Wild Blueberry Chocolate Braid

Apparently it's Vegan MoFo this month.  I had no idea!  Well, I guess I started this blog at the right time, and I'm going to attempt to post a food blog each day this month.  I have a hard time finishing anything, so we'll see how I do.

When I was a child, I thought chocolate and fruit were the most disgusting combination in the history of food.  Every Christmas, my father would get a Terry's Chocolate Orange.  I remember trying it one year, and immediately spitting it out as the flavors of chocolate and orange waged war with my tastebuds.  I like chocolate, I like orange, but chocolate and orange together did not work for me.  It was like a party in my mouth, alright...a Donner party.  I was the kid who used to peel the chocolate off of chocolate-covered strawberries, and eat the bits separately.  Chocolate and fruit just broke my mouth.

That all changed when I tried the Fudgy-Wudgy Blueberry Brownies recipe from my Most Hallowed of Tomes, the Veganomicon.  The sweet blueberries and rich chocolate just complemented each other so well.  I was trepidatious at first, but one bite of those heavenly morsels and I was hooked.

In the spirit of that recipe, I created this wild blueberry chocolate braid.  I've been getting those wonderful tiny, sweet wild blueberries in my CSA recently, and I've been looking for something special to do with them.

 What could be more special than melding them with chocolate and vanilla powder and a pinch of lovely floral lavender?  I'm pretty sure this is what romance tastes like.

(For the record, I still think chocolate and orange together is simply the wrong way to eat both chocolate and citrus.)

Anyway, enjoy.


WILD BLUEBERRY CHOCOLATE BRAID

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed (most brands are vegan.  Check your ingredients, though!)
1 and a half cups wild blueberries
 a few generous pinches
dried culinary lavender
1/2 tbsp corn starch (use 1 and a half tbsp if berries are frozen)
1 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
1/4 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips (I used the PC Equateur Origine dark chocolate baking pieces)

FOR BRUSHING AND DUSTING THE PASTRY
4 tbsp almond milk
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cocoa powder
1/8 tsp vanilla powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix the lavender, corn starch, cocoa powder, and vanilla powder in a large bowl until well combined.
Add blueberries and stir until coated.
Roll out puff pastry into a large rectangle.
Spoon blueberries down the middle 3rd of the pastry lengthwise.
Top with chocolate chips.
Make 1 inch cuts down each side of the pastry and overlap the pieces like a braid.  (I topped mine with extra puff pastry Dark Vader cutouts, but this was just to entertain myself- your puff pastry is going to puff up so much you'll lose details.)

 Brush with almond milk, and mix together the sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla powder before sprinkling it onto the pastry.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until your pastry is golden.  Don't overbake or all your filling will ooze out.  Let it cool and enjoy!

xoxo
The Overlady