Daring Bakers - June Challenge

I was a little more relaxed about my second Daring Bakers challenge. I do wonder if there is a point when I will not think "oh no" when I first read through a recipe. This month's challenge was Danish Braid. I got over my fear of yeast a few years ago so I felt at least partly comfortable with this. The first time I made it at the beginning of the month my camera died. It was the second camera that quit on me in less than a week.

My first attempt at the recipe was fairly successful. I was nervous about the butter block but did not have any trouble incorporating it into the dough. When it came to the filling is the point that the whole thing went downhill. I rolled out the first half of the dough and attempted to fill in with a strawberry filling. It was too liquid and I ended up with a big soggy puddle of goo. Thankfully I had the second half of the dough in the fridge. I filled it with homemade cherry jam. It braided beautifully and came out looking great. My parents raved about it, and my dh declared it too sweet.

The recipe was delicious so after purchasing another camera I decided to try it again. A few weeks made a big difference temperature-wise and the higher temperatures did not help the dough any. I found that the turns went much better, but the butter oozed more this time around. Still it all came together in the end when I divided it out to roll and fill. I did well with the horizontal cuts.

This time I chose to go with the apple filling from the recipe. I filled it and started the braid.

Next it was ready to proof and bake.

Here is the finished product. Dh declared this one perfect. The filling was delicious but not too sweet, which is great for my family. I did not purchase the cardamom but instead used cinnamon and nutmeg. I did not less than called for as a replacement. I was very happy that I had purchased vanilla beans (from eBay) as they added a nice flavor to the dough and the filling.

The second half of the dough was turned into tarts by my dh. These were filled with peaches. They are not as pretty as the braid, but they were good as well. The peach filling turned out just as well as the apple.

Unlike last month's Opera Cake that I thought I would make again, I will definitely be making the Danish Braids again. It was a little time consuming but well worth it. This recipe is definitely a keeper. To see how the other bakers did check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll.