This chocolate pistachio Danish braid is irresistible - flaky and soft layers of Danish pastry wrapped around creamy pistachio filling and finished with a rich chocolate glaze. Stunning, delicious and all made from scratch, it's perfect for a sweet breakfast, brunch or for entertaining.
Try this almond danish braid too!
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- Buttery, flaky and soft Danish pastry made from scratch
- Luxurious pistachio filling and chocolate glaze - the perfect flavour combo
- Beautiful braided look that's easier than you think
- Perfect for breakfast, brunch or entertaining
- Customisable and freezer-friendly
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Ingredients & substitutions
Jump to the recipe card for full quantities and instructions.
- Danish pastry: This pistachio Danish pastry is made using my easy Danish pastry recipe. You can use a sheet of rectangular puff pastry to save time, but the texture will differ significantly. Danish pastry is similar in texture to croissants (flaky outside, soft inside) while puff pastry is more crispy throughout.
- Pistachio frangipane: The pistachio filling is made up of ground pistachios, sugar, eggs, butter and almond extract. There is a little flour in there too for structure.
- Chocolate glaze: This 3 ingredient chocolate glaze is scrumptious and the same type you'd use on chocolate eclairs. You just need chocolate, corn syrup and butter.
How to make chocolate pistachio Danish pastry
You can make the Danish pastry in advance and have it on hand in the freezer for whenever you want to knock one of these pistachio danishes up. The braid itself is surprisingly easy to create but you'll just need to plan for proving time.
Jump to the recipe card for full quantities and instructions.
Roll the dough.
Roll the dough out into a large rectangle. For simplicity, you can use a sheet of puff pastry but keep in mind the texture will be different.
Score the dough
Lightly score the dough into three sections (don't cut through - this is just a visual guide).
Cut the strips
On the left and right sections, cut the dough into 1 inch thick horozontal strips.
Make the pistachio frangipane filling
Beat together butter and sugar until light and creamy then beat the eggs in 1 at a time.
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Add the dry ingredients
Now, stir in the ground pistachios and flour. You can grind pistachios yourself using a food processor.
Add the pistachio fililng
Spread the pistachio frangipane filling over the middle section of pastry.
Start braiding
Braiding the dough is really just criss-crossing it. Fold one of the top side strips around the top edge of filling, then fold the top strip from the other side over so that it overlaps slightly. Start with the next strip on the opposite side and always press the strip down against the base of the next strip on the opposite side.
Rise
When you get to the bottom, fold the last strip so that it's holding the filling in at the base and tuck the end under the pastry. Let this rise in a warm spot for 30-45 minutes until it's looking puffy (it won't double in size).
Egg wash and bake
Brush egg wash over the Danish braid, the bake.
Make the chocolate glaze
You can make the glaze ahead and warm it to remelt when you want to drizzle it over the pastry or make it while the pistachio Danish bakes. Just add the ingredients to a bowl and microwave gently stirring regularly until melted. Drizzle it over your baked Danish.
Tips and tricks
- The strips of the braid need to overlap a little to hold the filling in while it bakes. If there's any gaps the filling will push out as it bakes.
- Press the end of each strip down to the base of the next strip on the opposite side.
- If you find the filling has pushed out of the braid as it bakes, you can just take a dinner knife and gently push it back into the hole it came out of.
- If you notice the braid split down the centre during baking, don't worry. This can happen if using the easy Danish pastry as the dough layers are thin and the butter is in chunks throughout. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. All you need to do is put something quite heavy and square (like a square bottle or similar) on each side as soon as it comes out of the oven and gently push them inwards to push the crack together. As it cools, it will set in place.
Variations
- Citrus: You can add a little lemon or orange zest to the pistachio filling for a little citrus zing.
- Other nuts: You can make your frangipane with other nuts like almonds, walnuts or hazelnuts for a different flavour.
- Chocolate chips: You could really dial up the chocolate flavour by adding some chocolate chips inside the braid.
Storage
- Leftover chocolate pistachio Danish should be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. To serve again, just give it a little 10-20 second zap in the microwave to restore its fluffiness. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature then warm and freshen it the same way.
- Unbaked but assembled, you can store the pistachio Danish braid in the fridge overnight (skip the room temperature proof) or you can freeze it after the room temperature proof. It can be baked from frozen just add an extra 4-5 minutes.
If you made this chocolate pistachio Danish braid recipe,
be sure to leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you!
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Chocolate Pistachio Danish Braid
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- Mixing bowls
Ingredients
- ½ batch Danish pastry (notes 2)
- 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios for topping
- 1 large egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon milk or water (the egg wash)
PISTACHIO FILLING
- 50 g shelled and skinless pistachios or ground pistachios.
- 50 g unsalted butter softened
- ¼ white granulated sugar (50g / 1 ¾oz)
- 1 large egg
- 15 g plain flour (all-purpose flour) (½oz)
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract optional
CHOCOLATE GLAZE
- 60 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) finely chopped (2 oz)
- 28 g butter (2 tablespoons / 1oz / ¼ stick)
- 2 teaspoons glucose syrup (or light corn syrup)
Instructions
- START THE DANISH DOUGH 1-3 DAYS PRIOR or see notes #2.
- FOR THE PISTACHIO FILLING (if you have ground pistachios, you can go straight to the next step. Add the pistachios to a food processor or blender and process to a fine crumb. Make sure to stop and mix regularly so the nuts don't turn oily. If they're getting too warm stop for a few minutes then return to it. Nuts can turn to nut butter very quickly and we don't want that here.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment or large bowl using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
- One at a time, add the eggs beating on low each time until each one is fully incorporated. Add the almond extract with the last egg.
- Fold in the ground pistachios and plain flour with a spatula.
- ROLL OUT THE DOUGH: You only need half a batch of the Danish dough recipe for this so cut the dough into 2 squares, wrap one well and freeze it for another time.
- Roll one square of dough out into a rectangle about 32.5x27.5cm (13×11 inches) keeping the sides as straight as possible. You want it to be about 4mm/⅙ inch thick - no thicker. Trim if you need.
- Transfer to a sheet of baking paper or silicone baking mat.
- SHAPE THE DANISH (see detailed process shots in the post above): With the longest side closest to you, measure or eyeball 11cm (4 ½ inches) in from each side and score a line down towards you, don't cut through, just score so you can see three sections easily. So, with the longest side toward you, you should see a left side, a middle section and a right section.
- On the left and right sections using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut 1 inch thick strips, starting from the scored line next to the middle section all the way in a horizontal line to the edges. You should end up with 10 or so strips (1 more or less is fine).
- Spread the pistachio filling over the central portion of dough.
- Take the top right strip and pull it around the topping at the top edge so that it lies over it but is also holding it in at the top. Now take the top left strip and pull that over the top so that it just overlaps the edge of the first strip - press it down against the base of the next strip on the opposite side. Now, continue taking one from the right, then from the left, each time laying the strip over the filling and pressing it down at the base of the next strip.
- When you get to the last one, fold it straight around the bottom section of filling and tuck the end underneath the Danish braid on the other side to hold it in place.
- Using the paper or silicone mat, lift the Danish onto a large baking sheet. Sit at room temperature, covered with a tea towel for 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan forced) / 350F.
- After the 45 minutes, use the paper or baking mat to lift the braid and place it on a plate or just some firm but flat in the freezer for 15 minutes (this will help it hold it's shape better when you bake it).
- BAKE THE DANISH: Brush the egg wash over the Danish braid. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and the pastry is cooked through. Let it cool before glazing.-m If you don't get perfect overlaps on the braid, you might find some of the filling pushes out as it bakes. You can just use a knife to push it back in as much as possible. Every so often the top might crack and cause the Danish to spread out in one spot (this is just because this is a cheats Danish pastry and the butter that's close to the surface might crack the thin dough as it melts and creates steam inside. If this happens, once you take the Danish braid out, whilst still hot, push something (preferably with a square edge like a square bottle) up against each side as it cools to push the centre back together. As it cools and sets, it will hold a perfect shape again.
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE: Combine the glaze ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second increments, stirring well between each, until fully melted and combined. You can also do this over a bain marie if you prefer.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled Danish braid then scatter over chopped pistachios.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- Danish pastry: If you don't feel like making it from scratch, you can use 1 sheet of puff pastry in it's place. The texture will be a little different but it will still be lovely and quick.
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