Homemade Nutella Christmas Tree
This one is genuinely one of our favourite things to make every Christmas. There's something so satisfying about pulling a golden, twisted pastry Christmas tree out of the oven and watching everyone's faces light up. The homemade hazelnut chocolate spread is rich, nutty and way better than anything from a jar, and wrapped in buttery puff pastry it becomes something properly special. We've made this at every festive get-together for the past few years and it disappears in minutes every single time. Make it this weekend, trust us.
Before You Start
- Preheat oven to 200°C
- Large baking tray lined with parchment paper
- Food processor
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
- 240g roasted hazelnuts
- Pinch of salt
- 180g dark chocolate melted
- 120ml maple syrup
- 120ml nut milk - we used hazelnut milk
- 2 sheets of plant-based puff pastry
- vegetable oil for brushing
- icing sugar to dust
Method
First, make the nutella
- Blend all the homemade nutella ingredients together until smooth and a good consistency
Next, assemble the Christmas tree
- On a baking tray lined with parchment paper, spread the nutella on a sheet of puff pasty to create a Christmas tree shaped triangle about an inch thick - there'll be some leftover but you can use this as a dipping sauce!
- Lay the other sheet of puff pastry on top, press down slightly, then trim the excess pastry off (where there's no nutella)
- Now make even cuts down both sides of the triangle, leaving an inch uncut in the centre, to keep the tree together
- Twist each strip from top to bottom to create tree branches
Bake and enjoy!
- Brush the pastry with the oil so that when it bakes it goes golden brown
- Bake for 20 minutes at 200ºC or until well risen and golden
- Mix the leftover nutella with a bit more nut milk to make the dipping sauce
- Dust the tree with icing sugar and serve with the dipping sauce
Tips & Variations
- Make it extra nutty: We love toasting the hazelnuts before blending them. Just a few minutes in a dry pan makes such a difference to the depth of flavour.
- Chill before baking: If you've got time, pop the assembled tree in the fridge for 15 minutes before it goes in the oven. It helps the pastry puff up more evenly and keeps those twists looking sharp.
- Don't waste the trimmings: When you cut the tree shape, keep the off-cuts of pastry. Sprinkle them with a bit of cinnamon sugar and bake them alongside the tree for little snacks while you wait.
Why This Works
The trick is making your own nutella rather than using shop-bought. Blending it fresh means you get a deeper, nuttier flavour and you can control the sweetness, which makes the whole thing taste a bit more grown-up and a lot more delicious. The leftover spread as a dipping sauce is honestly half the reason we make this.