PARTNER POST: We’ve teamed up with Bonne Maman to bring you the best homemade breakfast and brunch recipes to show Mom you care this Mother’s Day and all spring long.
This beautiful braid of puff pastry brings together prosciutto, cheese and a sweet touch of apricot preserves.
Every special occasion deserves a special homemade treat. With Mother’s Day right around the corner, this apricot prosciutto puff pastry braid is the perfect creation for a traditional Mother’s Day breakfast in bed and one of my favorite ways to say it with homemade.
It’s a buttery, flaky, puff pastry dough glazed with apricot preserves and stuffed with gruyere and fontina cheeses, fresh spring asparagus, and salty prosciutto. A savory breakfast with just a hint of sweetness.
Serve it up warm from the oven with dried apricots, a couple raw asparagus springs, and a mug of mom’s favorite morning beverage for a breakfast in bed she is sure to enjoy. Don’t forget the flowers!
In creating this recipe, I knew it needed a sweet element that complimented the savory flavors and brought a bit of fun to the pastry braid. Luckily, I found it in my fridge in the form of Bonne Maman apricot preserves.
If you are not familiar with Bonne Maman, which is French for grandmother, I cannot encourage you enough to check them out. They make preserves, spreads, and jellies in the traditional way with wholesome ingredients that can be found in your pantry.
It’s the way your grandmother would make them, with whole fruits and a simple ingredient list that leaves no room for preservatives, artificial colors, or high fructose corn syrup. It’s the same way my grandmother taught me and the way I used to make them in my own kitchen before I found their product. Now I keep 2 – 3 seasonal flavors on hand and am far less tempted to purchase too much fruit at the farmer’s market.
As you have probably guessed, this apricot prosciutto puff pastry braid starts off with a sheet of puff pastry. Since we are calling this a homemade treat, I highly recommend checking out my Rough Puff Pastry recipe. It not only tastes better, but it takes less time than thawing out the frozen kind and gives you major bragging rights with your mom! If pastry making is not your thing, the frozen stuff will work just fine.
Before you roll out the pastry, plan for your braid. If the pastry sits out too long, the butter can start to melt leaving you with pastry that is falling apart and won’t puff up like magic in the oven. Before you pull the pastry dough from the fridge, assemble your work station.
Once all of your ingredients are in place, roll out the pastry dough into a rectangle that is about 10 inches across and 16 inches long. Carefully transfer the dough onto a piece of parchment paper that is slightly larger than the dough. Trim back the four corners, by removing a 1? by 3 1/2? rectangle from each corner, leaving a 3? wide space in the middle. This will give you the tails to fold over and serve as your guide for cutting the strips.
Before cutting those strips glaze the dough with the apricot preserves. It’s quicker and a bit less messier. Once the glaze is on move any large chunks of apricot to the center. Then cut 1? wide strips up each side, leaving about a 3? gap in the middle of the braid. They don’t have to be exact – I used my knuckle as a guide – but aim for the same number and width of strips on each side.
Layer on half of the prosciutto, followed by the grated fontina, then the gruyere (I shaved mine with a vegetable peeler, but you could also grate it), the strips of shaved asparagus, and lastly another layer of prosciutto.
Once all of the layers are in place, it’s time to braid. Fold up the tail at the end closest to you, then criss cross the strips in an alternating pattern. Aim for the tip of the strip to sit close to the base of the strip across and one up.
Move from right to left as you work your way up the braid. Once you reach the other end, be sure to tuck in the tail prior to wrapping the last two strips on each side. The last strips can be folded directly across or back towards the opposite end of the braid. Don’t worry too much what it looks like on your first try. Your mom will love it even if it isn’t pretty, but practice makes perfect.
Bonne Maman is giving away a gorgeous 12-piece set of Le Creuset cookware plus many other goodies (over 1,000 prizes!) on their website. Click below to enter! Who doesn’t love beautiful cookware?!
For another recipe idea, check out these strawberry muffins.
Click here for the written recipe.
Apricot and Prosciutto Pastry Braid
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
This beautiful braid of puff pastry brings together prosciutto, cheese and a sweet touch of apricot preserves.
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry
Apricot Glaze
- 3 tbsp apricot preserves
- 1 tbsp water
Filling
- 4 ounces prosciutto
- 1 ounce fontina grated
- 1/2 ounce gruyere shaved
- 2 spears asparagus shaved
Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Roll out the sheet of puff pastry dough into a rectangle that is about 10 inches across and 16 inches long. Carefully transfer the dough onto a piece of parchment paper that is slightly larger than the dough.
- Trim back the four corners, by removing a 1″ by 3 1/2″ rectangle from each corner, leaving a 3″ wide space in the middle. This will give you the tails to fold over and serve as your guide for cutting the strips.
- Mix together the apricot preserves and water, then brush onto the pastry dough. Move any chunks of apricot to the center.
- Cut 1″ wide strips up each side of the pastry dough, leaving about a 3″ gap in the middle to form the center of the braid. Aim for the same number and width of strips on each side.
- Layer on half of the prosciutto, followed by the grated fontina, then the shaved gruyere, then the strips of shaved asparagus, and lastly another layer of prosciutto.
- Fold up the tail at the end closest to you, then criss cross the strips in an alternating pattern. Aim for the tip of the strip to sit close to the base of the strip across and one up.
- Move from right to left as you work your way up the braid. Once you reach the other end, be sure to tuck in the tail prior to wrapping the last two strips on each side. The last strips can be folded directly across or back towards the opposite end of the braid.
- Use the parchment paper to transfer the braid to a baking sheet.
- Beat together the egg and water to make the egg wash, then brush on top of the pastry braid.
- Bake in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes or until the the pastry has puffed up and the top has turned a glossy golden brown.
- Serve warm.
Notes
This Apricot Prosciutto Puff Pastry Braid can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 – 3 day or in the freezer for 2 – 3 months. Thaw completely prior to reheating. To reheat, place the braid on a baking sheet, uncovered, and bake for 10 minutes in a 375 degree oven.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
