Here I’ll show you how to make the most delicious savoury tear and share Christmas tree!
I’ve been seeing these puff pastry Christmas trees a lot recently; mostly sweet versions made with Nutella. You know I’m a savoury tooth through and through, so I thought I’d give it a savoury spin. The results? Amazing!! Follow me…
Mornay Sauce
This is essentially a cheesy bechamel sauce. It goes perfectly with the ham and cheese theme and turns the whole thing into something similar to a Croque Monsieur. Yes, I did almost call this a ‘Croquemas Tree’ .
The sauce is optional, but it does work perfectly as a dip for the tree branches. Plus you only need 6 ingredients:
- Flour, Butter & Milk – To make the classic béchamel sauce.
- Gruyere – This turns the sauce into a Mornay sauce. I LOVE using Gruyere!
- Nutmeg – Highlights the nutty tones of the Gruyere.
- White Pepper – I find this blends through the sauce better than black pepper.
Process shots: melt butter then stir in flour (photo 1), whisk in milk (photo 2), stir in cheese (photo 3), stir in seasoning (photo 4).
Ham and Cheese Christmas Tree
There are so many variations of this tree you could do, in fact, after you’ve given this version a go I recommend visiting my Puff Pastry Pinwheels for more inspo!
For this version, you’ll only need 3 ingredients for the filling:
- Mustard – I use Dijon but you could use another variety if you’d prefer. You don’t need much, just a thin layer to cover the bottom sheet of pastry.
- Ham – I use wafer-thin ham so it’s easy to slice and twist the tree.
- Cheese – I use Cheddar but more Gruyere would work great too (or a mix of both). I recommend finely grating it so it’s easier to twist the tree branches.
When you put the second sheet of pastry of top you’ll want to just gently squish it down. This will help contain the filling so it doesn’t all fall out when you slice the tree.
Process shots: spread mustard over pastry (photo 1), add ham (photo 2), add cheese (photo 3), add pastry (photo 4).
Puff Pastry Christmas Tree
If you’ve been around here for a while you’ll know I’m not particularly artistic, so you might end up doing a better job than me here! But essentially you just want to slice out a Christmas tree shape, slice the ‘branches’, and then twist them.
You’ll notice there’s a fair amount of leftover pastry, and you can really do with this what you want. I sliced out a star for the top of the tree, some baubles, a couple of candy canes and a couple of mini trees. I went rogue but you can definitely use cookie cutters if you have them!
Process shots: slice tree (photo 5), slice branches (photo 6), twist (photo 7), egg wash then bake (photo 8).
Puff Pastry Christmas Tree FAQ
Can I use shortcrust pastry?
Puff pastry works much better for tearing and sharing. Plus it puffs up so beautifully and goes gorgeously crispy. As such, I highly recommend puff pastry over any other kind.
Can I put the star and baubles straight on top of the tree before baking?
I originally tried this, but they weighed down the pastry and it didn’t puff up properly. As such, I recommend cooking them next to the tree and then using the sauce to stick them on after.
How do I know when it’s cooked?
It should end up deep golden and visibly crispy. You’ll see it puff up as well (if it looks wet/dense it’s not cooked yet).
Serving a Puff Pastry Christmas Tree
I really wanted to mimic snow at the end and found the perfect way to do it – parmesan! I guess you could still use icing sugar, in which case it ends up being more of a Monte Cristo vibe, but the dusty variety of parmesan works perfectly.
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this cheesy ham puff pastry Christmas tree shall we?!
How to a Puff Pastry Christmas Tree (Full Recipe & Video)
Cheesy Ham Puff Pastry Christmas Tree
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Fine Cheese Grater
- Large Baking Tray
- Baking/Parchment Paper (if not included with pastry)
- Small Pot & Whisk (for sauce)
- Seive (for parmesan dusting)
- Brush (for mustard/egg wash)
Ingredients
Tree
- 2x 320g/11.3oz sheets of Puff Pastry (see notes)
- 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard, or as needed
- 12 slices of Wafer Thin Ham
- 150g / 5.3oz Cheddar, finely grated (see notes)
- 1 Egg, beaten for egg wash
- Parmesan, to serve (the fresh dusty kind)
Mornay Sauce (optional)
- 1 tbsp / 15g Butter
- 1 tbsp Plain Flour
- 240ml / 1 cup Milk, or as needed (leave at room temp)
- 60g / 2oz Gruyere, grated
- 1/8 tsp EACH: Salt, White Pepper, Ground Nutmeg (or to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
- Roll out one of the sheets of pastry and leave it on the baking paper (or place it on a sheet if it's not included). Spread with a layer of mustard then top with the ham, overlapping as needed. Spread over the cheese then place the second sheet of pastry on top. Gently squish everything down with your hands to secure the filling.
- Use a sharp knife to slice the shape of a Christmas tree, then slice out any shapes from the excess pastry you fancy. I do a star, 2 mini Christmas trees, some candy canes and some circles for baubles (see video for reference). I keep the stump at the bottom around 4cm/1.5" wide.
- Slice the branches around 2.5cm/1" wide and make sure you keep space in the centre (again, see video for reference). Twist each branch a couple of times, or just once as you work closer to the top.
- Place everything on a baking tray, brush with egg wash then bake for around 15-20 minutes or until deep golden and visibly crisp. The smaller shapes may cook more quickly, so just be vigilant.
- For the sauce, melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat then stir in the flour to create a roux. Gradually add in the milk, whisking as you go to avoid lumps, then turn off the heat and stir in the cheese. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Thin out with milk if needed (it'll thicken quite quickly as it cools).
- Stick the star and baubles on the tree, dust with parmesan then tuck in and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
