Have you ever seen a picture of something and know immediately that you just have to do it? That's what happened to me a few weeks ago. I saw a picture of this beautiful lemony, braided beauty on instagram of Salty Sweet Life, and it immediately became first on my list "to cook!" Any excuse to do something fancy with pastry always gets me dizzy, and for some reason I want to January are the most citrus possible- which is just perfect desserts.
This fabulous treat starts with a soft layer of sweet pastry with a layer of cake sweet and tangy cheese and a generous amount of lemon cream. A crisp pinch of raw sugar on top adds a nice touch to what was already one of my most favorite treats to enjoy together with my morning coffee.
Although it sounds super chic and difficult- I promise it's not. I posted a bonding step by step on my facebook page that shows how everything fell down. Assembling it was so fun and satisfying, and eat of the melt in the mouth pastry pie and left me to need to do some of these and have them frozen at all times. I promise you is just that good!
- dough:
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ cup butter
- 3¼ cups all purpose
- 1 (0.25 oz ) instant yeast packet (or 2¼ teaspoons)
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- water ¼ cup
- 1 egg
- cheese filling cream:
- 10 oz cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 tablespoons coffee lemon juice
- ½ cup lemon curd (store bought or home)
- 1 egg for brushing
- raw sugar for sprinkling
- heat the milk in a small saucepan until that it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix butter; stir until melted. Let cool
- In a large bowl, combine 2 ¼ cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt .; whisk together. Add water, egg and milk mixture; beat well with an electric mixer. Add the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, using a wooden spoon to mix well after each addition. (The dough will be too thick and sticky to use mixers at this point.)
- When the dough has just pulled together, put it on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes, or alternatively use the dough hook in a stand mixer. When ready, the dough bounce light pressure
- Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest on the counter for 10 minutes
- Roll the dough into a 10 "x 15" rectangle on top of a piece of parchment paper. Press lightly on both lines at the bottom of the dough lengthwise to divide it into 3 equal parts.
- Use a bench scraper or a blunt knife (if you do not cut the parchment) to cut strips crosswise over the length of the outside sections- ensuring you have the same amount of strips on each side.
- Spread the cheese cream filling down the center section, and garnish with the lemon curd.
- To form the model braid, lift the upper strip of dough and gently put into the filling diagonally. Repeat on the other side with the upper dough sheet, so that the two strips cross each other. Continue across the braid, alternating strips to form bread. (About ⅔ of the way through I switched and started to bend the layers down instead of up and it worked well to cover the filling.)
- Transfer to a plate biscuits and cover with plastic wrap. Let proof in a warm place for 45 minutes or until puffy. Brush with egg and sprinkle with raw sugar.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve warm, room temperature or cold.