This dessert clearly designed for the end-of-year festivities consists of a slice of pandoro with chocolate braided puff pastry, thus creating a double layer that I garnished with cream and cocoa-corrected cream to fill the hole of the cocoa puff ring.

I saw the recipe in a special edition of Cucinare bene and enriched it with this central tuft where you can dip the spoon and make the cake more tempting.

In the photo seen in the magazine, the chocolate braided puff pastry was smaller and left the tips of the pandoro star visible… My puff pastry grew quite a bit and the layer of pandoro underneath is barely visible, but I don’t think it’s a problem, do you?

The original recipe included chocolate balls in the center, but I think it’s much better to combine the two different textures of leavened dough and puff pastry with a soft cream to wrap and make everything less dry.

I would say it presents well and is very good, so it is definitely suitable for Christmas, don’t you think???

PANDORO WITH CHOCOLATE BRAIDED PUFF PASTRY

Here are other desserts suitable for the Christmas season such as:

Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Medium
Preparation time: 30 Minutes
Portions: 8
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Christmas

Ingredients for PANDORO WITH CHOCOLATE BRAIDED PUFF PASTRY

1 slice pandoro (about 1.5 inches)
1 package puff pastry (taken from Aldi and better than other famous brands!)
7 oz spreadable cream (chocolate and hazelnuts)
3/4 oz cornstarch
1 egg
5 oz whipping cream
to taste powdered sugar
to taste white sprinkles (for me, little stars)

Tools for PANDORO WITH CHOCOLATE BRAIDED PUFF PASTRY

#ADV

Piping Bags
Star Nozzles star nozzles
Bowls
Knives

STEPS TO PREPARE PANDORO WITH CHOCOLATE BRAIDED PUFF PASTRY

I tried to take some photos so I can avoid words that might be less easy and be more immediate!
So I open and unroll the puff pastry package, placing it on the kitchen table.
I cut a central line on the long side.
In a bowl, I mix the cream with cornstarch and brush the mixture onto the 2 rectangles previously outlined on the puff pastry.
I close the two strips by overlapping them and obtaining two long rectangles filled with chocolate hazelnut cream, then seal with the tines of a fork to prevent the filling from leaking out during cooking.
I gently braid the two strips without tightening too much and leaving the fork-marked parts underneath.
I place the braid in a ring-shaped mold
and with scissors, I make small cuts as seen in the photo.
Beat an egg and brush it on the pandoro with chocolate braided puff pastry and then bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 25 minutes or based on the characteristics of our home oven.
NICE, right, the chocolate braided puff pastry???
Let it cool completely, then place it on the pandoro slice.
I whip the cream with electric beaters or in a stand mixer, divide the amount into two equal parts and add a little sifted cocoa powder to one half, mixing very well.
Place the creams in two piping bags and pipe a base of white cream dollops, then the cocoa one, filling well the ring hole placed on the pandoro slice.
I had some white sugar stars in the pantry and added a few on the cocoa whipped cream dollops.
Voilà… the pandoro slices with chocolate braided puff pastry cake is ready to be enjoyed!
Bon appétit! Annalisa