Why they’re so good!
Crispy, buttery puff pastry filled with gooey chocolate – you know these chocolate puff pastries have got to taste good. Perfect with a cuppa for morning tea or make them even more indulgent by adding a scoop of ice cream!
For an extra-special touch, these chocolate-filled pastries have a unique and pretty, yet optional, “hasselback” design on top. It’s quick to do and creates even more crunchy crevices. As they bake, those little strips split apart slightly allowing a sneak peek of the gooey chocolate inside.
The tops are irresistibly crunchy with sugar too. Don’t skip that sugar. Not only does it add crunch but it also adds a little needed sweetness, especially if you’re using dark chocolate, since the pastry itself doesn’t add sweetness.
Finally, these little chocolate pastry puffs can be made in advance, even frozen, and baked at will! Yes and please.
You’ll love these Nutella puff pastry twists too.
Table of contents
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Ingredients you’ll need
All you need is 4 simple ingredients (plus some water for the egg wash) so make sure you use the best quality you can as there is nowhere to hide here.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
Puff pastry: There are loads of varieties of store-bought frozen puff pastry available and you do get what you pay for. That’s not to say that some types are no good, just that some are really good. I love to use Careme all butter puff pastry but it can be pricey – worth it if you’re making a single batch of these chocolate puff pastries for a very special occasion but possibly not if you’re making them regularly for quick treats at home. You can use square or rectangle sheets of puff pastry but the size will dictate how many chocolate puffs you get from one batch – 9 from a square sheet / 12 from a rectangle sheet. A block of puff pastry dough that you roll out yourself is great too – just roll it on a lightly floured surface into a large square or rectangle and you’re good to go.
Chocolate: Grab yourself a good block of baking chocolate for the very best results. I like to use a dark chocolate and specifically I used the Cadbury Baking Chocolate for these ones. Eating chocolate tends to firm up much quicker. You can also use chocolate chips though chocolate puff pastries using choc chips are a little harder to roll up. As for the level of cocoa solids, something around 50% is perfect but you could use a darker chocolate or a milk chocolate too.
Egg: You just need an egg yolk for the egg wash. I like to make my egg wash using egg yolk and cream but water or milk in place of the the cream works too.
Demerara sugar: Very similar to turbinado sugar, demerara sugar is large grains of golden cane sugar and it adds an amazing crunchy topping here. Don’t skip it as, even though you’re just sprinkling it over the top, it’s not an afterthought – it makes such a huge difference to the flavour.
How to make chocolate pastries
These chocolate puff pastries are amazing and so easy to make. The crisp, flaky layers of buttery pastry contrast so beautifully with the texture of the gooey chocolate and the flavours together are perfection.
The best part is these darling pastries take just minutes to put together and they’re quick to bake. They can be made ahead and stay gooey inside for hours after making them.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Cut the pastry
- If you’re using a block of pastry, first dust a clean surface lightly with flour, then roll it out with a rolling pin to about 4mm / ⅙ inch thick.
- Make sure your puff pastry sheet is thawed but still cold – the firmer the better. Cut a square sheet of pastry into 9 or a rectangle sheet of pastry into 12 even squares.
- Next, cut strands down the bottom ⅔ of the pastry.
2. Add the chocolate filling
Simply add small blocks of chocolate or a tablespoon of chocolate chips near the top portion of each square of pastry.
3. Roll them up
Now, roll the pastry and chocolate together towards you, so the “strands” end up on the outside. Fold the top edge of pastry over the edge of the chocolate, then just roll all the way to the end. Press the ends of the strands underneath the pastries down to create a seal.
4. Egg wash
Place the chocolate-filled pastries on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and brush with egg wash.
5. Add the sugar
Finally, add a generous sprinkling of demerara sugar or turbinado sugar over the top. Now you just need to bake them for around 20 minutes until nice and golden brown.
Variations
I love how versatile this simple recipe can be. You can easily scale this recipe up to 18 or 24 pastries – just grab a second sheet of puff pastry and some more chocolate!
You can cut the puff pastry sheets into triangles and roll them up into little chocolate croissants. Also, you don’t need to cut the strands of puff pastry, you can simple roll up chocolate inside plain puff pastry for basic chocolate puff pastry rolls. You could even take a whole chocolate bar and make a large chocolate pastry braid!
Making them ahead and storage
These chocolate puff pastries are perfect for making ahead of time – baked or unbaked.
Once you’ve rolled up the pastries with the chocolate inside, you can freeze them for up to 3 months in an airtight container and bake them from frozen. They may need an extra minute or two to bake but this way you can have them in the freezer for an easy dessert whenever you want one.
Once they’ve been baked, the chocolate pastries keep well at room temperature for 4-5 days. The chocolate will stay gooey and soft for hours after after they’ve been baked (depending on the chocolate you’ve used). This means you can bake them and take them on a picnic and they’ll still be totally scrumptious hours later.
The chocolate will eventually firm up again but to soften it, just heat them in the microwave for 10 seconds.
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Ingredients
- 1 sheet of puff pastry (note 2)
- 130-180 g dark chocolate (50% cocoa solids) or chocolate chips (notes 2&3)
- 1 egg yolk (from a large egg)
- 1 teaspoon milk (or cream or water)
- 1 tablespoon demerara sugar (turbinado sugar)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- Pizza cutter or sharp knife
Instructions
- First up, your pastry should be thawed but cold so that it’s still firm enough to work with and not sticky. Throughout the process, chill it in the fridge or freezer as needed if you find it becoming to soft to work with. Colder pastry will puff better.
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan forced) / 395F. Line 2 large baking sheets with baking paper.
- Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut your puff pastry into equal squares – 9 for a square sheet or 12 for a rectangular sheet. Each square should be around 9cm / 3 ½ inches. You can use a ruler to make them perfect if you like or you can just cut it by eye.
- If the pastry is getting really soft, chill for 10 minutes.
- OPTIONAL – looks pretty but not necessary:Starting with the 3 small squares closest to you, use your pizza cutter to cut strips 5mm / ⅕ inch wide from the edge to roughly ⅔ of the way up the square, leaving the top portion intact.
- Place 3 squares of chocolate or 1 tablespoon of chocolate chips onto the intact part of each one, just in from the top edge.
- Roll it towards you so the pastry incases the chocolate and keep rolling until the strips are over the top of each one. Seal the edges slightly and seal the edge underneath where the strips meat the underneath just to hold it all together.
- This is a good time to chill again for 10 minutes. You can also chill them (covered) for 2 days or freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- Beat together the egg yolk and milk (or cream or water) in a small bowl then brush over the top of each of the pastry puffs.
- Sprinkle each one generously with the sugar, then roll the puffs back and forth to get any sugar that fell next to them as well.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown and puffed. Let them cool a few minutes before eating or wait until they reach room temp. Great slightly warmed with a scoop of ice cream too.
- Let them cool for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks. They can be stored in an airtight container once they reach room temperature, for up to 4 days.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- Puff pastry: You can use square or rectangular sheets of puff pastry. A square will give you 9 chocolate puffs and a rectangular sheet will give you 12 chocolate puffs.
- Chocolate:
- Quantity will depend on the puff pastry size you use (see note 2 above).
- Type: You can use chocolate chips (roughly 1 tablespoon per pastry puff) or block chocolate (3 squares per pastry puff). I find baking chocolate blocks work better than eating chocolate.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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One Comment on “Chocolate Puff Pastries”
Very good