Christmas is coming and we go crazy thinking about the menus for these days, which is why it’s great to have recipes like the one we’re suggesting today. A puff pastry and chocolate tree, a surprisingly simple, quick and tasty dessert that deserves our applause and will make us look great with our guests!
Ingredients:
- 2 rectangular puff pastry sheets
- 200g homemade cocoa cream
- 50g hazelnuts
- 1 egg
- Icing sugar for decoration (optional)
Steps to follow:
- Spread one of the sheets of puff pastry on its own paper on the work surface.
- Brush with the homemade chocolate cream. It is best not to get too excited about the quantity so that the filling does not run out when forming the branches of the tree.
- Place the second sheet of puff pastry on top, well fitted, trying to get the first one right. The chocolate acts as instant glue.
- With the back of a knife, mark the shape of a Christmas tree on the puff pastry, without pressing.
- Cut out with a sharp knife and remove the excess. You can use the leftovers to cut out different shapes and bake them at the same time as the tree.
- One of the shapes we need to cut is a star to crown the top of the tree, which we reserve for later.
- We make side cuts to the right and left of the puff pastry, without reaching the centre, leaving a central space from top to bottom that will simulate the trunk. These will be the branches. Twist each of the strips or branches around themselves, as if they were ringlets. The longer ones (the ones at the bottom) can be twisted several times, the shorter ones (the ones at the top) can only be twisted once or half a turn.
- Once the tree is formed, beat the egg and brush the whole surface with it. Gently and without pressing so as not to drag the filling over the puff pastry. Place the reserved star on top, press down so that it sticks and brush with egg.
- Crush the hazelnuts in a mortar or chop them with a knife. Cover the central trunk of the tree with them.
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Bake for 12-14 minutes.
- Once ready, leave to cool before serving. We can sprinkle a little icing sugar on the ends of the branches to give it a more wintry and Christmasy touch, but this is totally optional.
