Chokeberry, or Aronia, is an extremely astringent berry that is part of the Rosaceae family. They have long been ornamental berries, but they are also edible and have long been cultivated. Many people would shy away from using them in a breakfast pastry due to their extreme tartness, hence the name, but with a bit of sugar I find they work extremely well in a chokeberry danish pastry braid.
I used the same puff pastry for this pastry braid as I did for my Raspberry Danish recipe, but instead of making a pastry cream, I made a simple cream cheese filling instead. This, I feel was a good move as the fat from the cream cheese really helps to cut down on the tartness of the chokeberry paste.
I used a chokeberry paste which I was able to find at my local farmers market, but if you can’t find it, you can use chokeberry jam instead. The only thing to note is that you will not need to add as much if any sugar since jam already has sugar in it.
Ingredients
- 500 grams Puff Pastry. You can make your own, but more often than not I just buy it frozen from the market.
- 5 tbsp Sugar; granulated, white.
- 3 tbsp Aronia (Chokeberry) Paste. This can be hard to find. It is easily available in Ukraine where I live, but you may have to get the berries from Amazon and mash them yourself if you can’t find it in your local market.
- 100 grams Cream Cheese; like Philadelphia.
- 1 Egg
Instructions
- Remove your puff pastry from the freezer and set on a counter to thaw for 10 minutes or so. As that is happening you can make the fillings.
- In two separate bowls: add the cream cheese in one and the aronia (chokeberry) paste in the other. Into each add two tablespoons of sugar and mix well with a fork. If you are using chokeberry jam instead of paste, check for sugar since you may not need it. Place both mixes in the fridge.
- Unroll your puff pastry onto a lightly floured cutting board or table. Make diagonal 45 degree cuts about 1/3rd of the way in from the edges, as shown in the picture below.
- Take out the fillings from the fridge. Pour the cream cheese mixture right down the middle, then the aronia chokeberry mixture on top of that.
- Fold down the side cuts in a left-right-left-right pattern overlapping the ends and making a braid. You should not need to press to seal it, as the thawing pastry will naturally become tacky and stick to itself. Fold the top and bottom up and around to seal it.
- Beat an egg. Move the chokeberry danish puff pastry braid to a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the egg wash over the puff pastry dough and sprinkle on the last tablespoon of sugar, then place into an oven pre-heated to 220 degrees Celsius for 15-20 minutes, following the instructions on your package. Don’t worry about the inside, just follow your package baking instructions.
- Trim the edges and plate. I actually cut the top and bottom off as well, as they did not look so pretty right out of the oven. They still tasted just as good though.
Notes
You can use these instructions for any filling actually. I used aronia, chokeberry, because it was something I had on hand and wanted to try it out, but you can use strawberry jam, or nutella, or anything you want and it will still come out good.
Chokeberry Danish Pastry Braid
Ingredients
- 500 grams Puff Pastry
- 5 tbsp Sugar white, granulated
- 3 tbsp Aronia Paste Also known as chokeberry, can sub jam but taste for sugar
- 100 grams Cream Cheese I used Philadelphia
- 1 Egg for egg wash
Instructions
- Remove your puff pastry from the freezer and set on a counter to thaw for 10 minutes or so. As that is happening you can make the fillings.
- In two separate bowls: add the cream cheese in one and the aronia (chokeberry) paste in the other. Into each add two tablespoons of sugar and mix well with a fork. If you are using chokeberry jam instead of paste, check for sugar since you may not need it. Place both mixes in the fridge.
- Unroll your puff pastry onto a lightly floured cutting board or table. Make diagonal 45 degree cuts about 1/3rd of the way in from the edges, as shown in the picture below.
- Take out the fillings from the fridge. Pour the cream cheese mixture right down the middle, then the aronia chokeberry mixture on top of that.
- Fold down the side cuts in a left-right-left-right pattern overlapping the ends and making a braid. You should not need to press to seal it, as the thawing pastry will naturally become tacky and stick to itself. Fold the top and bottom up and around to seal it.
- Beat an egg. Move the chokeberry danish puff pastry braid to a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the egg wash over the puff pastry dough and sprinkle on the last tablespoon of sugar, then place into an oven pre-heated to 220 degrees Celsius for 15-20 minutes, following the instructions on your package. Don’t worry about the inside, just follow your package baking instructions.
- Trim the edges and plate. I actually cut the top and bottom off as well, as they did not look so pretty right out of the oven. They still tasted just as good though.
