Some time ago, I used an easy danish recipe (no knead) found on my friend Zsuzsa‘s blog to make a cherry braid. I made the braid again recently, but with a frangipane (sugar, softened butter and ground almond meal) base for the home made cherry filling, rather than the previous cream cheese.
I’m especially proud to say that both these pastries were made with items already in my fridge and freezer and nothing was bought specifically for them. Now what do I do with all the stuff in my pantry?
Cherry-Frangipane Braid
The braid ended up looking pretty good, but then it WAS my second one and I learned a few things.
Once the glaze is set, I’ll wrap it up for gift giving. Though I may trim off the top and bottom to square if off. (And so I can taste it.)
Frangipane Filling
4 tbsp/1/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 tbsp ground almonds
2 tbsp (25g or 1oz) butter, softened to room temperature
Combine sugar, ground almonds and softened butter, and beat together with a wooden spoon until soft and creamy.
And for something new … I adapted a sticky lemon curd roll with a cream cheese glaze recipe I found on line to use the mixed citrus curd I had in my fridge.
Sticky Lemon Curd Rolls
The pastry is not kneaded, just mixed together and then refrigerated until the next day when it will be firm enough to be rolled out. Flour the pastry and your working surface well and if it softens too much while shaping, return to the refrigerator for a half hour or so. After rolling the pastry out and trimming it to the correct size, a lemon-butter filling is spread on the pastry and then lemon curd is spread over the top. I had a mixed citrus curd in the fridge so that’s what I used.
The rolls were placed in a buttered baking dish, covered and allowed to rise for about an hour in a warm place until doubled and then baked.
Instead of using the cream cheese glaze for the rolls, I went with a simple, tangy lemon (lime, in this case) butter version
Lemon-Butter Glaze
1 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Combine the above in a small bowl until smooth, and then add water, about a tsp at a time (~1 tbsp or so needed) to thin the glaze enough to drizzle over.
NOTE: I poured the glaze into a small freezer bag, cut off the corner and squeezed it over the top.
Cooking is Fun ... Really!! 