Crispy pastry with layers of sweet Nutella and roasted hazelnuts, these Nutella Pinwheels are great as a canape at a party or if you just fancy a sweet treat.
What is a pinwheel?
Pinwheels are simply puff pastry, spread with a filling and then rolled up tightly before baking.
Once rolled and baked they have a lovely spiral of the filling and the pastry. The filling can be sweet or savoury for these simple and tasty treats.
Which Puff pastry to use
I am a firm believer in buying ready made puff pastry from the supermarket. Very rarely do people, including chefs; make their own puff pastry.
Not only do I buy my puff pastry, but I buy the ready rolled puff pastry too. If you’re going to make your life easier, why not make it as easy as possible?!
I chose ready rolled puff pastry whenever possible because I lack the skills of being able to roll pastry out into the perfect rectangle.
You can obviously make your own puff pastry or buy a block and roll it out if you would prefer.
Can you use light puff pastry?
You can use light puff pastry, but it does have the tendency to be a little trickier to work with.
I think it is softer and stretcher
to work with which can sometimes be a bit more fun!
You might want to chill it for a little longer in the fridge; maybe 20 minutes if you do decide to use light puff pastry.
Personally I don’t think I can taste the difference between light and normal pastry so use whichever you prefer.
A Nutella lover’s dream
I am a massive fan of Nutella and use it in baking whenever I can.
I did realise a few years ago that Nutella includes palm oil. However they have since changed their recipe and now only use sustainable palm oil.
If you don’t want to use any products that include palm oil, then Gü have a delicious palm free version.
Do you have to use Nutella?
No, if you prefer to use a different chocolate hazelnut spread you absolutely can. You can also just use a chocolate spread if you prefer.
Another option would be to use white chocolate hazelnut spread which is like the filling in a Kinder Bueno.
Do not be too enthusiastic with the Nutella!
If you’re anything like me there is a huge temptation to want to include as much Nutella as possible in these pinwheels.
If you add too much, then the Nutella will squidge out when you roll the pinwheels up.
Roll the pinwheels nice and tight
You want to make sure you roll the pastry as tightly as possible so you get a nice number of swirls in your pastry.
It doesn’t matter if your rolling isn’t neat at all. If you roll your pastry more loosely they are likely to spread when they are baked. This won’t change how tasty they are though!
Is it essential to chill the pinwheels before cutting them?
I do think this is an essential step. It not only helps the pastry firm up again but it also firms the Nutella too.
This makes it easier to cut the pastry and to avoid Nutella squiding out the pastry when you cut it.
It is only ten minutes so doesn’t add much time at all but is definitely worthwhile.
Which hazelnuts are best to use?
I prefer to use roasted hazelnuts because they have a nice toasty flavour.
You can buy these toasted and chopped from most supermarkets which is very convenient.
If you would prefer you can buy them whole and roast them in the oven for ten minutes or so until they smell toasted and delicious. You can then chop them or blitz them in a mini food processor.
I really like the hazelnuts as they add a lovely texture to the pinwheels. They also enhance the hazelnut flavour.
Can these be made gluten free?
Yes, very easily.
Gluten free ready made puff pastry can be bought in a lot of large supermarkets. If you can’t find it in the fresh section, look in the frozen section as it is more commonly found here.
Nutella is gluten free, but if you are using a different brand make sure you check the ingredients on the label before using.
Can these pinwheels be made vegan?
A lot of shop bought pastry is naturally vegan unless you buy the all butter version.
You can also buy vegan friendly chocolate hazelnut spreads. You can then just swap the milk to a plant based milk to brush the pinwheels.
How long will these Nutella Pinwheels keep for?
If kept in an airtight container, these Nutella Pinwheels will keep for up to five days.
The pastry does start to become slightly less crisp as the days go on as they pastry absorbs the moisture from the Nutella. They are still delicious though and I don’t mind this.
Can you freeze them?
Yes, they freeze really well.
Cut them and lay them on a baking tray and put them in the freezer. After an hour they should be frozen enough to transfer to a bag or container and frozen until later.
When want to bake them, place the on a baking tray and brush them with milk. Bake them from frozen for 8-10 minutes longer than the recipe states until they’re golden and delicious.
Other recipes you might like
- Mincemeat Pinwheels
- Nutella Stuffed Muffins
- Baked Nutella Doughnuts
- Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes
- Chocolate Orange Traybake
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Nutella Pinwheels
Crispy pastry with layers of sweet Nutella and roasted hazelnuts, these Nutella Pinwheels are great as a canape at a party or if you just fancy a sweet treat.
Ingredients
- 375 g ready rolled puff pastry
- 160 g Nutella
- 4 tbsp hazelnuts roasted and chopped
- 1 tbsp milk
- spray oil
Instructions
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Unroll the pastry and using a rolling pin, roll until it is 2-3mm thick keeping it on the baking paper it comes with
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Spread the Nutella evenly over the pastry leaving roughly one centimetre of pastry uncovered on one of the long sides
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Scatter the hazelnuts evenly over the Nutella
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Starting from the long end closest to you, tuck the pastry over as tight as you can. Then using the baking paper roll the rest of the pastry up to create a long roll
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Leave to chill in the fridge for 10 minutes
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Preheat the oven to 180ºC (fan assisted, 200ºC non fan) and spray 2 trays with oil
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Take the pastry out of the fridge and slice into rounds around 1cm in thickness
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Place the pinwheels on the oiled baking trays. Brush with the milk and sprinkle with a few more hazelnuts
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Bake for 17-20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack
Recipe Notes
Keep in an airtight container for 3 days.
Nutritional information is given as a guide only and my vary.
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
These sound gorgeous Cat – I bet they’ll soon disappear when guests arrive. Can you believe I’ve only recently bought ourselves our first jar of Nutella! Now I understand why people rave about it so much! Thankyou so much for linking up with #BakingCrumbs
Angela x
Cat says
Whaaat?! Your first jar – that’s crazy! Eat it all! Haha x
Jenny Paulin says
mmmmmm these sound so delicious Cat ad I love how quickly you can make them , perfect for when any visitors might arrive over Christmas.
thank you for linking with #Bakeoftheweek x
Cat says
Thanks – super quick and easy 🙂 x
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
They look fabulous, such a yummy way to get a Nutella fix!
Cat says
Thanks x
Louise - Cooking with kids says
My eldest has been asking me to buy some Nutella for a few days now. Will definitely be giving this one a go, thanks for sharing
Cat says
Your son is a sensible guy!x
Jacqui - Recipes Made Easy:Only Crumbs Remain says
what a perfect treat for an impromptu party small or large. Thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare
Curly says
Thanks Jacqui.
Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery says
Ooooh yum! Love making pinwheels, such great fun for the kids and fab for their lunchboxes too. We just found a very nice dairy free chocolate hazelnut spread so definitely going to give these a go 🙂
Curly says
Oh fantastic! Pinwheels are so easy and so quick to make!
Chloe Edges says
There is no more glorious combination than nutella and puff pastry. Yum!
Curly says
It makes a change from me eating it straight from the jar haha.
Janice says
I love how simple this recipe is, perfect for a sweet treat at this busy time of year.
Curly says
So simple and quick to make which makes them perfect for this time of year like you said 🙂
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie says
Such a lovely easy peasy treat. My two nutella-loving kids would ADORE these! Eb 🙂
Curly says
You’re right they’re so easy and tasty!