If you’re a fan of all things chocolate and adore the magic of Christmas, I have a treat for you today – Chocolate Christmas Tree Pastry made from scratch with step-by-step guide and photos to make the best pull apart chocolate Christmas bread!
The holiday season is all about sharing and indulging, and what better way to do so than by creating a festive dessert that’s as beautiful as it is tasty? This Tear and Share Chocolate Christmas Tree Pastry is an easy-to-follow recipe that will please everyone
Don’t worry, if you’re short on time and don’t have time to make your own dough, I have included instructions for store bought puff pastry and/ or crescent rolls!
Making a chocolate Christmas tree pastry from scratch is a fun and festive way to get into the holiday spirit. With just simple ingredients and some basic baking skills, you can create a delicious and impressive dessert that is sure to be a hit at any holiday gathering.
Making a chocolate Christmas tree pastry from scratch may seem intimidating at first, but with a little patience and time, you can create a beautiful and delicious dessert that your friends and family will love. By following a few simple steps and using quality ingredients, you can create a pastry that is both festive and delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 egg
Filling:
- 2 Tablespoons butter, softened
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
- 1 egg
Icing:
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 Tablespoon milk
- 1 Tablespoon melted butter
How to Make Chocolate Christmas Tree Pastry
While I have made this Chocolate Christmas Tree Pastry from scratch, making my own dough, you can definitely opt for store-bought puff pastry sheets or even crescent rolls to create this recipe. Save quite a bit of time and creates very similar results. If you are using bought puff pastry or crescent rolls, skip instructions to point 7
1. Begin by using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. In the mixing bowl, combine the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Give it a gentle stir to blend the ingredients together.
2. Warm the milk to approximately 110º degrees, and then carefully pour it into the flour mixture.
3. Add the egg to the mix, and with your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook or spiral attachment, set the mixer to a low speed (2 works well). Let it mix until the ingredients come together. Please note that the dough spiral on 2 is suitable for most mixers, but consult your mixer’s instructions to be sure.
4. Continue to let the stand mixer work its magic, kneading the dough for about 7 minutes. Keep an eye on the dough as it kneads; it should start pulling away from the sides of the bowl but remain slightly tacky. If it’s excessively sticky, add a small amount of flour to achieve the desired consistency.
5. When the dough has finished kneading, remove the mixing bowl and dough hook. Shape the dough into a ball, cover it, and allow it to rise. This will take approximately 1-2 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Keep an eye on it until it has doubled in size.
6. Once the dough has completed its rise, gently punch it down. Take a walnut-sized piece of dough and set it aside. Knead the rest of the dough into a ball.
7. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface, forming a large rectangle, approximately 10×15 inches in size.
8. Starting from the top center of the shorter edge of the dough, cut downwards toward the bottom left corner. Repeat this on the other side, forming a triangle from the center.
9. Remove the triangle, and bring together the remaining dough to shape a second triangle, roughly the same size. Some additional rolling and shaping may be needed, but don’t fret over perfection, especially since this is the bottom layer.
10. Spread softened butter evenly over the bottom triangle.
11. Mix together brown sugar, cocoa powder, and cinnamon, then sprinkle the mixture over the buttered dough. Add a generous sprinkle of chocolate chips on top.
12. Place the top triangle over the filling, sandwiching the layers together. Attach the reserved walnut-sized piece of dough to the bottom of the triangle to create the “tree trunk.”
13. Use a guide, such as a ruler, about an inch wide, placed in the center of the tree. Use scissors to cut inch-wide branches through both layers of the tree, stopping at the guide.
14. Twist each branch 1 ½ times; as the branches get shorter, you may only achieve a 1 or even a half twist.
15. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes to allow it to rise slightly.
16. Preheat your oven to 350º.
17. Beat an egg for an egg wash and brush it over the tree. If desired, sprinkle some coarse sugar on top.
18. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
19. Once done, remove the tree from the oven and allow it to cool.
20. While the tree is cooling, combine the icing ingredients, whisking until smooth. Adjust the consistency by adding more milk if needed.
21. Drizzle the icing over the tree or serve it on the side as a dip for a delightful finishing touch.
Making Chocolate Christmas Tree Bread with Crescent Rolls
You’ll need 2 cans of crescent rolls.
Start by rolling the dough from each cans on a floured surface into a rectangle and follow all the steps starting from point 7 till the end.
Making Chocolate Christmas Tree Bread with Puff Pastry Sheets
Roll out two sheets of thawed puff pastry. Roll just enough to smooth out the seams and follow all the steps starting from point 7 till the end.
Storing Tips
When it comes to storing the pastry, it’s best to keep it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days. If you have leftovers, you can also store them in the fridge for up to a week.
If you want to reheat the pastry, simply place it in a preheated oven at 350°F for 5-10 minutes until warmed through. Just be sure to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Storing the chocolate Christmas tree pastry is easy and straightforward, so you can enjoy this delicious treat for breakfast, as a snack, or as a dessert for longer 🙂
When it comes to the perfect ending for your holiday meal, few options can rival the indulgence of a Chocolate Christmas Tree Pastry.
This delectable dessert is a timeless favorite, and it’s easy to see why. It combines the rich, velvety goodness of chocolate with the comforting, flaky layers of pastry, creating the perfect dessert that everyone at your Christmas table will be raving about!
Chocolate Christmas Tree Pastry Recipe
This Chocolate Christmas Tree pastry recipe is the perfect tear and share Christmas dessert that will please everyone!
4
servings40
minutes25
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
2 cups 2 flour
2 tsp 2 active dry yeast
1/4 cup 1/4 sugar
1 1/2 tsp 1 1/2 salt
1/2 cup 1/2 milk
1 large 1 egg
- Filling
2 tbsp 2 butter, softened
1/3 cup 1/3 brown sugar
1 tbsp 1 cocoa powder
2 tsp 2 cinnamon
1/2 cup 1/2 mini chocolate chips
1 large 1 egg
- Icing
3/4 cup 3/4 powdered sugar
1/4 cup 1/4 cocoa powder
1 tbsp 1 milk
1 tbsp 1 melted butter
Directions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, yeast, sugar, and salt, and stir to combine. Fit stand mixer with dough hook/spiral
- Warm milk to about 110º degrees, and add to flour mixture. Add egg and milk to stand mixer
- Turn the mixer to 2 and mix until combined (Note: my mixer’s instructions say to use the dough spiral on 2 only. I don’t know if it’s the same for dough hook mixers) Continue mixing to knead dough for 7 minutes.
- The dough should come away from the sides of the bowl as it kneads, but still be tacky. If dough is overly sticky, add a small amount of flour to reach the desired consistency
- When dough is done kneading, remove bowl from mixing and dough hook, shape into a ball, cover, and let rise until doubled in size. This should take 1-2 hours depending on your kitchen temperature.
- When dough has finished rising, punch down, separate a piece the size of a walnut, and knead the rest into a ball
- Roll dough out on flour surface into a large rectangle (about 10×15 inches)
- Starting from the top, center of the short edge of the dough, cut down to bottom left corner
- Repeat on the other side, creating a triangle from the center
- Remove triangle, and join remaining dough together to form a second triangle, about the same size. You may need to do more rolling and shaping, but just form a general triangle shape – it doesn’t have to be perfect since this is the bottom layer.
- Spread softened butter over bottom triangle.
- Mix brown sugar, cocoa powder, and cinnamon together, and sprinkle over buttered dough
- Sprinkle with chocolate chips
- Layer top triangle over filling
- Fix reserved walnut-sized piece of dough to bottom of triangle to form the tree trunk
- Place a guide about an inch wide (a ruler works well for this!) in the center of the tree, and use scissors to cut inch-wide branches through both layers of the tree, up to the guide.
- Twist each branch 1 ½ times (you may only be able to get 1 or even just a half twist as the branches get shorter)
- Let dough rest for 30 minutes
- Preheat oven to 350º
- Beat egg for egg wash, and brush over tree. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired
- Bake in oven for 25 minutes, or until golden brown
- Remove from oven and let cool
- While tree cools, combine icing ingredients, whisking until smooth. Add more milk if necessary to reach desired consistently.
- Drizzle over tree, or serve on the side as a dip
Notes
- You can make Chocolate Christmas Tree Bread with Crescent Rolls. You’ll need 2 cans of crescent rolls. Start by rolling the dough from each cans on a floured surface into a rectangle and follow all the steps starting from point 7 till the end.
- You can make Chocolate Christmas Tree Bread using Puff Pastry Sheets too. Roll out two sheets of thawed puff pastry. Roll just enough to smooth out the seams and follow all the steps starting from point 7 till the end.