Gluten Free Patriotic Fruit Braid for July 4th

Today we're doing something completely new! I'm on a guest posting staycation! That means this post was written for Sugar Bee Crafts but instead of appearing over on that blog, it's going to be here! How cool is that idea?

When Mandy first announced the theme for these guest posts, I was stumped. I didn't want to share the same old patriotic desserts we've all seen a hundred times. I wanted something delicious and enticing. Something that you would remember and that you could make in 20 minutes. That's where the idea for this Patriotic Fruit Braid came! It's a follow on from my Turkey & Stuffin' Braid with Cranberry and Pistachio, this is just the dessert version! It's also filled with my homemade blueberry freezer jam, too!

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Ingredients:

For the icing
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
3 tbsp milk

For the braid
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK)
1 tbsp water
1 package shop-bought gluten free puff pastry
2 tbsp blueberry jam (I used homemade blueberry freezer jam! Delish!)
100g fresh blueberries
100g frozen mix of cherries, raspberries and blackberries

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Instructions:

Tumble all of the fruit into a saucepan along with the 1/2 cup of sugar.

 Simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Combine the cornflour and to form a paste. Once the sugar is dissolved, add the cornflour paste mixture an stir to incorporate. Once incorporated, pour fruit into a separate container and allow to cool on the counter top.

Begin the icing by mixing the vanilla extract, confectioner's sugar and milk together. Set aside.

Divide the shop bought pastry into equal square portions (I made six.)

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.

Cut 1/2 inch slits on opposite sides of the pastry, taking care not to cut all the through the pastry. You want a bit in the center that is still in tact for putting the fruit on.

Once the pastry has been cut, move to the dish it will be baked on. Spoon some of the blueberry jam into the center of each square followed by some of the fruit. Don't overfill! You won't need as much as you think.

Once the jam and fruit is in the pastry, begin weaving the braid by crossing one strip across the middle of the pastry followed by the next.

Continue until all the strips are crossed over and you have a two-strand braid.

Bake for 10 minutes.


Once cool, remove the braids to a serving dish and pour over the icing. (You might need to give the icing a stir before using.)

When you are ready to serve, pop the icing-coated pastries back into the oven just for five minutes.

Top with dollops of ice cream and enjoy!

You can also enjoy these without the extra warming. That's how we ate them the first night and they were so tasty, y'all, it's unreal!