Daring Bakers: Danish Braid with Apple Spice Filling

I know, I'm late for Daring Bakers! I am sorry for the delay. We've had a lot going on. Big news: We're moving to New Jersey! We're leaving San Antonio in about 6 weeks or so. We're both really excited to get back to the East Coast because this central time zone thing is still something I can't get used to. I mean, who can remember to watch "How I Met Your Mother" at 7 pm? It's a great show, by the way, in case you've never caught it. Anyhow, we've been busy with planning and trying to sell off stuff (thank you, Craigslist) before our move. So, I hope you'll understand about my tardiness. I'll keep this short, since by now, you've probably seen more Danish Braids than you can handle. You should already know that this month's Daring Bakers Challenge was wisely chosen by Kelly of Sass and Veracity and Ben, of What's Cooking. The dough for these Danish braids is "laminated" which means layered, which was new to me. I was truly terrified when I looked at this recipe and all its many steps. Luckily, I read other Daring Bakers' comments stating this recipe, by Sherry Yard, could be stretched out over a few days. Which is exactly what I did and was rewarded 2 days later with an impossibly fragrant scent of vanilla, cardamom and orange filling my house. It's similar to puff pastry, in that it has numerous, light layers, but the dough creates more of a bread-like texture. This dough is rolled into thirds and refrigerated a total of 4 times, or "turns", as it's called. I don't know much about doughs and yeast, but I gathered that these "turns" are what makes the layers possible. Therefore, I completed 6 turns to ensure that I would have actual layers. As novice a baker as I am, I had no problems with this recipe and was gleefully counting layers in my finished braid. Although time consuming, the results are worth it. This was the sort of pastry that I thought could only be made in fancy bakeries by professionals. Thank you, Daring Bakers, for inspiring me to bake something I would normally have been frightened of! Please visit the other Daring Bakers to see their lovely creations! Erin, my wonderful blogging partner, has already posted the full recipe, please see her post here for detailed directions.