Looking for something new to serve to the hungry masses during the holidays? You can’t go wrong with this Tear & Share Christmas Tree dessert and its warm gooey dulce de leche dipping sauce.
Function: Circo Therm®
Tear & Share Christmas Tree
Ingredients
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/3 cup dulce de leche (use Nutella if you can’t find dulce de leche), plus ½ cup extra for serving
½ cup pecan nuts, finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp raw sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Method
Set oven to Top/Bottom heat at 200°C.
Place one sheet of puff pastry onto a piece of baking paper on top of a cutting board and cut out a Xmas tree outline. Take care not to cut through the baking paper. Place the offcuts of pastry to one side and use to cut out a star shape for the top of the tree.
Spread the dulce de leche over the entire pastry tree. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans.
Place the second sheet of pastry over the top of the first. Press down gently so you can follow the outline of the bottom sheet to cut out the tree outline to match.
Lightly score a triangular central “trunk” on your tree from the top of the pastry to the bottom. Begin to cut the branches of the Xmas tree horizontally at 2cm intervals on each side.
Once all the branches are cut, begin to twist them away from you until they are all curled. Place a pastry star on the top of the tree.
Brush the tree with the beaten egg then gently lift the baking paper with the tree on top onto the universal tray.
Place into the oven on Level 3 and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden in colour.
Remove from the oven. Mix the raw sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Brush the tree with melted butter then sprinkle with the sugar mixture.
Enjoy by tearing off branches for serving with some extra dulce de leche which has been gently warmed for easy dipping on the side.
Authors Bio
Paula is an experienced chef, having trained at the renowned William Angliss College and also a qualified Food Technology teacher. Paula has owned and managed a number of food inspired businesses over her career. She is also a prize-winning scone baker!