Puff Pastry Fans, Twists and Butterflies

I’ve listed these three designs together because they are all initially made with the same method, varying only with how the cut slices of pastry are subsequently treated.

Puff Pastry Fans showing upper side (top) and underneath (bottom)

Puff Pastry Twists (top) and Butterflies (bottom)

You will need:
1 roll of puff pastry – chilled
caster sugar

1. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Preheat the oven to 220°C, 200°C Fan.
3. Sprinkle the work surface with caster sugar.
4. Unroll the puff pastry and lay it onto the sugar.
5. Sprinkle more caster sugar over the pastry.
6. Use a rolling pin over the pastry to press the sugar into both sides.
7. Roll out the pastry until it measures 60cm lengthways.
8. Starting at one end, fold over 5cm, then continue to roll/fold the rest of the pastry until the entire length has been gathered in.
9. The pastry will end up looking similar to this:
10. Cut thin (5mm) slices and lay them onto the parchment, cut side facing upwards. Leave a 2cm gap between each slice.
11. 
12. Cut off the end of each slice so that the folded pastry can open out into a fan shape during baking. For each line of fans, arrange the slices so that the cut ends are alternate, as in the diagram below. this will allow for the shapes to open up evenly and not become misshapen if they happen ro spread a little too far.
13. To make the twists, slightly press the centre of a cut slice together, then turn the un-cut end around 180° to form the twist.
14. To make the butterflies, cut and remove both ends of a slice and then form a twist as above.
15. Bake for 12-14 minutes, turning the baking sheet around after 7 minutes to ensure even colouring. Don’t be tempted to take the fans/twists/butterflies out too early – they need to be nicely caramelised.
16. Cool on a wire rack.

Variations

• You can obviously make these as big as you like, it merely involves rolling the pastry long enough and/or varying the size of the first fold of the pastry, but these are a nice, dainty size, perfect for enjoying with a cup of tea or coffee.
• You can also sandwich them together with a little smooth jam, preserve or conserve, or use them in place of wafers for an ice-cream sandwich.
• Another option is to combine them with some fruit and cream, for a delicate dessert pastry.