Everyone will think you brought this blueberry breakfast braid home from the bakery — but we’ll show you how quick and easy it is to braid ripe blueberries and rich cream cheese filling into golden puff pastry. (Full disclosure: you don’t really even have to know how to braid.)

Don’t bother setting your alarm; you can have this brunch beauty ready to eat in 30 minutes if you use a store-bought puff pastry sheet. Other breakfast braid recipes call for pre-made crescent roll dough, but we prefer the buttery taste and flaky, croissant-like texture of puff pastry.

This luscious vanilla cream cheese filling is simple to whip up, and when you pile on the fresh (or frozen) blueberries, it’ll taste just like your fave blueberry Danish.

Even if you’re hopeless at braiding, you can pull this off — you’re really just alternating left and right as you fold over the strips of dough. The pretty criss-cross pattern lets pockets of juicy berries show through, just like blueberry strudel from the bakery. (And now that you’ve got this deceptively easy technique in your toolkit, you could win any breakfast bake-off.)

Add a nice crunch with a sprinkle of coarse sugar and toasted almond slivers. Then drizzle on our 2-ingredient glaze to make your blueberry breakfast braid simply irresistible.

Blueberry Breakfast Braid

Serves 8
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• ¼ cup sugar, divided
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 Tablespoons coarse sugar
• 2 Tablespoons sliced almonds
• 1 egg, beaten

Glaze

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• ¼ cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Roll out the puff pastry and place it on the prepared sheet pan.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese, two tablespoons of the sugar, and the vanilla extract until they’re smooth and creamy.
4. Rinse and drain the blueberries (if using fresh blueberries), then add the remaining two tablespoons of sugar and the cornstarch. Stir until the blueberries are evenly coated.
5. Spread the cream cheese filling down the center of the puff pastry, leaving about four inches on each side.
6. Use a knife or scissors to cut slits in the puff pastry along the two sides of the cream cheese. The slits should be one inch apart and come to within half an inch of the filling.
7. Pour the blueberries over the top of the cream cheese filling.
8. Starting at one end, fold the puff pastry strips over the filling, alternating sides and slightly overlapping one another, to cover the blueberries completely. Tuck the end strips under.
9. Brush the pastry with the egg wash, and sprinkle it with the coarse sugar and sliced almonds.
10. Bake for 35 minutes, or until golden brown, rotating the braid halfway.
11. Prepare the glaze while the pastry is baking: in a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and the heavy cream until no lumps remain. (You may need to more or less heavy cream, depending on the desired consistency.)
12. Once the pastry has cooled slightly, drizzle the glaze over the top. Cut and serve.

Love blueberries for breakfast? Wake up and smell our buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake. Need a brunch recipe you can make ahead? Look no further than our French toast bake.

Recipe adapted from Delightful E Made.