Ok, I am done with store-bought puff pastry!!
The making of puff pastry has been on my top list to learn things for a while. I kept off it coz primarily I have to buy all purpose flour(APF) which I hardly keep and use. Two, procrastination thinking making of the puff pastry dough is a humongous task.
This Christmas, I decided that I have been “too good” all year, so Santa wouldn’t mind if I moved away a bit and indulged. On a side note, looks like in my house I am the only one who is still excited about the idea of Santa. Back to the indulgence, I have an array of treats ready at hand, just in case my puff pastry learning doesn’t go the greatest way. I have stashed some mink cookies and Jaffa cookies, for a backup.

Light puff pastry
It is exciting to get your hands in the pastry dough and suddenly realise, it is not as bad as you think it is, aha!
So this is a puff pastry recipe I adapted from here. One which I picked up randomly by a google search. I like this recipe at the first look coz, I like the way it was lighter in butter and was perfect for my experimentation. Cutting down the butter ratio from 1:1 to half that quantity was a bit playing tricks on my head, but you can see the resultant tart for the good proof.

The Christmas tone
Since we were playing around with the puff pastry we wanted to see how it will weight down and shape up when we try to cut it. So, this season it was perfect to cut a Christmas tree.
Here is another recipe t0 try with the puff pastry
This cheese tart with cherry tomatoes a few homegrown nightshade berries and bits of green capsicum was so perfect. The flaky layers of the pastry took to the creamy feta and stringy mozzarella very well. The added burst of flavour from the sweet cherry tomatoes needed nothing more.
Try out this as a large centrepiece for your Christmas platter or mini ones for a pass around finger food. Make it with homemade puff pastry or storebought based on your convenience, either way, you will become the most loved baker for this. At least for once, try making a puff pastry from start to finish.
Cheers to the season and off with some lovely carols in the background. Wish you all joy through this season.

This is one recipe that I like to carry to dinners even earlier with storebought puff pastry as it hardly takes much time after the pastry is ready. Now, with the easy stash of my own pastry, it is going to get me to all the potluck dinners even better.
- One, easy to carry
- Two its cheese- try to resist that…
- And flaky yummy pastry, a perfect crowd pleaser.
So this goes in as the one for#174potluckrecipes in Foodie Monday blog hop series initiated by Preeti.

Savory puff tart
with homemade puff pastry dough
Ingredients
light puff pastry dough
- 250 grams refined flour (APF)
- 1 tsp Sea salt
- 14 tbsp butter
- 150 grams drinking water ice cold
- 1/2 cup refined flour extra for dusting and kneading
toppings
- 1/2 cup feta cheese crushed
- 1 cup cheese mozarella, grated
- 12 cherry tomatoes
- 10 bell peppers thin slices
- few black nightshade berry
- dry oregano
- basil leaves
Instructions
puff pastry making
- Into a bowl add the APF with salt, and pinch in bits of the butter into it.
- Rub in the butter till it becomes a crumbly mix. Add water a little at a time and bring it together. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for half an hour.
- Dust the board with flour and knead the chilled dough into a flat surface.
- Roll it in a single direction, use flour as it gets sticky. roll into a long strip of dough.
- Fold it over, flip it over and roll over again. fold and repeat two more times
- Wrap this up again and refrigerate for another 30 minutes
To assemble
- Preheat oven at 170 degrees
- Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out.
- Place the dough on a pie dish and press along the sides.
- Place the crushed feta and the mozzarella mix in the pastry, along with half cut cherry tomatoes, basil, capsicum slices and sprinkle oregano
- Bake at 170 degrees for about 15 minutes or till the pastry puffs up and the cheese is gooey and bubbly.
- Remove and rest for a few minutes and unmould the tart
- Slice and serve warm.
Notes
To make the Christmas tree, we have free hand cut the tree shape and lined along the edges with another thin strip of the dough, This prevents the cheese from oozing out. go about the rest as above.
The dough is very pliable, so if it gets too sticky chill before you start working with it again. cut all sorts of shapes and fill it up.. it is fun for the kids too.

Nutrition
Calories: 377kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 10gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 18gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 77mgSodium: 800mgPotassium: 176mgFiber: 4gSugar: 1g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Wow, Xmas is here early! The tart looks and sounds so good! 🙂
OMG! looks yummy.I want the tart off the screen. Like you Seema I have been wanting to try making puff pastry at home( We do not get it here) and I postpone making it. After all, it seems hard work and I prefer to be hardly working. Thanks will try this recipe out by and by.
The one suggesion I can give is to keep it super cold as soggy puff is no good.
Making a puff pastry from scratch is on my to do list aswell Seema. Thanks for this wonderful share. The tart looks absolutely delish and super inviting !
Wow Christmas treat right now. Tart looks awesome. Don’t get readymade puff pastry here. Now I have a full proof recipe to try.
Making the puff pastry at home must have been fun. I attempted making it in Mombasa and gave up because of the hot weather. Making it in a cooler place is another story. Love the idea of making a Christmas tree shaped tart. Not only does it look festive but also looks so tempting.
For the love of my life, I can’t make puff pastry at home although I love ALL veg bakes made WITH it. My little one is in 💕 with your pastry shape and now I have huge demands to make this ASAP 🙂 a lovely idea for potluck, Seema !
Tart looks so colorful and so apt for the time with the festive colors, going to a hit among the kids. Your homemade pastry looks perfect!!
Tart looks so appetising. Lovely share for the theme.My boys will love to have this tart.
I enjoy the shoulder exercise that comes with the rolling of puff pastries at home. They are intimidating but when attempted, leads to such amazing results (if you forget the butter that went in). These look absolutely delicious and such a festive treat! The Christmas tree look and feel, with the red and green is so good Seema!
I don’t know who else can, but I certainly can’t resist this cheese tart. Lovely idea to cut it into shapes. I have a New Years eve party coming up at a friends place, and have been wondering what to make for the pot luck. Making individual small tarts sounds ideal. Thanks for the ideas, Vidya!
I love to make the puff pastry at home and it is ages since I made them. X mas tree looks so awesome
The tart looks so delis and super inviting as well Seema wanna finish up right away
This is delicious and love the tart. This is something I love to eat day in and out.
I am glad you do, Did you try the puff pastry? how did it work for you?