I have gained so much weight, and as close as I feel to all you wonderful ppl, I’m too embarrassed to tell you how much! And let me tell you who the major culprits responsible for my; love handles, saddlebags, muffin top, thunder thighs, and double D cup are.
These adorable, sweet, swirls that you see in the pictures that’s who, they are the dessert chosen by the gods (anything pastry really is). Deliciously delightful, these buttery, crispy pastries are scrumptious, but be warned, elastic pants is what you will be sporting after you scoff half a dozen of these moorishly, flaky pastries, unless your metabolism is a lot faster than mine (which is sort of tortoise speed).
A great deal of time was spent on getting the texture, filling and sweetness just right, and after burying my head in the oven for the last two weeks and tasting a kazillion of these luscious swirls (which I’m still not sick of) I nailed it on both fronts, taste and look, if you don’t mind my saying so myself.
It’s hard to believe that a few basic ingredients can make such a scrumptious dessert and while I loved every one of these heavenly, swirls. It’s time to hand the recipe over to you to enjoy. As for me it’s green leafy salad, with a side of water and a garnish of air, for the next few months…
Before you start
Place the baking tins in the freezer and take them out as you need them.
When you finish creating the first snail-like swirl, place it in the baking tin and put it back in the freezer. Make the second swirl. Take the baking tin with the first swirl out, wrap the 2nd swirl around it, then place it back in the freezer, do the same with all the swirls.
The butter needs to be soft but not melted. Leave it out of the fridge to get to room temperature (presuming you aren’t living in an oven).
Make sure you take the puff pastry out just before you start to work with it.
Take one pastry out at a time. Begin to work with the pastry while it’s frozen. This means you need to have everything READY to use so the pastry is firm and will be soft enough to manipulate by the time you are ready to twist and roll.
Puff pastry swirls
Ingredients
Will make four
40g butter soft
50g crushed pistachios
50g castor sugar
1 tsp cardamom (you can use less, I love cardamom)
2 puff pastry
Method
Preheat oven to 200c
Line 4 (12cm) baking dishes with baking paper
mix sugar with the cardamom, add butter and mix thoroughly
Spread 1/2 of the butter mixture all over puff pastry and sprinkle on pistachios, covering the whole square
Cut into 8 even strips
Put two strips on top of each other with the butter filling covered sides facing each other and twist, then roll into a snail shape
Repeat with another two strips wrapped around the first snail.
Each pastry makes two medium size swirls, put the swirls in the freezer so all go in to the oven at the same time.
When you have finished making all four, spray with oil and bake in the oven for 10min on 200C. Reduce heat to 180C and bake for 35 -40 min (that’s how long it took in my oven to bake, but you will need to test it out in your oven.
Topping
Ingredients
50g dark or milk chocolate
1 teaspoon oil
2 tablespoons crushed pistachios
50g white chocolate white chocolate
1 teaspoon oil
2 tablespoons crushed pistachios
Before you start
Make sure that the spoon and bowl you use are DRY
For the oil, use vegetable or coconut oil, don’t use olive oil, you want tasteless oil. The oil will help melt the chocolate smoothly and once it’s cool it become hard.
Method
Melt milk or dark chocolate in the microwave for 15 seconds, take out of the microwave after 15 seconds, and give it a good stir, continue melting for another 10 seconds.
Add the oil and stir thoroughly. Continue to melt at 10 second intervals, stirring each time you take it out of the microwave. Once the chocolate has melted completely and is smooth, you can use to drizzle the scrolls.
Drizzle 2 of the scrolls with melted milk or dark chocolate
Garnish with crumbed pistachios
Repeat with white chocolate.