A quick, easy and delicious Vegan Chocolate Orange Christmas Tree Pastry with golden flaky pastry, a gooey chocolate orange filling and icing sugar. This is a great sharing dessert for the holidays.
I have wanted to make a pastry tree all season long and I finally got round to making one and it didn’t disappoint. As opposed to just a regular chocolate spread filling, I added in some orange zest for a delicious twist that tastes like Terry’s chocolate orange. I have also made this low-waste (I know a lot of recipes throw away the pastry scraps) by making stars and other pastry bites with the leftovers.
Why will I love this pastry?
This pastry is a delicious one to make, it is:
- Golden, flaky and buttery rich
- Chocolatey, orangey and delicious
- Light and crispy
- Filled with a delicious chocolate orange filling
- Easy to make in a few steps
- Low-waste and great for using up leftovers from Christmas
- Great to share and tear with loved ones
- A fantastic centrepiece for parties
- Fabulous to make ahead
- Naturally vegan, gluten-free and easily nut-free
If you already love the sound of this Vegan Chocolate Orange Christmas Tree Pastry then skip ahead to the recipe card below. Or, first let’s discuss the recipe in more detail.
What ingredients do I need?
The ingredient list is very short:
- Puff pastry: most ready-made puff pastry is accidentally vegan but please check the labels. You can also buy gluten-free puff pastry, where needed. I like to use the pre-rolled sheets of puff pastry or you can roll out your own.
- Vegan chocolate spread: there are so many dairy-free ad vegan chocolate spreads available so use your favourite one. I love the ones from Biona Organic, Mr. Organic or Manilife do a delicious chocolate peanut butter. I also have a sugar-free homemade Nutella recipe coming in the new year!
- Orange: zest the orange to add so much flavour to the filling.
- Maple syrup: use this for the glaze with the olive oil below. Other syrups like agave or vegan honey will also work.
- Olive oil: mix this with the syrup above for an “egg” wash that turns the pastry golden and crispy.
- Icing sugar: this is for dusting on top.
- Melted chocolate: this is optional to dip or drizzle over the pastry.
How do I make this?
This Christmas tree pastry is ready in a few steps:
- Lay one sheet of pastry down: onto a parchment lined tray.
- Spread all over with the chocolate spread: leaving a small border.
- Sprinkle over the orange zest: to evenly cover the chocolate.
- Place the second sheet of pastry on top: and press down lightly.
- Cut out a Christmas tree shape: making a triangle with a rectangle at the bottom.
- Keep the scraps of pastry to one side and cut out stars: or other shapes and bake with the tree.
- Make cuts along both sides of the tree from the outside inwards: leaving the “branch” intact in the middle.
- Twist each strip two or three times: and press back down.
- Stir the maple and olive oil for the glaze: and brush all over the tree and stars/other shapes.
- Bake till golden brown and crispy: for about 25 minutes, covering any bits that are cooking more quickly with foil.
- Dust with icing sugar and serve with melted chocolate: if you like.
- Tear and share the pastry: and enjoy.
Is this gluten-free and nut-free?
Yes this is easily gluten-free, make sure you buy a vegan and gluten-free puff pastry. As for being nut-free, make sure your chocolate spread does not contain nuts and also check your pastry and plant-based milk.
How long will this last?
This is a great dessert to make ahead of time as it will keep for 2-3 days in a sealed container.
Can I use other fillings?
If you are looking to make different flavoured Christmas tree pastries, how about:
- Peanut butter and jam: spread it with smooth peanut butter then a layer of berry jam.
- Raspberry or strawberry jam: as it is.
- Cinnamon sugar: like a cinnamon roll, spread with some vegan butter or olive oil and then cinnamon sugar.
- Lemon curd and blueberry: like I did for these sweet rolls.
What else can I make?
If you are looking for more desserts and pastries, how about my:
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Swiss Roll
- Vegan Chocolate Cinnamon Star Bread
- Chocolate Puff Pastry Hearts
- Apple Pecan Caramel Puff Pastries
- Mini Vegan Chocolate Biscoff Croissants
Vegan Chocolate Orange Christmas Tree Pastry
A quick, easy and delicious Vegan Chocolate Orange Christmas Tree Pastry with golden flaky pastry, a gooey chocolate orange filling and icing sugar. This is a great sharing dessert for the holidays.
Ingredients
- 2 sheets of ready rolled puff pastry (320g each)
- 160g dairy-free chocolate spread
- 1 orange, zested
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Icing sugar, to dust
- Melted chocolate, to dip
Instructions
- To prepare: remove the pastry from the fridge 10 minutes before you start. Also warm the chocolate spread, if needed, to make it easier to spread. Preheat the oven to 180Fan/200ºC.
- Tear off a large sheet of parchment paper (enough to cover a baking tray) and place on the surface.
- For the pastry: unroll the pastry and lay one sheet down on the parchment. Spread the chocolate spread all over, leaving a 1-cm gap around the edge. Now sprinkle over all the orange zest.
- Cut out the tree: start from the top middle and cut two sides of a triangle and then cut in wards to form the trunk of the tree. Remove the scraps and leave these to one side. Starting from the edge, make even cuts down both sides of the triangle, leaving the middle intact. Twist each strip two or three times from top to bottom to make the branches. Repeat with all the branches.
- Using the scraps: cut out stars or other shapes and leave on the tray or decorate the tree.
- For the glaze: stir together the maple syrup and olive oil and brush all over the tree and the shapes.
- To bake: place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown, crispy and cooked through. If any parts are browning too much, cover these with foil.
- To serve: allow to cool for 10 minutes then dust with icing sugar and serve with melted chocolate, if you like.
- To store: allow to cool fully then store in a sealed container for 2-3 days at room temperature or in the fridge.
I look forward to hearing what you think of this Vegan Chocolate Orange Christmas Tree Pastry so please let me know in the comments and leave a star review above. If you do make this, I’d love to see so please tag me, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest – please say hello!
With pastry tree love x
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