Could I make this sweet rather than savoury?

Of course! Use Nutella or Biscoff spread instead of the pesto and cheese for a sweet version, then dust it with icing sugar once it's baked.

Can the tree be made in advance?

You can assemble the tree, cover it with clingfilm and store it overnight in the fridge. Then, pop it into the oven when you're ready to serve.

What else could I fill the tree with?

You could use basil pesto rather than sundried tomato pesto, or use sweet chilli jam , bacon and blue cheese (like these gorgeous cheese twists do).

Cheesy Puff Pastry Christmas Tree

Description

Is there anything more fun and festive than a crispy, cheese-stuffed, tear and share Christmas tree pastry party centrepiece? Just spread sundried tomato pesto onto puff pastry, top with loads of cheese then cover with more pastry, cut your tree out and bake. Easy, SUPER impressive and perfect for entertaining.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Christmas tree –

2 sheets of ready-rolled puff pastry
1/2 cup sundried tomato pesto
1 cup grated mozzarella
½ cup grated gruyere
½ cup grated parmesan
1 egg, whisked

Optional, to serve –

2 tablespoons sweet chilli jam (or hot honey sauce)
2 sprigs of rosemary, chopped

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Instructions

Prepare the pastry. Heat your oven to 200C/390F. Roll the first sheet of puff pastry out onto a large wooden board. Keep it on the baking paper it’s wrapped in – this way you can easily move it to a baking tray when you’re ready to bake it. Use the back of a spoon to spread the pesto all over the pastry, then scatter the mozzarella, gruyere and parmesan evenly over the pesto. Lay the second sheet of pastry on top and press gently to seal the layer.
Cut your Christmas tree out. Use a ruler to guide you and make two even slices down the sides of your pastry, to form a rough triangle (it won’t be perfect at the bottom so don’t worry too much). Remove the excess pastry (but don’t throw it away).
Form your branches and trunk. Leaving at least a couple of inches at the bottom for your trunk, make slices into your triangle, to create your branches. Don’t slice all the way through your tree – you want to leave a couple of inches in the middle for your trunk. Gently twist each strip around a couple of times to create your branches. Slice down below the bottom twisted branches, to create your base trunk.
Make your decorations. Use the excess pastry you set aside to make little decorations for the tree. I like to use mini cookie cutters to do this (I bought this set from Amazon which is great). Make one larger star to place at the top of your tree, then cut out little stars and other Christmas shapes to place all over the tree. If you have leftover excess pastry, cut out more shapes and bake them next to the tree.
Bake the tree. Brush the tree all over with the whisked egg, then place the stars all over the tree, and brush those with egg wash too. Bake for 25 minutes, until deeply golden brown and crispy. Remove from the oven, then drizzle with sweet chilli jam if you like, and scatter with the chopped rosemary. Serve while hot, crispy and oozy.

Notes

PREP AHEAD: You can assemble the tree, cover it with clingfilm and pop it into the fridge for up to 24 hours, then just bake it when you’re ready.

INGREDIENT NOTES: You could use regular basil pesto (or wild garlic pesto) instead of sundried tomato if you like, or use chutney or jam like sweet chilli jam or fig and tamarind chutney. Use whatever cheese you like – blue cheese, manchego or smoked cheddar would be lovely.

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: The tree is best enjoyed hot and crispy from the oven, but it’s still lovely cold as well. It’ll keep well for 3 days, stored in an airtight container. After this it will start tasting a little stale.

Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 25
Category: appetizers
Method: oven
Cuisine: american