These chocolate and banana puff pastry pinwheels are an easy treat to bake with kids, they take juts 5 minutes to prepare and they use a lighter chocolate spread meaning less sugar, but all the taste. There are lots of different ways to fill pinwheels, but this banana and chocolate sweet version is our favourite.
If you are looking for an easy sweet treat to make with the kids, then give these chocolate and banana puff pastry pinwheels a try. Just some store bought pastry, chocolate spread and mashed banana and you have yourself a delicious rainy day activity.
If you are looking for other ways to use puff pastry, why not try our Cheese Straws, Easy Asparagus Tart or Cranberry and Brie Bites.
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Why you will love it
- Easy to adapt - We went with banana and chocolate, but there are so many other flavour combinations you can go with. We have given a few options below.
- Just 5 minutes prep time - These are so quick and easy to make, with just 5 minutes in the kitchen.
- Great fun for kids to make - Kids will love getting messy with mashing the banana and spreading the chocolate spread on the pastry.
- Only 211 calories per pinwheel - These mini pinwheels are just 211 calories making them a light treat.
- Uses lower in sugar chocolate spread - We used a lighter chocolate spread, to keep the sugar in these down, and let the natural sugar from the bananas shine through.
Ingredients needed
- Puff pastry - We "cheated" and used store bought. We hardly ever make our own pastry, as they store bought one is just as good and saves so much time. These chocolate puff pastry pinwheels are meant to be quick and easy, and using store bough pastry means they only take 5 minutes to prepare.
- Banana - Banana helps to add some natural sweetness to these. As you would expect, they do give them a banana flavour, so it isn't one for those that really hate banana. But, the chocolate is the main flavour in this.
- Chocolate spread - The star of the pinwheels! The great thing about these is that we have used our homemade healthier Nutella, which is lighter than store bought. But, you can also buy a reduced sugar chocolate spread. There are quite a few options in the supermarkets now, so take a look. The nutritional information reflects that we used our homemade version.
- Egg - This isn't essential, but we find that brushing egg on before they go in the oven helps them to get nice and crispy.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step by step
One: Roll the pastry out and spread the chocolate spread over it.
Two: Gently roll up the pastry until you have a log. Slice the log in to 12 pieces.
Three: Put on a lined baking sheet and brush a little egg on top of each one. Put in a preheated over at 190°C/375°F/Gas 5 for 20 minutes until browned. Leave to cool before serving.
Chocolate pinwheels
If you are going down the sweet pinwheels route, then chocolate is always an excellent choice. We lightened these up by using our Homemade Healthier Nutella. It is less sugar, but still all of the flavour!
You could use any chocolate spread you like though, and there are some really great lower sugar ones on the market at the moment. Jim Jams is a favourite of ours.
Variations
The great thing about pinwheels is that the flavour options are almost endless. If you want sweet, but don't want chocolate, then you can swap the chocolate spread for jam instead.
If you aren't a fan of banana, then some chopped up fresh berries like strawberries and raspberries work well, or even some cherries. Chocolate and cherry go so well together.
Also, when the kids are in charge of making these, they like to add rainbow sprinkles. They end up looking a total mess, but the kids love them.
What to serve them with
This is the perfect afternoon treat to serve with a hot drink. Make yourself a tea or a coffee, or maybe try one of these recipes for something a little different:
- Cinnamon Coffee
- Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate
- Cinnamon Mocha
- Pumpkin Spiced Latte
- Peppermint Hot Chocolate
- Chai Tea Latte
FAQs
Yes, you certainly can use frozen puff pastry. We always try to keep some puff pastry in the freezer because there is so much that you can do with it.
You can store these in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you don't want to eat them cold from the fridge, you can put them in the microwave for 30 seconds.
No, you don't have to brush the pastry with egg before it goes in to the oven, but we find that it adds colour and shine and helps them to crisp up a little.
It is easy to make a vegan version of these. A lot of store bought puff pastry is already vegan, but always check the box to make sure. Then, simply use your favourite vegan chocolate spread and skip the egg.
More chocolate recipes
If you’ve tried this chocolate pinwheel recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Chocolate and Banana Puff Pastry Pinwheels
Ingredients
- 375 g Puff pastry
- 6 tablespoon Chocolate Spread
- 2 Banana - small; mashed
- 1 Egg - whisked
Instructions
- Roll the pastry out and spread the chocolate spread over it. Add the banana and spread on top.375 g Puff pastry, 6 tablespoon Chocolate Spread, 2 Banana
- Gently roll up the pastry until you have a log. Slice the log in to 12 pieces.
- Put on a lined baking sheet and brush a little egg on top of each one. Put in a preheated over at 190°C/375°F/Gas 5 for 20 minutes until browned.1 Egg
- Leave to cool before serving.
Notes
- The nutritional information is for making these with our homemade Nutella. If you use real Nutella, or a reduce sugar chocolate spread, then this will change the nutritional information.
- If you don't like banana, then you can mash up raspberries instead.
- A sprinkle of cinnamon sugar is a delicious addition to these pinwheels.
- Make sure there is plenty of space between each pinwheel on the baking tray, as they will spread.
- Make sure you leave them to cool for a while when they come out of the oven. The banana and chocolate filling will be very hot when it first comes out of the oven. You don't need to let them totally cool though, as they are best served warm.
Brandi
This looks incredible! I love that there is no added sugar. I need to try that stuff out.
Joanna
I do love this type of pastry, even if I usually call is just cinnamon roll, because I fill it with chocolate, nuts and cinnamon. The chocolate and banana combination sounds lovely! I didn't know about Jim Jams before, it sounds like a great healthy alternative to Nutella.
Demeter | Beaming Baker
I love chocolate and banana together! Now I have another form of it to dream and drool over! Pinwheels are so much fun and so pretty too!
Katie | HealthySeasonalRecipes
We're constantly checking in about sugar in this house. My girls are 9 and 11 so now they are in charge of reading the labels to see if they are staying within their daily limits of added sugars. I am sure they would love to know about an alternative chocolate hazelnut spread. I love your creative use in these pinwheels.
Meredith Kauffman
My littles would just adore these pinwheels! Chocolate and banana are a delicious flavor combination!!!
amy
Banana and chocolate - Yummo! (oh and I was one of those students eating nutella & peanut butter straight from the jar)
Kate | Veggie Desserts
I'll have to get some Jim Jams spread. For a very occasional tread I let my kids have Nutella on banana slices, so it would be better to have a healthier alternative! I love these pinwheels - such a fun idea!
Michelle R
I like the idea of using cranberries for a Christmas version. My little girl is going to love getting messy whilst rolling these up.
Juliette
Oh Jesus, that's a lot of sugar in Nutella (I presume that's the leading chocolate spread that is referred to). I am always amazed when it is on the breakfast table on European holidays, as it's too sweet to start the day. This looks like a much better option and I have just added it to my Ocado shopping order.
Kay
I could go one of those with my mid morning coffee. It might give me the energy I need to finish my Christmas shopping. They look delicious and really easy too.
Melanie
Wow these pinwheels looks scrummy. That Jim jam spread really gives them the much needed chocolate boost x
Jazmin Williams
These look perfect for Christmas breakfast! We usually have pastries because we have Christmas Dinner in the day. Love chocolate spread and less sugar sounds great to me!
Robert
These look so delicious and the recipe is easy too. I like the fact you point out how much less sugar the Jim Jam has compared to other similar brands. My wife and I have really started watching reducing the sugar in our diet and have lost quite a bit of weight in just a month. Excellent blog.
Nichola - Globalmouse
Oh wow, these look so good. We are a family who loves chocolate spread so will definitely give this one a try - looks delicious.
Sarah Bailey
From someone who can't cook can you make me some lol.
No really I'll have to give making these a try they sound absolutely delicious!
Leah Lander-Shafik
I made my first ever pie for dinner tonight, I had some leftover pastry and I didn't want to waste it. I had some choclate spread and bananas so guess what I made (first time ever), THIS EXACT RECIPE. And then I spot your recipe. I am completely freaked out right now. It's like you read my mind. I am defintiely going to try Jim Jams next time though :) x
Nikki
oh wow these sounds amazing! I think I will have to give these a try for when we have visitors over Christmas!
Emily Leary
Woweee these look utterly yummy. Gotta get hold of some of that spread.
Ana De- Jesus
Woah I had no idea that 1 jar of the leading chocolate spread has 57 cubes of sugar that is insane! It is great that Jim Jams has less sugar and even better that you made these delicious pinwheels too!
Rhian Westbury
These sound so tasty and perfect for my nutella cravings! x