Chocolate and Pecan Puffs.

These are the result of a little Twitter chat I had with a school friend who, until recently, I hadn't conversed with for YEARS (how can there be THIS many years between me and school....are you suuuuure I'm 25?).

He told me he and his lady friend had just eaten the most amaaazing pecan and chocolate puff and I must make it immediately. No picture, no description, just chocolate and pecan puff.

I love such cakey chat because it's a twist to how I usually approach this whole bakey thing. Usually I look at a recipe and it looks yummy so I make it, or I want a cheesecake, so I look up cheesecake recipes and twiddle with them until I have one that suits, or I have some really nice something that would go great in a something so I make it.

But this way it's sort of a puzzle. And everyone loves puzzles. There's no better game than squishing pastry and chocolate and nuts together and seeing what you can come up with. Come to think of it, maybe you should ignore my recipe and squish them together in your own way...it's fun. My recipe is reeeeeally good though, so either way. With Love and Cake.

Chocolate and Pecan Puffs.

A few notes:

• These are the sort of things that could happily be tinkered with in accordance with what you fancy or what you have in your cupboards...maybe no chocolate but lots of cinnamon, maybe no nuts, maybe different nuts....
• You could of course use your own homemade puff pastry. They might not be quiiiite as light and puffy, but your sense of pride might be.

Makes about 10

You will need

1 x baking sheet, well greased

150g pecans

175g butter, softened

100g soft brown sugar

pinch salt

500g block puff pastry

100g dark chocolate, chopped

• Preheat that oven of yours to 180°c.
• Lay out your pecans on the baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes, until bronze and smelling yummmmy.
• When they're cool enough to handle, give the nuts a rough chop.
• Mix the butter, sugar and salt together to a smooth paste.
• Roll out the pastry on a clean floured surface to a large rectangle; about 30 x 50cm.
• Spread the butter mixture over the pastry, leaving a 1cm border.
• Sprinkle over the pecans and chocolate, saving back about a tablespoons worth of each for sprinkling later.
• Now roll up the pastry like a Swiss roll from one of the longer sides.
• Cut into 3cm-ish slices and lay each one flat on your baking tray with a few cm gap between each one to allow for them to expand. 
• Sprinkle a bit of the reserved chocolate and nuts over each slice
• Bake for 40 minutes, by which point they should be golden and crispy.
• A fair amount of buttery goodness may have leaked out and be sloshing around the pan. I just scooped it up with a spoon and gave everything a good baste.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool.