to a baking sheet.
• Bake in the middle of the oven at 390 F for about 20 minutes or until the bread gets a golden brown top.
• Leave to cool a little then cut into slices.
• Serve warm or cold.

STRAWBERRY (OR ANY BERRY REALLY) PUFF PASTRY BRAID

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Using an electric mixer, whip the cream cheese and sour cream in a small bowl until fluffy. Add the granulated sugar and whip until well combined, making sure there are no lumps. Reserve for later use.
• Beat the egg and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl with a fork.
• Unfold 1 pastry sheet on a lightly floured flat surface. Roll the pastry into a 14-by-12-inch rectangle. Spoon half of the cream cheese mixture lengthwise down the center of the pastry. Cut slits 1 inch apart from the 2 sides of the pastry rectangle within 1/2 inch of the cream cheese mixture. Arrange half of the strawberries down the center of the pastry on top of the cream cheese mixture. Starting at one end, fold the pastry strips over the strawberries on a diagonal, alternating sides, to cover the strawberries. Repeat the entire process with the remaining pastry sheet, cream cheese filling and strawberries. Brush the pastries very lightly with the egg wash (otherwise they won't rise). Sprinkle with the demerara sugar and top with pistachios.
• Bake until golden brown, 30 minutes. Let cool on a rack for about 20 minutes before serving.