Daring baking– in fact, baking at all– has drawn the short straw in my life recently. Which is a shame, really, as I realized when I devoted *all day* yesterday to baking (and note now? made it by the deadline for posting. by two minutes. Heck yeah!) It was worth it. Every second of angsting over temperature, waiting for dough to chill, and laughing at a danish braid that exploded like a rib cage opening (looks kind of like a worm, doesn’t it?)… was worth it for the lovely smell as the braid baked and the look of awe on the boy’s face as it came out of the oven.
Kelly of Sass & Veracity and Ben of What’s Cookin’? chose this month’s Daring Bakers’ challenge, and a lovely challenge it was. (Recipe here). I filled it with cream cheese (beaten with egg, sugar, and vanilla) and strawberry slices– just a few, as I was afraid that it would be too soggy. Luckily, a side effect of the long post-filling rise is that the strawberry flavor seeped through everything, and I didn’t need anymore.
One problem, though– the braid got too dark on the bottom before it was dark enough on the top. Anyone out there know what caused that?
Veggie Love 
Haha, I like your little braidstory. Never mind it has the shape of a worm, mine was a little black on the edges and it tasted fine. Now we know we can do this too!
Francijn
Lovely! perhaps it got too brown on the bottom because you baked it on foil?? I usually bake on parchment paper…
it looks delicious!!! I like your idea of the cream cheese and strawberries!
That’s some of the surprise of baked things – they can and do take on a life of their own . . . worm and other shapes.
Looks very good!
Dark bottom caused by so many things: oven to hot, pan too thin. Heavier pan may help, parchment might be better than foil, set at next higher rack level in oven (assuming heats from bottom).
It is wonderful to surprise yourself with success!
I had the same “I need to bake more” feeling while I was assembling this. Of course, since the danish was so wonderful, that only enhanced those feelings.
I’m guessing the browning is mostly due to the foil. I asked hubby for a silpat 2-pack a few years ago, and highly recommend that (if you bake enough). They makes life so much easier. (They’re a tad pricey though.)
Jane of VeganBits.com
Congrats on another DB Challenge! Strawberries & cream cheese sounds delicious.
And I am more than happy for you to borrow my photo for the other thing you have been baking recently 😉 I’m glad you liked them!
Strawberry cream cheese filling sounds yummy! Great job on your braid.
Oh, I think it looks terrific. What a pretty braid you made. Mmmm, strawberries!! 🙂
Well done on your challenge. Even if the bottom was a little over done, I’m sure it tasted grand!
Your braid’s beautiful. Remember, “rustic” and “artisan” are hot trends in food right now. 🙂 I’m glad you dared, and that you got your post in under the wire. Great job!