The Semi-Finals saw the remaining 4 bakers challenged to making puff pastry palmiers for the signature bake, fondant fancies for the technical and a savarin for the showstopper for Patisserie Week.
They used a beautiful Nordicware Fleur de Lis bundt pan to bake the savarin in so they turned out beautifully shaped and decorated with fruit and chocolate disc with hand piped writing.
I was tempted to make a savarin or the fondant fancies…then I realised fondant fancies would be time consuming and fiddly to make!! Then I couldn’t decide what bundt pan to use from my growing collection of Nordicware pans!! I ended up opting to make some palmiers as I make savoury ones every year for Christmas but also decided to have a go at making sweet ones aswell!
These are incredibly easy and quick to make with very few ingredients. My savoury palmiers are cheddar cheese and Bacon
And sweet palmiers are Nutella and hazelnut
To make the savoury palmiers you will need the following ingredients:
500g block puff pastry
1-2 packs unsmoked streaky bacon
150g cheddar cheese – finely grated
Method:
1) Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F/Gas Mark 3 & line 2 baking sheets with baking paper
2) Roll out the puff pastry and sprinkle over some of the cheddar cheese…
…Fold the pastry and roll then sprinkle with more cheese and continue to fold, roll and add cheese until you use all the cheese up
3) Roll into a long rectangle then lay the bacon on top
4) Roll the 2 long edges towards each other until they meet in the middle
5) Use scissors to cut each palmier about 1cm thick and place on the baking trays. Bake in the oven for 20 mins until golden and bacon is cooked. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking sheet
For the sweet palmiers you will need the following ingredients:
500g block puff pastry
Jar of Nutella (you won’t use all of it!!)
Handful of chopped hazelnuts
Icing sugar to dust
Method:
1) Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F/Gas Mark 3 & line 2 baking sheets with baking paper
2) Roll out the puff pastry into a long rectangle
3) Using a small pallet knife; spread the Nutella over the rolled out puff pastry
4) Roll the 2 long edges towards each other until they meet in the middle
5) Use a sharp knife to slice the palmiers about 1cm thick and place on the lined baking trays
6) Sprinke the tops of the palmiers with the chopped hazelnuts & bake in the oven for 15 minutes until golden & puffed up, remove from oven, leave to cool then sieve over a light dusting of icing sugar
Serve and enjoy! These are perfect nibbles for a party or buffet. The cheese & bacon ones are incredibly moreish & never last long when I leave them out for family & friends!! Though if you do make a massive batch, you can store them in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You don’t need to refrigerate the Nutella & hazelnut ones though.
Tomorrow is the final of the Great British Bake Off, who is your favourite to win?!
Happy Baking! x x x
