Chestnut, almond and cinnamon twists!

When my mum came back from her weekly food shop with a tin of chestnut puree, I was a little surprised as neither of us had any idea what it was, or what we are meant to do with it. While everything else was slowly getting eaten, it sat in lonesome in the fridge for a week after Christmas until we decided to put it to good use. I thought it might go well with cinnamon and consequently pastry came straight to mind (cinnamon + pastry = yummm). Along with some leftover ground almonds (which we originally used for our Christmas dessert) and a sprinkle of demerrera to sweeten it up, we created some perfect tea time treats.

·         1 sheet of puff pastry (I used Jus rol)

·         Approx 4 tablespoons of chestnut puree (ours had a hint of vanilla)

·         1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

·         1 tablespoon of demerrera/brown sugar

·         A small handful of almonds, ground.

·         1 egg

Preheat the oven to 200C and line 2 trays with baking paper. Unroll the puff pastry sheet then carefully fold it in half as a guide to cut through the middle. Beat the egg and using a brush, egg wash one side of both halves of the pastry sheet.

One sheet should remain empty from any filling while you should spread the other half with a layer of the chestnut puree (just enough to cover the sheet but not too thick). In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and ground almond and sprinkle over the puree, to cover the whole sheet.

Carefully pick up the empty sheet and place it egg washed side down (this will help it stick to the other half) on top of the filling half of the sheet, to make a sort of sandwich. Then with a cutter or sharp knife, cut about 3 cm thick strips across the sheet. Pick up each strip carefully and twist from the ends and place on the baking sheet. Once all strips are twisted, egg wash the top of each strip before placing in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden and puffed.

 
 For a guide on this technique, watch this youtube video, from Pepperidge Farm:

Enjoy!