Name: Apples in Puff Pastry (with chocolate nut filling)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1 sheet puff pastry (about 10 oz or 270g, preferably all-butter); 6 small apples (must be small, preferably baking apples - firm and sour variety, but any apples will do); 6 heaped teaspoons chocolate hazelnut spread (or chopped milk chocolate/choc chips); 1/4 cup chopped walnuts; 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; 1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk/water (for brushing the pastries); powdered sugar (to serve); whipped cream (to serve)

These apples in puff pastry are an easy but impressive dessert. Simply fill your apples with chocolate hazelnut spread and nuts, wrap in puff pastry, and bake. Soft, delicious apples, creamy and crunchy chocolate centers, and crispy flaky puff pastry make this dessert really exceptional. I serve them with whipped cream on the side.

An apple wrapped in puff pastry with chocolate filling cut in half on a white plate on a wooden board.

Ingredients

Below you will find information about the ingredients and how to prepare the recipe. For the measurements and detailed instructions scroll down to the printable recipe card.

Here’s what you need to make this easy recipe:

Labeled ingredients for apples in puff pastry.

Puff pastry – preferably all-butter puff pastry (tastes best!). Best would be if you could get a rectangular-shaped pastry sheet, for example, 10×15 inches (15×40 cm) or similar. It is a perfect size to cut it into 6 squares.
Apples – must be small or you won’t have enough puff pastry to cover the apples. They would also not have enough time to soften. The best would be baking apples that are firm and on the sour side but any kind of apples will work with this recipe.
Chocolate hazelnut spread – such as Nutella, but I used Lindt brand which is of better quality (in terms of ingredients and flavor). Use what you like and have on hand. You can also just use chopped milk chocolate or milk chocolate chips If you’d like your dessert less sweet, you can use semi-sweet or bittersweet/dark chocolate but I found it not sweet enough when using this kind of chocolate. With chocolate hazelnut spread, the sweetness levels were perfect for me.
Cinnamon – goes perfectly with apples. You can also use pumpkin pie spice or gingerbread spice mix.
Walnuts – I love the crunchy insides of these apples. You could also use pecans or almonds.
An egg + a tablespoon of milk/ water for egg wash – it will give pastries a beautiful golden color. Alternatively, you could brush the pastries with heavy cream or milk if you don’t have eggs on hand.

How to make it step-by-step

A sheet of puss pastry cut into 6 squares. Peeled apples with holes in the center on a plate.

STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut the puff pastry sheet into 6 squares (at least 5×5 inches or 12×12 cm), you can also cut a small (about 1 inch or 2 cm thick) strip of pastry (the shorter side of the puff pastry sheet) to cut small “leaves” from it as a decoration (optional, see photos in the post).

STEP 2: Prepare the apples. While you’re preparing the apples, your puff pastry should be in the fridge. Take it out only if you have everything else ready (all butter puff pastry can be very sticky and hard to work with and that’s why must be very cold).

Peel the apples.

Using a small pairing knife and a teaspoon, core the apples but not all the way through (you should leave a small part of the core at the bottom of the apple to prevent the filling from falling out).

Apples filled with chocolate nut filling on a plate. Filled apple on a square piece of puff pastry.

STEP 3: Fill the apple centers with chopped walnuts, then add a spoonful of chocolate hazelnut spread and sprinkle with some more nuts on top until the centers are full.

STEP 4: Place an apple on a one puff pastry square and sprinkle it with cinnamon.

An apple wrapped in puff pastry. Apples in puff pastry are being brushed with egg wash.

STEP 5: Wrap each apple in a puff pastry square (take one square of puff pastry out of the fridge at a time). Make sure to pinch the edges of the pastry well at the top so that the pastry parcels don’t split open but the apples don’t have to be perfectly enclosed in the puff pastry, if you have some holes on the sides, this is fine. Place each wrapped apple on the parchment paper.

STEP 6: Optional: cut out small leaves out of the reserved stripe of puff pastry and place the leaves on top of each apple.

Make egg wash: beat the egg with a tablespoon of milk or water until combined. Brush your pastries with the egg wash.

Bake for 45 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.

Take the apples out of the oven. Let stand for 5 minutes to cool down slightly then dust with powdered sugar.

Serve with whipped cream on the side and enjoy!

An apple in puff pastry sprinkled with powdered sugar on a white plate on a wooden board.

Storage

This dessert doesn’t store well. These pastries taste best freshly after baking when puff pastry is really crispy. It will soften with time.

More puff pastry recipes

Palmiers – 3-ingredient puff pastry cookies
Puff pastry appetizers

An overhead photo of apples in puff pastry with chocolate filling on a wooden board sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!