Puff Pastry Carrot

Easter is a time for family and friends, a time to be thankful and to rejoice. It’s a time for presents, candy, colored eggs and of course, bunny rabbits. What better way to please the gifts-bearing bunny than with some delicious carrots? This Easter, impress your guests with puff pastry carrots filled with your favorite spread or creamy salad. They're simple to make, delicious to taste and so fun to look at!

Ingredients:

Puff pastry sheet (I used Pepperidge Farms frozen puff pastry )

1 egg, whisked + 1 tsp water for egg wash (optional, but helps give the pastry a nice glossy finish)

Orange food coloring (optional - I didn’t use any)

Your favorite dip or salad for filling - I made a salad very similar to this one

Fresh parsley (for garnish)

Tools:

Cream horn molds (such as this one)

If you don’t have cream horn molds, you can make your own by shaping Aluminum foil into a cone. Make sure the surface isn’t crumpled as the dough will get stuck and the baked “carrot” shell won’t slide off easily. An easy fix is to just add another layer of foil to smoothen out the surface. Another option is to use an ice cream cone and cover it up with foil.

Thaw the puff pastry as per package instructions. Cut it lengthwise into  1” wide strips. Starting with a long edge, gently roll the pastry towards the other edge forming a long cylinder.

Grease the mold to allow easy removal. With the seam side towards the mold, start wrapping the pastry around the mold from the tip of the cone towards the wide base, making sure there are no gaps. You’ll notice the pastry stretching a bit, but try not to stretch it too much. It is important to not wrap it around too tightly as it will stick to the mold and not come off in one piece once baked.

If you run out of pastry, simply start with another rolled up pastry cylinder, and make sure you fuse the ends by pressing them together. Once you reach the base of the cone, trim the pastry and seal the end to keep it from unfurling.

If using egg wash, brush the egg+water mixture all over the pastry. If using food coloring, this is the time to apply it with a brush as well. Place the pastry wrapped molds seam side down on a baking sheet.

Preheat oven to 400 F and bake the pastry for ~ 15-20 min until golden brown. Remove from oven and let it cool down for a couple minutes before sliding it off the mold. It might take a couple gentle twists to break free, but as long as it hasn’t been wrapped too tight, it will come off easily.

Let the pastry cool down completely before filling it with your favorite dip or salad. Top it with fresh parsley sprigs and your beautiful puff pastry carrots are ready!

~Gayatri

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Puff Pastry Carrot - A fun snack for the Easter!

Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Friday, March 25, 2016

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