Twists of puff pastry, filled with vegan cheese and punched with a sprinkle of chilli and salt, ideal for sharing

**prep time** 15 mins
total time 45 mins
**makes** 4

I’m back at it with a puff pastry recipe, because puff pastry always makes a recipe absolutely delicious. These twists are fluffy, crispy, cheesy, salty, and with a touch of chilli. The best part is that they are incredibly easy to make - with just a few key ingredients, the option to adapt as you prefer, and ideal if you’re hosting!

All you’ll need is:

1 sheet of vegan puff pastry
100g vegan cheese, grated
50g vegan butter, melted
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Sprinkle of chilli flakes (plus extra for topping)
Sprinkle of sea salt

Start with your puff pastry, by unfolding and cutting in half vertically. I recommend always having puff pastry in your freezer to hand, because it means you can make up delicious treats like these.

Mix together grated vegan cheese and melted vegan butter in a bowl. I used Violife Epic Mature and Flora vegan butter for this, but use whatever you have available. Stir through the chilli flakes and garlic, and mix everything together.

On one of the halves of the pastry, layer your cheese and butter filling, spread out evenly, and then top with the other half of puff pastry. With a rolling pin, flatten until about 2cm thick and everything is spread evenly. Then slice into approximately 12 strips.

Now this is the fun bit! Take each strip and twist a few times around itself carefully to create a twist. The more twists you get the better, as it will unravel slightly as it cooks. I have tried this a few times before, and when I only get a couple of twists, these mostly disappear during baking.

Lay these onto a silicone mat or parchment paper, and bake in the oven at 200°C fan for 12 minutes, or until golden brown, and the cheese is oozing out. Sprinkle with some sea salt for some extra crunch, or even more chilli flakes for added spice! I think these taste delicious straight out of the oven, but also cold too!

INGREDIENTS

1 sheet of vegan puff pastry
100g vegan cheese, grated
50g vegan butter, melted
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Sprinkle of chilli flakes (plus extra for topping)
Sprinkle of sea salt

METHOD

Unfold the puff pastry sheet onto a lightly floured surface.
Combine the butter, vegan cheese, chilli flakes, and garlic in a dish.
Cut the pastry in half vertically and spread the cheese mixture on one half of the pastry, top with the other half, and roll out with a rolling pin to about 1/2 cm thick.
Cut into approximately 12 strips.
Gently wrap two pastry strips together to create a twist, and place on a lightly greased baking sheet (can use a silicone sheet, if you have one). Try and create a tighter twist with more twists, to ensure they don’t explode or lose their twist shape in the oven
Bake for 12 minutes, or until melted and golden brown. Sprinkle with extra sea salt and chilli flakes, and serve hot or cold.