Puff pastry Christmas tree with nut free chocolate filling
Your guests, both big and small, will love this tasty tear-and-share puff pastry Christmas tree. You can make it with Nutella chocolate spread or with our nut free homemade chocolate spread if you're concerned about tree nut allergies.
Servings 1 Puff pastry Christmas tree
Ingredients
Pastry Christmas tree:
- 2 sheets of puff pastry
- 1 pot chocolate spread (Nutella or our nut free chocolate spread below)
- 1 egg
Nut free chocolate spread:
- 225 grams milk chocolate
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 cup sunflower seeds (150 grams)
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Nut free chocolate spread:
- Preheat your oven to 180°C fan setting.
- Lay the sunflower seeds out on a shallow baking tray, spreading them out as much as possible.
- Toast them in the oven until golden, which should be about 8-10 minutes. Don’t let them overcook. Take them out when you start to smell roasted sunflower seeds. Set to one side to let them cool down.
- Melt your chocolate by placing it in a glass heatproof bowl and stirring it over a saucepan of boiling water. Add the coconut oil and mix into the chocolate as it’s melting.
- Place the toasted sunflower seeds, sugar and salt (the dry ingredients) in a food processor. Blend until it makes a clumpy, thick mixture.
- Add in the melted chocolate with coconut oil and vanilla extract. Blend again until you get a thick mixture.
- Your nut free chocolate spread is now ready to use.
Puff pastry Christmas tree:
- Preheat your oven to 180°C fan setting.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the two sheets of puff pastry one on top of the other on the baking sheet.
- Cut through both puff pastry sheets in the outline of a triangular Christmas tree. Don’t worry about the branches at this point. Remove the top layer and set aside.
- Spread your chosen chocolate spread evenly on one sheet of pastry. Place the second cut out sheet of pastry on top of it.
- Then create the branches. Cut horizontal slits evenly on both sides, leaving at least 6 cm at the centre intact as the ‘trunk’.
- Place a finger down at the base of each ‘branch’, where it is likely to break. Twist each strip of pastry twice, and press the ends into the baking sheet. Your Christmas tree now has branches.
- Next make the star for the top of the Christmas. Using the leftover puff pastry, combine it and roll it out to the same thickness as the other layers.
- Cut out two star shapes using a large cookie cutter or knife.
- Spread the chocolate spread on one star and place the other on top of it (in the same way that we have just made our tree). Position the star at the top of the tree.
- Brush the puff pastry on the whole tree with 1 beaten egg mixed with some water.
- Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes until golden.