This Nutella Christmas Tree is such an easy festive bake that the whole family is going to love. Flaky puff pastry shaped into a Christmas tree and stuffed full of Nutella. Just 4 ingredients and ready in 20 minutes, this is the perfect tear and share festive dessert.
Turn some store bought puff pastry and a jar of chocolate spread into something really magical. This Puff Pastry Christmas Tree takes just a few minutes to put together and kids will love helping, and then getting to lick the chocolate spoon after. Perfect for sharing or serving up on Christmas morning.
If you are looking for some other ways to use puff pastry this festive season, then why not try our Apple Turnovers, Puff Pastry Mince Pies, Easy Mushroom Tartlets, Cheese Straws or Cranberry Brie Bites.
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Why you will love it
- Quick and easy - This takes just a few minutes to put together and then only 15 minutes in the oven. So simple!
- Minimal ingredients - Just 4 ingredients go in to making this and they are all ingredients that keep well for a long time. So stock up at the beginning of the festive season so you can keep making this over and over again.
- Kids can help - This is an easy recipe for the kids to help with. Once you have cut out the Christmas tree, they can spread on the Nutella and twist the branches.
- Stores well - This stores well in the fridge, but you can also freeze it.
Ingredients needed
- Puff pastry - Yes, we cheated and used store bought puff pastry. Honestly, we can't taste the difference from homemade and using ready rolled sheets of puff pastry makes this such an easy and quick recipe. By all means, make your own pastry if you have time.
- Nutella - When it comes to chocolate spread, it has to be Nutella. The flavour is just like no other and at Christmas time we like to go all out. In fact, we usually buy one of those big catering sized jars of Nutella at Christmas because we use so much of it. However, any chocolate spread will work here. But, because it is the star flavour, try to use the best quality that you can.
- Egg - The pastry is egg washed before going in the oven and it helps to get the pastry really nice and golden.
- Icing sugar - A dusting of icing sugar on top just adds to the Christmas vibes, but it is totally optional.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step by step
One: Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. From two sheets of puff pastry, cut out two Christmas tree shapes. Spread the Nutella over one tree, all the way to the edges. Lay the second tree on top, to cover the Nutella.
Two: Slice "branches" into the tree, leaving enough room in the middle to form a trunk. Twist each branch through 360° (the smaller ones through 180°).
Not sure how to twist the branches? Watch our video to see how we did it.
Three: Create a star for the top (optional) and brush the whole tree with whisked egg.
Four: Bake for 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Dust with icing sugar (optional).
Variations
Nutella really is the star of the recipe, but that is not the only filling that you can use. For something a little different, why not fill it with cinnamon sugar or Biscoff? You can also make it with a mixture of Biscoff and Nutella on top of each other. That really is an explosion of flavour!
If you wanted a fruit version, then some finely chopped and softened apples mixed with raisins makes a nice filling.
If you want to make these even more indulgent, then once the puff pastry Christmas tree comes out of the oven, then brush it with melted butter and sprinkle with some cinnamon sugar. Seriously, it is next level good!
Healthy Swap
What to serve with a Nutella Christmas Tree
We love ours with a hot drink. Snuggling up on the sofa after a long winter walk, these go down so well with a hot cup of something. We have lots of hot drink recipes for you to try. Why not try one of these:
You could also serve this up with some custard, cream or ice cream if you wanted to make it more indulgent.
Storage
Store: You will either need a very large air tight container, or you will need to chop the tree up to store it in a smaller one. It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freeze: You will need to chop the puff pastry Christmas tree up to keep it in the freezer. Individually wrap the branches and then store them in a bag and they will keep in the freezer for up to a month.
Defrost: You can then defrost at room temperature and it should only take a couple of hours.
Reheat: You can reheat this in the oven for 5-10 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
We used two sheets of supermarket own brand ready rolled puff pastry sheets and the packets are 375g each. However, not all of this pastry is used, as a lot of it is cut off (save to use for other recipes though) - the nutritional information represents this.
There will be a fair bit leftover from what you have cut off. You can either use it to make one of our other puff pastry recipes listed above (as long as it doesn't have Nutella on it), or you could cut out little stars or balls to put on the tree as ornaments. Kids will love doing this and putting them on as decorations.
Yes, you can, however you would need to make sure that it is fully defrosted before following this recipe, otherwise the branches will snap when twisted if the pastry isn't defrosted.
Yes, you can easily halve this to make a smaller one. We used two puff pastry sheets on top of each other to make one giant Nutella Christmas tree. However, you could use one puff pastry sheet, and cut it in half and follow the recipe the same way, but to make a smaller tree.
A lot of store bought puff pastry is vegan - just watch out for ones that say all butter. You can also get some great vegan chocolate spread. You will also need to leave out the egg wash and you can use a plant based milk instead.
If you use gluten free pastry, and make sure there is no cross contamination, then these can be gluten free.
Ours took 16 minutes in the oven, but every oven cooks differently. Keep an eye on them from 15 minutes, as you are looking for the pastry to be golden brown.
Yes, you can definitely make this in advance. We like to make it in the evening and then put it in the fridge without the egg wash. Then, in the morning, we take it out of the fridge and brush it with egg and put it in the oven. It might need a couple more minutes in the oven if it has come out of the fridge.
Every oven cooks differently, so this might take a few minutes more or less in your oven. Make sure to preheat your oven first, as some ovens can take over 10 minutes to preheat. Then, keep an eye on it at about 12 minutes to see when the pastry is golden brown.
More Christmas dessert recipes
If you’ve tried this Puff Pastry Nutella Christmas Tree, 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
Nutella Puff Pastry Christmas Tree
Ingredients
- 2 pack (12.5 oz) Ready rolled puff pastry - (320g/11.25oz each)
- 180 g (0.66 cups) Nutella
- 1 Egg - whisked
- Icing sugar - (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C(fan)/350°F/Gas 4.
- From 2 pack Ready rolled puff pastry, cut out two Christmas tree shapes.
- Spread 180 g Nutella over one tree, all the way to the edges. Lay the second tree on top, to cover the Nutella.
- Create a star for the top (optional) and brush the whole tree with 1 Egg.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Dust with Icing sugar (optional).
Notes
- Make sure to take the puff pastry out of the fridge 15 minutes before you use it, as it will crack when rolled out if it is too cold. But don't leave it out of the fridge for too long before using it, as it will be too soft.
- Store bought puff pastry comes in a block or sheets. Make things easier for yourself by using ready rolled sheets.
- We used 350g of pastry total. This was cut from two 375g sheets with the remainder left over for another recipe.
- You will need to warm the Nutella up for 10-20 seconds in the microwave to make it more spreadable.
- The thicker you cut your branches, the easier they will be to twist.
- Add Smarties or M&Ms after it has cooled to look baubles.
- Why not add a pot of melted Nutella on the side, so everyone can dip the tree branches in to it. Too much Nutella? Nah! No such thing!
Lauren Michael Harris
oh my gosh this is adorable! Definitely picking up a jar of Nutella to make this for Christmas with the kids this week!
Holley
This recipe had me at, Nutella! This was absolutely delicious!
Savita
It was super delicious, worth a try.
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
Oh, anything Nutella for me and what a great Christmas family bake!
Danielle Wolter
Ummm yes please! I will eat all the things nutella. We made this and just couldn't stop eating it - so good! I'll have to make another one for xmas lol!
Jacqueline Meldrum
That looks gorgeous. It won't last long on Christmas Day. Have a fabulous Christmas xx
Xt
If reheating, at what temperature in the oven do you recommend?
Dannii
180C