Christmas…. Whip up this quick and easy very visual Christmas tea time treat, serve it anytime from now till Christmas and spread some Christmas magic.

Some years we have a “big” Christmas and other years we tone it down a bit… and even with a “toned down” Christmas, this delicious tea time treat will put big smiles around you….

Printable PDF recipe cardChristmas wreath teatime treat…. RECIPE CARD

For the Teatime wreath you will need:

1 x roll of good quality puff pastry
1/3 cup apricot jam
+/-300g Glaze luxury fruit mix
OR luxury fruitcake mix
handful flaked almonds
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange

For the Icing:
1/2 cup sifted icing sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

1 x egg mixed in a cup for brushing

To serve…. luke warm custard…

Defrost the puff pastry overnight in your fridge or for +/- 2 hours at room temperature.

In advance:

Open the pastry on a flat surface on a clean tea towel, do not roll out flatter. Spread the jam evenly over the full area of the puff pastry sheet. Scatter the Glaze fruit mix evenly over the pastry sheet, leaving +/- 2cm’s on all sides.

Grate the lemon and orange zest over the glaze fruit mix and add the almonds. At this stage anything else can be added, I think of maybe orange peel, slices for preserved green figs…. endless but optional.

Roll up “swiss roll size” from the longer side, using the tea towel to assist with the rolling. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate until needed.

Before serving:

Remove the clingwrap. Grease your baking tray, position a 6 – 8 cm tin in the middle of your baking tray to assist in packing the circle. Cut 3cm thick slices of the pastry roll and arrange around the tin, once done, remove the tin and brush the pastry ring with a little bit of beaten egg. Bake at 180 degrees until golden brown, not too dark.

Remove the baking tray from the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes, slide the wreath off the baking tray onto a pretty flat platter and drizzle with the icing sugar/ lemon juice mixture from +/- 30 cm’s high… if the icing sugar mixture is too thick add a bit more lemon juice.

Serve luke warm with custard…… Christmas perfection!

This wreath looks, smells and taste pure CHRISTMAS MAGIC!