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This apple danish braid is loaded with juicy caramelized apples and cranberries inside a flaky pastry shell drizzled with glaze. The danish itself is lightly sweet and the cranberries are a welcome zingy pop of flavor with each bite. I’m a sucker for a good great pastry!
We have a long history of pastry love in my kitchen – from the cheesecake danishes to the almond peach, easy apple slab, and braided peach! This braided apple danish is well loved by kids and adults – and it looks like something out of a pastry shop, but it’s so simple to put together. We used a store-bought puff pastry and it just doesn’t get any easier! Go ahead and double the recipe right away. This apple danish disappears quickly and you’ll wish you had more!
Watch How to Make an Apple Danish Braid:
I hope you’re inspired to make your own braided Apple Danish! Here’s a quick visual tutorial that you can reference and PIN for Safekeeping❤
Wishing I had leftovers… which by the way taste just as good! You can safely store this at room temperature overnight and enjoy it the following day 🙂
⬇Print Braided Apple Danish Recipe Here ⬇
Apple Danish Braid
Ingredients
Ingredients for Apple Danish Braid:
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 lb 2 large Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 1/2" thick slices
- 1/2 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 sheet store-bought puff pastry (1/2 lb), thawed by package instructions
- 1 egg + 1 Tbsp water for egg wash, beaten together with a fork
- 1/2 Tbsp coarse sugar
Ingredients for the Pastry Glaze:
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- Place a large pot or deep skillet over high heat. Melt 3 Tbsp butter and stir in 1/4 cup sugar. Add sliced apples and stir until evenly coated. Add cranberries and let the mixture sit 3 min to caramelize before stirring. Cook apples and cranberries a total of 6-7 min, stirring 3 times or until apples are lightly caramelized. Transfer apples to a plate and let cool until just warm (not hot).
- Unfold thawed pastry over a lightly floured work surface and roll it in one direction to make it a total of 2 inches longer. The natural folds in the pastry will guide your process.
- Place the cranberry apple filling down the center of the pastry, keeping it in the middle third and leaving 1" of space at the top and bottom of the pastry.
- Cut away the top corners from the left and right thirds of the. Cut 8 equal 1" strips along each side, leaving 1/2" of space from the apples. Cut away excess dough at the bottom corners.
- Fold down top flap of dough and pinch the corners down to seal. Fold in the side strips, alternating from left to right. Fold up the bottom flap, pinching the corners to seal then finish folding in the last 2 side strips, pinching the corners to seal. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with silicone or parchment, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse sugar, and bake at 400˚F for 18-22 minutes (mine was perfect at 20 min) or until top is golden brown.
- To make the glaze, stir together 1/3 cup powdered sugar with 1/2 Tbsp milk. Once the braided apple danish is at room temperature or just warm, drizzle with glaze, slice, and enjoy!
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
This apple danish is irresistibly yummy. Anything baked with apples and cranberries will warm your belly and make your house smell amazing. Enjoy this wonderful wintery treat 🙂
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Can you tell me the weight of the pastry block you use, different sizes in NZ. Looks so yummy.
Hi Judy, 1 sheet is 1/2 pound. I hope you love hte recipe!
omg…I want to make this right now…does it have to be granny smith or would any apple work?
Hi Emelle, any crisp apple will work. We love the balance of sweet and tangy with the granny smith apples but you can use a different variety 🙂
Excellent! Easy to follow instructions, and in addition to wonderful taste it looks beautiful! Will definitely make this again. ( I had cinnamon sugar already mixed and so I used that instead of plain sugar.)
I’m happy to hear how much you enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing your excellent review Norann!
Second time making this, simply delicious! Quick question, I baked the pastry this evening for tomorrow’s thanksgiving dinner at 2pm. should i keep them at room temp the whole time or place them in the fridge?
Hi Diana, if it is overnight, you can keep them covered with plastic wrap at room temperature.
OMG, this is all I can say. I just made this, this morning and it’s already gone!!! (There’s only two of us…lol). This was so easy and oh so good. Thank you for a great, yet simple, recipe.
You’re welcome Linda! I’m glad to hear how much you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
Hi, need to make this and have it fresh early Saturday morning. Would it work if I made it Friday and cooked it on Saturday?
Looks so delicious:) Love your posts!
Hi Trish, thank you! I would suggest baking it also the day before and keep it at room temp overnight then serve at room temp or warm it up a little to serve.
Hi
I haven’t tried this recipe yet but was wondering if you could use frozen blueberries instead of cranberries?
Thanks
Hi Ava, I think that would work, but I would add the blueberries when the apples are nearly caramelized or even just stir them in after the apples are caramelized or it will discolor your apples.
I usually don’t follow recipes, but I always forget how to cut the pastry for the braid so I keep coming back here lol Thanks for the great visuals!
I usually don’t follow recipes, but I always forget how to cut the pastry for the braid so I keep coming back here lol Thanks for the great visuals!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for following and sharing your great review!
Excellent recipe. Thank you.
You’re welcome Lily! I’m glad you enjoy it!
Hi! Would love to try this but i do most of my baking on weekends and like to freeze things for later. Would this freeze well, and , if so, before or after cooking ? I use fresh puff pastry so I won’t have problem with refreezing a thawed frozen one.
Hi Kristin, I haven’t tested that to see, but I imagine it would work well. You probably wouldn’t want to add the drizzle until before serving though. I don’t think that would hold up after thawing if you wanted to reheat it in the oven.
Hi Chef is Very Easy Good Thanks Chef
You’re welcome! I’m glad you like it!
I made it tonight . The whole family was so impressed . came out fantastic .
Thank you
Nelly
Yay! I’m glad everyone loved it Nelly! Thanks for sharing!
So yummy, and my hubs was super impressed when he saw it (and ate it! Haha!)
I’m happy to hear that Jeanne! Thanks for sharing your awesome review!
Note to self. Roll out and fill puff pastry right on the lined baking sheet. It’s impossible to transfer it intact once it’s filled.
That is a great idea and would save the step of transferring! Thank you for sharing! Mine usually transfers OK though. Are you flouring the surface before you roll the dough? Also, I wonder if possibly you were roll your dough too thin? Anyway, I do like your idea of just rolling it out onto the lined baking sheet.
This so easy to make and delicious recepie! Thank you! My family could not get enough!
You’re welcome Tanya!! I’m glad to hear your family enjoyed it as much as mine does!! 🙂
My family love it, I do it mostly every other week!
Love to hear these types of reviews! Thank you for sharing Tatanya!
Excellent quick dessert recipe! I used walnuts instead of cranberries. It was was all devoured in the same evening. Thank you!!!!
I am so glad you like the recipe! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Natasha
This recipe looks awesome ! I have one question. I always use water with the powder sugar for a glaze because I think if I use milk, the pastry would need to be refrigerated. You merited that it is safe to stay out over night but wouldn’t the milk go sour ? Thank you !PS have you tried Dufour pastry ? It is more expensive than Pepperidge Farm but well worth it ! It is an all butter puff pastry !
Hi Linda, because of the high sugar to milk ratio, the sugar preserves the glaze and it will not go sour. I haven’t tried that kind of pastry – where do you purchase it? I don’t believe I’ve seen it in grocery stores. Thanks for the tip!
Hi Natasha,
Thanks for the tip for using milk in the glaze. I thought the high sugar content might be the reason it doesn’t go sour but I wanted to be sure.. I get DuFour pastry at Wholefoods. Do you have a Wholefoods around you? The only ingredients in the pastry are USDA Grade AA butter, unbleached unbromated flour, water, salt and lemon juice. It is the BEST! I hope you can find it !
That’s great to know! Thank you for sharing that with me!! 🙂
Just made this recipe but substituted blackberries and blueberries instead of the cranberries. It turned out SO GOOD. Thank you for another amazing recipe!
Victoria, thank you for such a nice review and you are very welcome 😁.