Nutella Puff Pastry Braid

As much as we love to bake from scratch, sometimes it makes more sense to go with tried and tested readymade ingredients especially when you want to produce a quick dessert. Making light and flaky puff pastry is a work of art (and patience!), but the pre-made puff pastry sheets from Pepperidge Farms make pastry desserts a breeze. Add to that delicious Nutella, and you have a crispy, chocolatey dessert in no time!

This Nutella braid is very similar to the Nutella Christmas tree we made last Christmas, but instead of just one layer of Nutella between two sheets of pastry, the braid has layers and layers of pastry and creamy Nutella.

Ingredients

2 Puff pastry sheets - defrosted if using pre-made frozen ones

Nutella or other chocolate spread (Fruit preserves, pastry cream, or a mixture of cinnamon, sugar and butter would work as well)

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Lay out two pastry sheets on a surface. On each pastry sheet, evenly spread a layer of Nutella about half a centimeter thick, leaving a small border at the edges. Gently roll each pastry sheet.

Place them seam side down and with a sharp knife cut them lengthwise keeping one end intact.

Start braiding from the uncut ends using a 4 string braiding pattern. Once you reach the end, bring 4 ends together and use a rolling pin to roll them out. Tuck the rolled out end under the braid.

Turn the braid around so the uncut ends are facing you. Since rest of the pastry is braided, we no longer need the uncut ends to hold things together. So, extend the cuts to the end, braid further if they are long enough; roll them out and tuck them under like the other end. Use your hands to gently shape the braid into a rectangle if required. Place the braid on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Let it cool a little, then slice and serve.

~Gayatri

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Lightly sweet, crispy puff pastry braid with Nutellahttp://cooksofcakeandkindness.blogspot.com/2015/11/nutella-puff-pastry-braid.html

Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Friday, November 13, 2015