Quick Cream Cheese Swirls
My simple recipe for making Quick Cream Cheese Swirls, using shop-bought puff pastry. A super quick bake, great for entertaining & sure to please your guests.
Equipment
- Digital scales or measuring cups (optional)
- Large knife
- Chopping Board
- Butter knife or palette knife
- Grater
- Tin Foil (Aluminium foil)
- 2 Baking tray/sheet (or 1 extra large)
- Baking/parchment paper
- Pastry Brush (Or never used paint/artist brush)
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
- 375 grams Puff Pastry, ready-made & pre-rolled if possible (13¼ oz pack, approx. You can of course make your own. Frozen shop-bought better with less additives & preservatives)
- 110 grams Cream Cheese, garlic & herb (3¾ oz, ½ cup)
- 80 grams Extra/Mature Cheddar Cheese, grated (2¾ oz, ¾ cup shredded extra/sharp cheddar)
- 80 grams Mozzarella, grated (2¾ oz, ¾ cup shredded mozzarella)
Egg-wash
- 1 Egg, beaten with splash of milk or olive oil (Any size of egg you have)
Instructions
Prepare The Pastry Swirls
- Begin by lining 2 baking trays/baking sheets with baking/parchment paper, greasing in place if needed.
- Unroll the ready-made puff pastry sheet on its own paper or flour dusted paper. If using homemade pastry or a block of pastry, roll out to a rectangle measuring 26cm x 38 cm (10 inches x 15 inches). (**Neaten as you roll out so you don't need to trim edges). The pastry will be about 3mm (⅛") thick.
- Lay the pastry horizontally so that the widest length is running across the way, with this widest edge near you. Spread the cream cheese on top of the pastry, leaving a gap of about ½cm ( ⅕ ") along the 2 longest edges only. Then sprinkle the seasoning and grated cheeses on top.
- Roll up the pastry starting at the end nearest you, tightening and neatening the ends as you go. Once near the end, use fingertips & push down on the furthest away end to thin the pastry slightly. Then finish the roll and squeeze the join together by hand, before rolling the pastry log a few times to smooth the join.
- Cut the pastry roll in half, wrap each in foil & twist the ends tight before placing in the fridge for 30 minutes. Set your oven to 200°c/180°c Fan Oven/400°f/Gas Mark 6 & to coincide with the chill time ending.
- Slice each roll in slices about ½"(1¼ cm) wide, to make a total of 18 swirls. Carefully transfer to the prepared baking sheets/trays, leaving a gap of 1"/2½cm & shape any back into a round shape if needed. **Brush egg-wash on top of the swirls before baking. Note, if too soft, you can do this part-way through baking. (*Tip - if the oven is not ready yet, place the pastries in the fridge to chill. If particularly soft, you can freeze or delay heating your oven).
Bake The Pastry Swirls
- Bake the cream cheese swirls in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until set, puffed up, cooked all the way through (including the bottom) and a deep golden colour.
- Remove from the oven and leave on the baking tray/sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to the cooling rack with the paper.
Serving & Storage
- Eat when cool or just a little warm and serve with your favourite cheese, dip or other savoury snacks and nibbles.
- Best stored in a metal cake or cookie tin, or a similar airtight container, with the paper you baked on, and will last about 3 days. However, they are best served same day for fresh pastry taste. Can be stored at room temperature if not too warm. If storing in the fridge, best eaten when slightly warm.
Notes
Herbs - I used Aldi's new Garlic Herb blend, with rosemary but you can use your favourite or none.
Cheeses - combination used, Mozzarella to stay in the pastry better and hard cheddar for colour and flavour.
Puff Pastry - a ready-rolled sheet of pastry will be quicker. Try and use frozen shop-bought puff pastry as it has less additives & preservatives in it. Or make your own puff pastry!
Make In Stages - You can prepare the swirls ahead of time, up to chilling in the fridge before slicing, or after slicing. Leave in the fridge no more than 2 days and leave out at room temperature for 15 minutes before baking.
See more pastries & quick bakes in New Year & Pary Bakes Or jump to the Christmas recipes page.
Learn how to make pastry in Pastry 10 Tutorial.
Puff Pastry - a ready-rolled sheet of pastry will be quicker. Try and use frozen shop-bought puff pastry as it has less additives & preservatives in it. Or make your own puff pastry!
Make In Stages - You can prepare the swirls ahead of time, up to chilling in the fridge before slicing, or after slicing. Leave in the fridge no more than 2 days and leave out at room temperature for 15 minutes before baking.
See more pastries & quick bakes in New Year & Pary Bakes Or jump to the Christmas recipes page.
Learn how to make pastry in Pastry 10 Tutorial.Nutrition Facts
Quick Cream Cheese Swirls
Serving Size
1 piece
Amount per Serving
Calories
126
% Daily Value*
Fat
9
g
14
%
Saturated Fat
5
g
31
%
Monounsaturated Fat
1
g
Cholesterol
9
mg
3
%
Sodium
114
mg
5
%
Potassium
16
mg
0
%
Carbohydrates
8
g
3
%
Sugar
1
g
1
%
Protein
4
g
8
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.