Iced Raspberry Danish Braid is a stunning bakery-style pastry made right at home using flaky homemade Danish dough, a bright and slightly tart raspberry filling, and a smooth vanilla glaze. This recipe delivers impressive results without requiring professional baking skills. Perfect for brunch, holidays, or special occasions, each slice offers layers of buttery pastry wrapped around a fruit-filled center that bakes up golden and beautiful.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This raspberry Danish braid combines eye-catching presentation with incredible flavor. The homemade pastry dough bakes into tender, flaky layers, while the raspberry filling adds a fresh, fruity contrast. The vanilla glaze ties everything together with just the right touch of sweetness. It’s a versatile recipe that can be made ahead, frozen, and customized with different fillings, making it ideal for entertaining or weekend baking.
Iced Raspberry Danish Braid
The Iced Raspberry Danish Braid is one of those pastries that instantly looks impressive, yet is surprisingly approachable to make at home. With its twisted design, glossy glaze, and vibrant berry filling, it feels straight out of a bakery display case.
This recipe uses homemade Danish pastry dough, which creates beautifully flaky layers thanks to cold butter and gentle folding. The dough puffs up in the oven, wrapping the raspberry filling in soft, buttery layers.
The raspberry filling strikes the perfect balance between sweet and tart. Cooking the berries briefly concentrates their flavor while thickening them enough to stay neatly inside the braid during baking.
The braided shape isn’t just decorative—it helps distribute filling evenly while allowing the pastry to bake through. Even though it may look intricate, the step-by-step folding process is very forgiving.
Chilling the shaped braid before baking is key to achieving clean layers and preventing butter leakage. This short rest helps the dough hold its shape and rise evenly.
The vanilla glaze adds a smooth, sweet finish that complements the tangy raspberries without overpowering them. Drizzling it over warm pastries creates that classic bakery-style look.
This Danish braid is perfect for brunch spreads, holiday mornings, or anytime you want to bake something special. It pairs beautifully with coffee or tea.
Another advantage of this recipe is its flexibility. You can prepare components ahead of time and bake fresh when needed or freeze the baked pastry for later enjoyment.
Once you master this raspberry Danish braid, you can easily swap in other fillings like blueberry, strawberry, or cream cheese.
This recipe is ideal for home bakers who want a show-stopping pastry that tastes as good as it looks.
Servings & Time
Yield: 2 large Danish braids
Prep Time: 40 minutes (active)
Chill Time: 5–6 hours (includes dough chilling)
Bake Time: 18–22 minutes
Total Time: ~6–7 hours
Ingredients
Dough
1 recipe Homemade Danish Pastry Dough
Raspberry Filling
2½ cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp warm water
2 tsp cornstarch
Vanilla Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp heavy cream or milk
Instructions
Whisk warm water and cornstarch in a small bowl; set aside.
Combine raspberries and sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat and cook until berries break down, about 4 minutes.
Stir in cornstarch mixture and simmer for 3 minutes until thickened. Cool completely.
Prepare Danish dough through shaping step (rolling and folding completed).
Roll dough into a rectangle and spread half of the raspberry filling down the center.
Cut slanted strips along both sides and fold alternately over the filling to form a braid.
Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Brush braids with egg wash and refrigerate for 15–60 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
Bake for 18–22 minutes until golden brown.
Cool for at least 5 minutes.
Whisk glaze ingredients and drizzle over warm pastries before serving.
Tips
Baking Success
Let filling cool fully before spreading to prevent soggy dough
Chill shaped braids to maintain structure
Don’t overfill—less filling prevents leaking
Make-Ahead & Storage
Filling can be made 1–2 days in advance
Baked danish stores at room temperature 1 day or refrigerated up to 5 days
Freeze baked pastries up to 3 months
Variations
Swap raspberries for blueberries or strawberries
Add cream cheese beneath the fruit filling
Finish with sliced almonds for crunch
Iced Raspberry Danish Braid
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 recipe Homemade Danish Pastry Dough
Raspberry Filling
- 2½ cups raspberries fresh or frozen
- 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp warm water
- 2 tsp cornstarch
Vanilla Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream or milk
Instructions
- Whisk warm water and cornstarch in a small bowl; set aside.
- Combine raspberries and sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat and cook until berries break down, about 4 minutes.
- Stir in cornstarch mixture and simmer for 3 minutes until thickened. Cool completely.
- Prepare danish dough through shaping step (rolling and folding completed).
- Roll dough into a rectangle and spread half of the raspberry filling down the center.
- Cut slanted strips along both sides and fold alternately over the filling to form a braid.
- Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
- Brush braids with egg wash and refrigerate for 15–60 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Bake for 18–22 minutes until golden brown.
- Cool for at least 5 minutes.
- Whisk glaze ingredients and drizzle over warm pastries before serving.
Notes
Baking Success
- Let filling cool fully before spreading to prevent soggy dough
- Chill shaped braids to maintain structure
- Don’t overfill—less filling prevents leaking
Make-Ahead & Storage
- Filling can be made 1–2 days in advance
- Baked danish stores at room temperature 1 day or refrigerated up to 5 days
- Freeze baked pastries up to 3 months
Variations
- Swap raspberries for blueberries or strawberries
- Add cream cheese beneath the fruit filling
- Finish with sliced almonds for crunch
