Nutella Heart Shaped Puff Pastry
(This post may contain affiliate links at no extra cost to you. This is my way to keep this site afloat and free of ads. Read my full disclosure here.)
Love lies in the tiny details
What else can be easier than a Nutella Heart Shaped Puff Pastry for Valentine’s?! This 3 ingredients Valentine's breakfast can be made by anyone in no time. Add fresh raspberries for a sweet romantic touch and you my friend will have created a true love masterpiece!!
I’m so happy to be posting here after being away the last few months while working on The Cooking Course! But now that the course is officially done and out in the world I was impatient to return to my regular postings. I had an amazing experience creating the course and I’m having a blast with the current participants. So many details and so much work is behind it. Enough to make you see the calendar one day and realize it’s been two months since you created your last recipe for the blog. However, the course was something that I needed to do. It was on my to-do list since a few years back and I finally got the chance to make it. It was thrilling to put together something like that!
It was precisely because all the work that’s behind me that I needed something easy and simple to get back. This tart is the quintessential symbolism that no matter how busy, tired or stressed you may be, there’s always room and a 30 minute break to create something beautiful and delicious. Something that you can use to tell someone how much you care. Because you should never forget, love lies in the tiny details. Those are the ones that managed to stamp your heart and leave a mark for the rest of your life. No one needs, or even wants perfection. What everyone yearns for are perfect tiny details that sculpt a beautiful life.
And what’s easier than a puff pastry tart, no matter the shape?! You can make it a plain square and it will still feel special, cute and fancy. You can use peanut butter, cream cheese or jam with cream cheese instead of Nutella, other fruits, chopped nuts… The possibilities are endless! I’m thinking here that you can even make a breakfast tray with coffee, hot chocolate or tea, ham or bacon, cream cheese and other jellies and fruits and have a ridiculously simple breakfast in bed with your loved one or the whole fam. That’s real life!
I left here some notes on how to make this Nutella puff pastry tart so you can get organized beforehand, plus a couple of materials you’ll need if you want to make the indentation in the center to be filled with Nutella or any other filling you are using.
Making this Nutella Heart Shaped Puff Pastry
Start by deciding how you’ll need to thaw the puff pastry; if you are planning ahead you can thaw it in the fridge overnight but if thawing the same day, it’s better to let them defrost over the counter, keeping an eye on them so they don’t become too warm.
Prepare the materials. You’ll need a large baking tray, a couple of parchment papers (one for baking and another one to cut a small heart if doing the indentation in the center), a jumbo cookie cutter or a smaller one to use as a reference, a small pairing knife and scissors.
I was lucky to have found this stunning rose gold extra large cookie cutter I use in the video at Marshall’s right before making this recipe. I think St. Valentine and his squad wanted to see this recipe happening! It’s almost 9” wide. I found this very similar extra large heart shaped cookie cutter at Amazon. It’s about ½” smaller but it will get the job lovely done.
When ready to roll, make sure the surface of the puff pastry is dry. Nutella will seize if it enters into contact with water. It you feel the dough wet, pat dry with a paper towel. IF THE NUTELLA SEIZES don’t worry, just scrape it off the pastry, pat dry the area for a minute and if necessary rub a bit of flour. Spoon more Nutella but this time spoon little amounts in the area and stretch in small strokes instead of spooning a lot and having to stretch it using larger strokes. If this happens it’s not a big deal, just giving you the heads up with some tips to deal with this without a mess.
Cut the pastry as a heart using the jumbo cookie cutter or making the shape with a sharp knife.
The indentation in the center is optional but totally cute! You will need pie weights or plenty of large dry beans and an oven-proof heart shaped cookie cutter. What you want is for that area not to rise, that’s why you need to fill as much as possible the inside area, to create weight.
Make the slits around, mirroring each slit on the other side so they are even. When twisting, make sure to twist the mirroring segment in opposite sides. Maybe it was that I’ve been out of practice that I started to twist the bottom segments in the same direction. Needles to say they look super odd, so I kept trying to make it right until I realized what the problem was. That's why that area (and my lavender nails) looks stained with chocolate. I started then to twist in opposite directions and it was super easy. Make sure the corners of the segments touch the ones on the side after twisted as much as you can. This will help the pastry keep the shape of heart.
Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the cookie cutter in the center and the pie weights/beans (if using) and bake for 5 minutes. I needed to cover the borders with foils so if you feel it’s burning too quickly, you can do that. And if there’s areas that are too puffed, make small slits with a pairing knife through the sides to deflate them before returning to the oven for the second time.
After baked, let it cool on the baking sheet before spreading Nutella in the center. Cover with raspberries or any other fruit and dust confectioner’s sugar on top.
What to do with the leftover puff pastry?
With the remaining puff pastry you can cut little hearts with a smaller cookie cutter or do what I did, which was to cut the dough in sticks and gently twist them at the center (again, if the dough feels too warm to work it, place it in the fridge for 10 minutes). Bake the sticks for 10 to 12 minutes. Take them out and brush them with melted butter all the way around. Sprinkle plenty of cinnamon sugar throughout the whole surface, top and bottom.
Shop the Post
Extra large heart-shaped cookie cutter
Set of small to medium heart-shaped cookie cutters (These are exactly the same ones I have, the shape is very different from traditional hearts and are the ones I use to make my heart-shaped doughnuts).
Pie weights (love these because there are plenty of weights, sometimes just a few weights won’t do the job).
Precut Parchment Paper (exactly the ones I use, they are so practical!)
(Remember to leave your email when you make a comment to receive a notification as soon as I get back to you. Don’t worry, this will not add your email to my email list.)
Nutella Heart Shaped Puff Pastry
Ingredients
◯ Frozen puff pastry sheets - 2
◯ Flour - 2 to 3 TBSP, for dusting the surface and your hands
◯ Nutella - about 6 TBSP, divided through the recipe
◯ Egg - 1 to be mixed thoroughly with a teaspoon of water or milk for the egg wash
◯ Confectioner’s sugar - 1 TBSP to dust the tart
◯ Raspberries (you may use blueberries, blackberries or halved strawberries) - ½ cup
Details
Yield:
a 9” Heart Shaped Tart, plus puff pastry sticks
Total time:
30 minutes
Active time: 10 minutes
Baking time:
20 minutes
Equipment:
baking sheet, parchment paper, extra large heart-shaped cookie cutter (optional), small heart-shaped cookie cutter (optional), pie weights or large dry beans
Steps
Thaw puff pastry sheets according to instructions. I left them oven the counter and as soon as they weren’t stiff I unfolded them and left them to defrost, about 10 to 15 minutes. Don’t let them become too warm, they should be still a bit cold to the touch, you just want them malleable.
As soon as you’re ready to start working the dough, preheat oven to 400°.
Place a parchment paper on a baking tray. Dust plenty of flour over it and accommodate 1 puff pastry sheet. If the dough feels wet, pat dry with a paper towel as much as you can and gently rub it with a bit of flour. If the Nutella enters in contact with water it will seize (see notes above). Spread a semi-thick layer of Nutella, reaching to the borders. Place the second puff pastry sheet on top and press gently. If it feels wet, repeat the process with the paper towel and flour. Using an extra-large cutter or a sharp pairing knife, cut a big heart. You can use a large or medium cookie cutter to use as reference for the shape. Do not discard this dough (see notes above).
For the indentation on the center, cut a heart out of parchment paper with an oven-proof medium sized heart-shaped cookie cutter. Place the cookie cutter in the center of the puff pastry heart and gently press it down, just enough for it to hold but being careful of not piercing the dough. Poke shallow holes through the area with a fork or a small pairing knife, being careful of not piercing the dough. Place the heart-shaped parchment inside. Fill with large beans or pie weights all the way to the top and gently press down. The idea is to create weight so that area doesn’t rise.
If not doing the heart indentation, still poke tiny holes through the center.
Start by cutting a slit right down in the middle, leaving about ½” from the cookie cutter in the center. Cut two more on the sides mirroring each other and two more at the top curve so you have a guide. Now cut in between the slits, mirroring each other on the other side and leaving ¾” between each. Hold the bottom segments and twist them twice in opposite directions. Press down the corners, the idea is for the corners to touch or almost touch each other as much as possible. Work your way up with the remaining segments, twisting just once the smaller ones. Leave without twisting the very top segments (the top of the heart).
TIP: If at this point the dough feels too warm (like is melting), pop it in the freezer for 3 to 5 minutes or in the fridge for 10 minutes. It’s not necessary but this helps in holding the heart shape throughout the baking process.
With a fork or small pairing knife poke tiny and shallow holes through the border (not shown in the video, sorry : / ). Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the whole surface with the egg wash.
Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 17 minutes. Carefully take out and using kitchen thongs remove the cookie cutter. With a spoon remove the beans or pie weights, then remove the heart-shaped parchment paper. Return to oven and bake for 5 minutes. If the borders are burning quickly or if you think the center will need more than 5 minutes, cover the borders with foil (like when baking a pie). Return tart to the oven for 5 to 7 minutes. Retire and let it cool down on the baking sheet.
Spread Nutella on the center. Fill with raspberries or whatever fruits you want to use.
Dust confectioner’s sugar on top of brush melted butter over the pastry and cover with plenty of cinnamon sugar.
