This lovely braided almond pastry has a flaky, buttery homemade crust, filled with almond frangipane, which has a soft, cake-like texture. The pastry is braided over the filling and sprinkled with almonds before baking.
You might also love these high altitude recipes for almond shortbread crumb bars, almond cream cheese scones, and Danish almond kringle.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Step by Step Video and Photos. If you’re intimidated by the idea of making a braided pastry, the video in the recipe card (as well as the step by step photos in today’s recipe post) will help guide you through the process. You’ll actually see how easy it is to fold the pastry dough over the filling.
Crisp Crust, Soft Filling. The pastry on this almond braid is buttery, flaky and crisp, which is such a nice contrast to the soft, cakey frangipane filling.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Pie Dough. My recipe for pie dough is the perfect starting point for any type of pie, tart or pastry. See the video tutorial in my pie dough post for guidance on making the dough.
- Frangipane. The frangipane, also known as “almond cream” or “almond pastry cream” is a simple batter to make that bakes into a soft cake. You can see how I’ve used frangipane in some of my other recipes like my apricot frangipane tart, almond frangipane hand pies, and pear frangipane tart. The frangipane consists of a few simple ingredients like butter, sugar, eggs, almond extract, almond flour and all purpose flour.
- Sliced Almonds. For a pretty finish, sprinkle the pastry with sliced or chopped almonds before baking.
Instructions
Dough
- Prepare the pie dough as instructed.
- Wrap in plastic wrap, and let the dough rest and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, while you make the filling.
Frangipane Filling
- With an electric mixer (stand or hand held), beat the softened butter with the sugar for several minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and beat in the eggs, almond extract and vanilla extract; the mixture will be lumpy.
- Add the almond flour, all purpose flour and salt. Beat for several minutes until thick and smooth.
Assembly
- Line a 15×20 baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a rectangle measuring 12×18 inches. Use a sharp knife or rolling pastry wheel cutter to trim the edges. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet. This is easiest to do by folding the dough into fourths, then unfolding onto the baking sheet.
- Use a straight edge ruler to lightly mark the dough into thirds, vertically, but don’t cut through the dough on these marks. Now trim the corners, about 1 inch from the top and the bottom (as shown in the video tutorial).
- Use a sharp knife or rolling pastry wheel cutter to cut the left and right thirds of the dough, diagonally into 1-inch strips (see the video tutorial).
- Spread the frangipane filling evenly onto the middle section of the dough. Fold the bottom and top edges over the filling.
- Make the egg wash by whisking the egg white with one tbsp water.
- Start folding the strips of dough over the filling, alternating left and right, so it resembles a braid. Brush all the strips of dough with egg wash as you work, so it all sticks together.
- Sprinkle the pastry with the almonds and granulated sugar.
- Set the pan in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes while you heat the oven.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the pastry for about 45 minutes, until golden brown.
- Let cool for 20 minutes, then cut into slices and serve warm.
Icing
- This pastry is not very sweet as is, so for a sweeter finish, whisk together the icing ingredients and drizzle over the baked pastry when it’s hot from the oven.
- Note that the pastry is pictured here without any icing.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
After cooling completely, store the leftover pastry in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.
Yes, you can fully assemble the pastry, then refrigerate it, unbaked, for up to two days. When you’re ready to bake, you can bake it straight from the fridge.
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Braided Almond Pastry
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Large Baking Sheet (15×20 inches)
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Pie Dough
- 1 recipe All Butter Pie Dough (enough for two crusts)
Frangipane
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup finely ground almond flour
- ½ cup all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt
Topping
- 1 large white, for egg wash
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
Icing (Optional)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp milk
Instructions
Dough
- Prepare the pie dough as instructed.
- Wrap in plastic wrap, and let the dough rest and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, while you make the filling.
Frangipane Filling
- With an electric mixer (stand or hand held), beat the softened butter with the sugar for several minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and beat in the eggs, almond extract and vanilla extract; the mixture will be lumpy.
- Add the almond flour, all purpose flour and salt. Beat for several minutes until thick and smooth.
Assembly
- Line a 15×20 baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a rectangle measuring 12×18 inches. Use a sharp knife or rolling pastry wheel cutter to trim the edges. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet. This is easiest to do by folding the dough into fourths, then unfolding onto the baking sheet.
- Use a straight edge ruler to lightly mark the dough into thirds, vertically, but don't cut through the dough on these marks. Now trim the corners, about 1 inch from the top and the bottom (as shown in the video tutorial).
- Use a sharp knife or rolling pastry wheel cutter to cut the left and right thirds of the dough, diagonally into 1-inch strips (see the video tutorial).
- Spread the frangipane filling evenly onto the middle section of the dough. Fold the bottom and top edges over the filling.
- Make the egg wash by whisking the egg white with one tbsp water.
- Start folding the strips of dough over the filling, alternating left and right, so it resembles a braid. Brush all the strips of dough with egg wash as you work, so it all sticks together.
- Sprinkle the pastry with the almonds and granulated sugar.
- Set the pan in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes while you heat the oven.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the pastry for about 45 minutes, until golden brown.
- Let cool for 20 minutes, then cut into slices and serve warm.
Icing
- This pastry is not very sweet as is, so for a sweeter finish, whisk together the icing ingredients and drizzle over the baked pastry when it's hot from the oven.
- Note that the pastry is pictured here without any icing.
Video
Notes
https://curlygirlkitchen.com/
Heather, Did you use an entire pie dough recipe to make one braid? I divided the dough in half and couldn’t quite roll out to 12 x 18 dimensions. Though still beautiful, the strips couldn’t completely wrap around the filling. Instead they crossed at the center. I am making 4 of your recipes for Thanksgiving! Thanks for sharing your gift for the kitchen!
I used the whole recipe (enough for two crusts).
It looks yummy and so beautiful but…. I’ve never seen (or heard of) a 20×15 pan. I have a half sheet pan and a 10×15 pan. I would assume I could find this online, but, I don’t know what else I’d use it for. May try making a half recipe and using my 10×15 pan.
Hmm, it’s just something I happen to have, that I must have bought somewhere locally. It’s just a bit bigger than my half sheet pan which is 18×13, so you could probably squeeze it onto a half sheet as well. You might need to assemble it on the counter on the parchment paper to have enough room to work, then lift the paper to the pan once it’s assembled and braided.