Cheese and Smoked Fish Puff Pastry Trees are a tasty and scenic appetizer, perfect for starting the Christmas lunch or dinner and enriching buffets and delicious aperitifs.
An elegant way to present these trees made with puff pastry, filled and decorated with an appetizing combination of cheese cream and a trio of smoked fish like: tuna, salmon, and swordfish.
As original as they are tasty, they will make a great impression on the holiday table, they are a winning idea that doesn’t disappoint, but conquers at the first taste.
However, preparing these pretty trees is not particularly difficult, just use a ready-made roll of puff pastry and tree-shaped cookie cutters.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4 pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients for Cheese and Smoked Fish Puff Pastry Trees
- 1 roll Puff Pastry
- 2 slices Smoked Salmon
- 2 slices Smoked Tuna
- 2 slices Smoked Swordfish
- 1.75 oz Cream Cheese
- 0.88 oz Salmon Cream Cheese
- 2 tbsps Mayonnaise
- as needed Chives
- 1 Egg
Tools
- 1 Cookie Cutter star
- 1 Baking Sheet
- 1 Brush
- 1 Piping Bag
- 1 Oven
Preparation for Cheese and Smoked Fish Puff Pastry Trees
For the preparation of the trees, buy a rectangular puff pastry roll and get two tree-shaped cutters, one large (mine is 4 inches) and one smaller.
For each tree, you need a base with the entire cutter and two layers cut out with the smaller cutter.
Unroll the puff pastry package with the large cutter, cut out 4 base trees, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, prick the bottom with the tines of a fork, then brush them with beaten egg.
Continue to cut out another 4 trees, which in turn cut out the center with the smaller cutter.
Stack them on each base tree, then brush with beaten egg. Knead the scraps and roll out with a rolling pin to get more shapes.Continue this way with the last layer of trees cut out in the center, so that a cavity is formed, which becomes more noticeable with cooking.
Brush again with beaten egg, then place the baking sheet in the preheated oven.
COOKING
Bake the trees for the first 10 minutes at 392°F with fan, then lower to 338°F and continue for another 10 minutes, also bake the tiny trees that you will use as appetizers, perhaps sprinkling them with mixed seeds.
Once cooked, remove them and let them cool.Meanwhile, prepare the cheese cream for the filling and final decoration.
In the blender container, add the cheeses and mayonnaise, blend everything until you get a homogeneous cream.Before filling them, with the handle of a wooden spoon, press down the bottom of each vol-au-vent that has puffed up during baking.
Place the cream in a piping bag with a star nozzle and fill the center of the tree.
Divide the smoked fish slices in two, roll them up to form roses, decorate each tree with a different rose, complete with dollops of cream and a bit of chopped chives.
Before serving, let your creations rest in the fridge for about thirty minutes.
Make 2-3 circles with a cookie cutter depending on how tall you want them, stack the circles on top of each other, brushed with egg, the last one with a hole in the center.
Bake as above and then fill with a piping bag with plenty of salmon cheese dollops and decorate with smoked salmon and parsley.
Tips and Variations
You can replace the tree shape with another star or round cutter like the classic vol-au-vent
You can also fill them based on your tastes with only salmon or something else.
These puff pastry appetizers are suitable for numerous occasions, thanks to the versatility of their filling: try them with your favorite ingredients
For other appetizers click here
Can I use shrimp?
Yes, of course, you can fill them with cocktail sauce and steamed shrimp.
You can find the recipe Shrimp Cups in Cocktail SauceYes, of course, you can fill them with cocktail sauce and steamed shrimp.
You can find the recipe Shrimp Cups in Cocktail Sauce
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