Air Fryer Dessert Pastry Cups
Quick and super simple, air fryer dessert pastry cups, made using ready-made puff pastry sheets! Perfect for Summer baking!
Air Fryer Dessert Pastry Cups
**Click to jump to section**
What Are These Air Fryer Dessert Pastry Cups ?
This is my straightforward recipe for pastry cups, made from ready-made puff pastry, prepared in the air fryer or oven, and filled with a thin layer of jam, whipped cream & fresh fruit.
Designed to be a quick and easy recipe, you can choose a different filling & topping.
Why Make These Pastries?
- Easy & straightforward
- Ready-made puff pastry
- Easy & Customizable filling
- Make in a small air fryer or oven
- Full step-by-step instructions
- Video tutorial
- Minimal decoration required
- Enjoy with your favourite berries/fruits
Ingredients Information
These sweet little pastry cups are made from the following ingredients:
- Ready-made Puff Pastry
- Whipped Cream
- Jam
- Fresh Berries
*See notes below
Puff Pastry
This super simple recipe is a time saver by using ready-made puff pastry. Grab a frozen packet from the supermarket (less extra ingredients in the frozen kind). The pre-rolled pastry sheet saves you time, but you can use a block of pastry too. Pastry sheets are about 320g (11.25oz), whereas blocks can be as much as 500g (17.6 oz). Of course, your own puff pastry that you might have frozen, can be used too.
Whipped Cream
The easiest of fillings is to use some whipped cream. Whip Double (Heavy/Whipping) cream until soft peaks form. Add some vanilla extract or other flavour if you like (optional).
**Top Time Saving Tip – for an even easier dessert, whip the cream ahead of time. Doesn’t take long, and you can cover with cling film/plastic wrap (or place in a sealed container), and pop in the fridge until ready to fill & serve the pastry cups. The cream will be absolutely fine for at least 5 days1.
Jam
I like to use raspberry jam in the pastries, below the cream layer. Just gives a nice flavour, but with no effort at all. Use any jam/preserve you have or like. You can of course make homemade jam – try my Plum Orange Jam.
Fruit Toppings
Use any seasonal fruit available or pick your favourites. Use the fruits for a colour theme, like for 4th July.
I used strawberries, raspberries, cherries & blueberries. Kiwi would be nice too, mango, pineapple or other berries, would all work great. Just make sure to add them shortly before serving.
Alternative Fillings
An easy & good alternative to the whipped cream would be ice-cream. (See here the choc mint one & a tiramisu one above). Just add a scoop when ready to serve.
Other alternatives are curds, like lemon curd. Want a homemade curd, try my blueberry orange curd, or fig anise curd. With these, I would suggest using a thin layer and maybe mixing with a thick set yoghurt (like Greek-style).
You could also fill with a mousse, or other creamy set pudding, such as Pastry cream/Creme Pat. Stewed fruit, like Rhubarb compote would work too.
Air Fryer Or Oven?
I have tested this recipe in a regular oven, in a small basket air fryer and in a larger open-front air fryer. (The smallest @3.5 litre, shown in the photo collage here.)
Each work well, and which you use will depend on how many pastry cases you want to make & what equipment you have.
Equipment
The main equipment for this recipe is a cupcake tray/pan. The pastry cups are formed over the base of the cupcake tray. You can use cupcake, muffin or mini muffin trays.
The type/size of the tray will determine if you use an oven or an air fryer.
For the small basket air fryer, use individual silicone cupcake cases (or even mini muffin cases). You can also buy an inexpensive silicone cupcake tray & cut to fit your air fryer. (See the photo of the lilac silicone 6-hole cupcake tray I cut. And also the video below, for some more options like this).
For the regular oven, you can use a 12-cup cupcake tray or a 24-cup mini muffin tray.
For a larger open-front air fryer (or even a mini oven), there are 9-cup cupcake trays available. For my larger air fryer (Tefal FW606840 20L Air Fryer oven) , I used the UK brand MasterClass 9-cup cupcake tray. Or you can use the same options as used in a small basket air fryer above.
**Some 6-hole cupcake trays might fit the larger open-front air fryers too.
Individual, silicone cupcake, muffin or mini muffin cases will also work. Just make sure to not over-crowd the air fryer basket.
Recipe Yield
The recipe yield is dependent on what size of cupcake/mini muffin tray you use. Also, if you cut round pastry shapes, less pastry is used than the easier way of cutting squares and making rough cases.
As an estimate: using a 24-hole mini muffin tray, & one sheet of pastry, you make 24 cases.
Using a 9-cup or 12-cup cupcake tray & one sheet of pastry, you can make 12 cups.
Using a muffin tray or muffin cups, & one sheet of puff pastry, you can make about 8 larger cases.
**Note, these are minimum values, & do not include using scrap dough.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Prepare The Equipment
These pastry cups can be made in a small basket air fryer, larger kinds, or a regularl sized oven. What you use to bake the pastries on, is going to determine if you use an air fryer or an oven.
Your choices are 9-hole cupcake tray for larger air fryers. Small air fryers, will take 4 cupcake cases. (See Photo collage 1, where you can cut an inexpensive (Poundshop), silicone cupcake tray to fit your air fryer. But be sure to leave plenty space.)
Regular ovens will take a standard 12-hole cupcake tray or a 24-hole mini muffin tin. (See Photo 1)
Greasing
1.Once you know which size equipment you are using, it is time to grease. You will be using the underside of the cupcake/mini muffin cases.
2.I recommend using FryLight 1 Cal – this is a low calorie cooking spray, but great for greasing in your baking too. Alternatives would be cake release spray, butter, or try homemade cake lining paste (cake goop), that is the best for bundt pans.
3. Simply well grease the underside of the cupcake tray. Make sure to coat the bottom and sides of each ‘cup’, as shown in Photo collage 2.
Prepare The Pastry Cases
1.If you have a ready-rolled puff pastry sheet, simply remove the packaging and open out, on top of some baking/parchment paper.
2.For blocks of puff pastry, roll out in-between 2 large sheets of baking/parchment, with flour under & on top of the pastry block. Roll out to a rectangle, about 26cm x 38 cm (10 inches x 15 inches) and thickness of about 3mm (⅛”). **Make sure bigger than the size of the cupcake/muffin tray.
3. For round pastry cups, use a large cookie cutter with a diameter of at least 3″ (7.5cm) & cut out 15 circles.
4. For larger cases, you can simply divide the pastry up by cutting into 12 squares. (See Photo 2 above).
5. For mini muffin sized, (vol au vent sized, one-bite cups), make sure the pastry is rolled out bigger than the size of the mini muffin tin & cut into 24 squares (or rough squares).
6.To form the pastry cup, simply take one pastry circle/square and place on the bottom of one of the cupcake cups (making sure it is on the underside & well-greased). See Photo 4. Press the pastry gently around the sides to form the cup shape, making sure not to stretch it. Then ‘dock’ the base of the pastry cup with a fork.
Bake The Pastry Cups
No matter if you are using an oven or air fryer, you must weigh the pastry cases down or they will puff up too much and slip off. To do this, place baking/parchment paper on top of the pastries and then place for example a cookie tray on top. Make sure it is not a very light-weight one. Or you will need to place something oven-safe & heavy on top of it.
For small air fryers, make sure the paper is at a minimum, and not flying around as this can cause a fire hazard.
For The Oven:
1.Place the prepared pastries in the centre of a pre-heated oven (200°c, 180°c fan oven, 400°f, Gas Mark 6), and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden and cooked through. (See Photo 6 below).
For The Air Fryer:
1.For larger, oven-style, open-front air fryers, bake the same as the regular oven, but with the 9-cup cupcake tray or silicone cupcake case(s). Bake @ 200°c, 180°c fan oven, 400°f, for 12 – 15 minutes.
2.For small basket air fryers, ensure there is something on the bottom of the basket (like a small drip tray), before placing the upside-down cupcake tray on top.
3. Make sure the paper-topped pastry cases are weighted down with something air-fryer safe (like a shallow ceramic oven dish). Bake @ 200°c, 180°c fan oven, 400°f for about 12 – 15 minutes or till done. ***Pre-heat your air-fryer if required or in any doubt. For air fryers, best not to open the basket during baking, even if your machine beeps to remind you. Continue baking for another 3 minutes at a time until ready. Larger cups will take longer to bake.
Once Baked:
1.Once cooked, leave on the cupcake tray/cases to cool down before removing. Other than maybe a tiny area here & there, they will not be sticking. However, taking off before at least 30 minutes cool-down increases the chances of them breaking. And we don’t want a hole at the bottom of our cups – where will the filling go? Leave the cupcake tray/cases on top of a cooling rack while the pastries cool down.
2.After 30 minutes, very carefully unmould & remove the pastry cups. Place on a platter if ready to fill or into a paper-lined tin or good air-tight container.
3.If not serving soon, don’t fill the dessert cups just yet. Store as directed above, and at room temperature or somewhere cool (but not the fridge as it causes condensation) if the weather is hot. Can safely be stored for up to 3 days before filling. Note however, the texture does deteriorate over time (and in particular if cold). You can refresh the pastry cups when you want to use them, in the air fryer or oven, at 160°c, 325°f, Gas Mark 3, for about 3 minutes.
Filling The Pastry Cups:
1.Shortly before serving the pastries, you can fill and decorate. It is not recommended to fill when the pastry is still hot. A little warm is fine if serving within 30 minutes. Otherwise, fill at room temperature.
2.Start by adding about 1 tsp of jam to the bottom of the pastry cups. (I used raspberry jam).
3.Now spoon or pipe in a heaped tbsp of whipped cream. (Or more if you fancy, and depending on the size of cups you made). **Note, the mini muffin pastry cups will need about 1/3 less filling than standard cupcake/round pastry cups.
4.Now top the cream with fresh berries like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc. Half strawberries are probably best. You can finish off with a fine dust of icing/powdered sugar if you like.
5.Alternative fillings are lemon curd mixed with whipped cream. A Pastry cream filling, ice-cream, tiramisu, homemade fruit curd, or fruit compote such as stewed rhubarb. Try some clotted cream that does not need whipped. Add a little chocolate spread, or drizzle of thinned jam/preserve/puree on top of the cream. So many possibilities and fruits you could add, depending on the season.
Serving & Storing:
1.After filling the dessert cups, serve as soon as possible (and if filling with ice-cream, serve as soon as filled).
2.Serve with a favourite hot or cold drink and enjoy these homemade sweet treats.
3. Best to store pastry cups unfilled. So try to only fill the amount you need. Otherwise, the pastry texture will soften with the filling and the fruit will start to give off some moisture too.
4.The pastries will be fine stored in a tin or air-tight container for up to 3 days2. Check out FreezeIt.com for information on freezing the empty pastry cases for up to 3 months..
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: easy, beginner
Other Pastry Recipes
See below my rhubarb frangipane tart, quick cream cheese pastry swirls, Borek – Turkish cheese spinach pastry & learn about shortcrust pastry, in my Pastry 101 article. *Click the photos below to jump there.
Recipe Card
Air Fryer Pastry Cups
Equipment
- Baking/parchment paper
- Rolling Pin & flour (only for block of pastry)
- Knife (or at least 3"/7.5cm round cookie cutter)
- Greasing (Frylight, Cake release spray, etc*)
- Air Fryer (or regular oven)
- Cupcake tray (4-hole/cup, 6, 9 or 12 Or mini muffin tray*)
- Cooling rack
- Electric whisk (optional, for whipping cream)
Ingredients
- 320 gram Ready-made Puff Pastry Sheet (11¼ oz, or pastry block*)
- 12 tsp Raspberry jam (60g, 2 oz jam, preserve)
- 270 ml Whipping Cream (9 fl oz, Double/Heavy/Whipping cream*)
- Fresh fruit (Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc*)
Instructions
Preparing Equipment:
- What size cupcake/mini muffin trays you have, will determine if you use a basket air fryer, larger open-front air fryer or regular oven. Please refer to the step-by-step instructions and equipment section, before this Recipe Card, for more details.
- Well grease the bottom of the cupcake tray/cases, with cake release spray, homemade lining paste (cake goop), or my favourite, Frylight cooking spray. **We will be baking with the cupcake tray/cases turned upside-down.
Prepare The Pastry Cases:
- If you have a ready-rolled puff pastry sheet, simply unroll it and place on top of some baking/parchment paper. If you have a block of pastry, roll out between 2 large sheets of paper, into a rough rectangular shape, 26cm x 38 cm (10 inches x 15 inches) and about 3mm (⅛”). thick **Make sure bigger than the cupcake/muffin tray.
- Use a 3" (7½cm) round cookie cutter if you want round edged pastry cups. You should get about 15 pastry circles.
- For larger cases, you can divide the pastry into 12 rough squares. If using a 24-hole mini muffin tin, cut into 24 rough squares.
- Make sure you turn the cupcake tray upside-down & lift one of the pastry pieces on top of the bottom of one of the cupcake holes. Gently press the pastry down the sides, trying not to thin or stretch the pastry. Does not need to be perfect or even. Just mould it round the cupcake hole. Repeat with all the pastry & use a fork to ‘dock’ holes into the base of the pastry cup.
Bake The Pastry Cups:
- The pastries must be weighed down, regardless of if using air fryer or oven. Place some baking/parchment paper on top of the pastry cases, before laying something heavy on top, such as a heavy baking tray. For the air fryer, ensure minimum amount of paper is used, as paper moving about can be a fire hazard. Place something like a crisper tray on the bottom of the air fryer basket first. And add something heavy to hold down the pastries, like a shallow casserole dish.
- For regular ovens, bake the pastry cups in the centre of the oven, pre-heated to 200°c, 180°c fan oven, 400°f, Gas Mark 6, & bake for 12 – 15 minutes until golden and baked through.
- For large, open-front air fryers, bake like in a regular oven, with a 9-cup cupcake tray or silicone cupcake case(s).
- For small basket air fryers, ensure there is something on the bottom of the basket (like a small drip tray), before placing the upside-down cupcake tray on top. Place a small amount of baking/parchment paper on top & hold in place with something heavy like a shallow casserole dish (**Do not let any paper move as it can be a fire hazard in air fryers). Bake @ 200°c, 180°c fan oven, 400°f, for 12-15 minutes. The cases should be golden or deep golden in colour, and a bit lighter on the sides. ***Do not open the air fryer part-way through baking, even if your air fryer beeps to get you to turn the food. **Preheat the air fryer if your machine requires this.
Once baked:
- Leave the baked pastry cups on the cupcake tray & place on a cooling rack to cool down. Wait at least 30 minutes before very carefully removing the pastries.
- If not filling and serving soon, place cooled pastry cups in a tin or air-tight container, not in the fridge, but at room temperature, for up to 3 days.
Filling The Pastry Cups:
- When ready to serve the dessert cups, spoon on 1 – 2 tsp of jam at the bottom, followed by some whipped cream. Then simply top with some fresh berries.
- Alternatively, fill with some cream mixed with lemon curd, some homemade blueberry orange curd, clotted cream, ice-cream, pastry cream, or even a scoop of tirimasu.
Serving & Storing:
- Once filled, serve the pastry cups as soon as possible, and enjoy with a favourite hot or cold drink.
- Left-over pastry cups are best stored unfilled. Fill the pastries as and when needed, as the cream and fruit can start to soften the texture of the pastry. Unfilled pastries, stored in a tin or air-tight container, will be fine for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
Alternative Fillings – Fill with whipped cream, homemade lemon curd or pastry cream. Other good and quick fillings are ice-cream and even a scoop of tiramisu (see photo examples nearer the beginning of this recipe page).
Equipment – this depends on if using an oven or air fryer. Either way, cupcake, muffin or mini muffin trays/cups are required. Please see detailed equipment section above.
Air fryer or Oven? – Use a regular oven and make in one batch. or use an air fryer and make in batches. You can even make in a small basket-style air fryers, with a 4-hole cupcake tray. (More info above).
Cream – there will be plenty cream, enough for 2 heaped tsp of whipped cream per pastry cups. With lots left over. The yield will be about 1.5 cups when whipped.
Recipe Yield – 24 mini one-bite sized cups, using mini muffin tin. 15 round cups, or 12 slightly larger square-edged cups, both using cupcake trays, (assuming a 320g/ready-rolled puff pastry sheet is used).
Nutritional Information – I am not a qualified nutritionist and all values are approximate. Based on an average serving of one pastry cup, with whipped cream, half strawberry, 1 raspberry & 3 blueberries, from a yield of 12 pastry cups (from regular sized cupcake cases). Make smaller or larger cups, these values will change. Values calculated at MyFitnessPal.com.
Subscribe For More Recipes
Join My Facebook Group
Why not also join my – Facebook group Easy Online Baking Lessons, dedicated to this baking lessons website, as well as providing one-on-one support with myself & my team? Be sure to answer all security questions when requesting to join.
Follow me on social media:
Happy Learning & Baking!
Caro x
Air fryer Dessert Puff Pastry Cups
Search For Something You Fancy!
Caroline’s Easy Baking Lessons
Reference:
- Storing whipping cream in the fridge – information from Freezeit.com/doublecream/ ↩︎
- Storing cooked puff pastry – from FreezeIt.com/puffpastry/ ↩︎
