Easy Heart Shaped Pastries
These quick and easy Heart Shaped Pastries use crisp and buttery puff pastry, smooth Nutella spread, and fresh strawberries to create the perfect dessert!
What are Easy Heart Shaped Pastries?
These easy heart shaped pastries are a simple yet delicious treat that is perfect for any occasion. They’re made with buttery puff pastry (store-bought or homemade), creamy Nutella, and fresh strawberries – such an easy way to combine rich, creamy, and fruity flavors. A sprinkle of powdered sugar adds a touch of sweetness and makes them look as good as they taste. These pastries are quick to assemble and ideal for sharing!
Nutella is one of my favorite ingredients to use in baking projects, and if you’re also a fellow Nutella lover, check out these Double Chocolate Nutella Muffins on the site – it’s hard to go wrong with double chocolate and Nutella 🙂
Why this recipe works
These heart shaped pastries feature (very few) simple, ready-made ingredients that deliver great flavor with minimal effort. Puff pastry provides a flaky, buttery base that pairs perfectly with the creamy richness of Nutella, the lightness of the fresh whipped cream, and the natural sweetness of the strawberries (bonus points if it’s strawberry season where you live and you can find them locally!). The combination of textures—crispy pastry, smooth chocolate, and juicy fruit—makes these pastries satisfying without being overly complicated. Plus, the heart shape makes them great for everything from casual snacks for your kiddos to special occasions (like Valentine’s Day!).
Some equipment you may need…
- Rolling pin: You’ll need one of these for rolling out the puff pastry before cutting and baking. I love this rolling pin so much and use it all the time!
- Heart-shaped cutters: I have this set from Amazon and love them! I use them a lot throughout the year and they’re great for these easy heart shaped pastries.
- Offset spatula: the best little utensil for almost any baking project. I find myself reaching for this one all the time in the kitchen. It’s so helpful to use when spreading the strawberry swiss meringue buttercream onto the layers.
- Measuring cups/spoons: I’ve been linking these in all of my posts because I love them SO much! They are beautiful and look just like some other expensive ones on the market (but much cheaper).
- Mixing bowls: I love these glass mixing bowls from Amazon. They’re especially perfect for food photography.
Ingredients for Easy Pastries
The beautiful thing about this recipe is that it only requires a few ingredients!
You will need:
- Puff pastry – you can absolutely make your own puff pastry for this recipe, but I wanted these easy heart shaped pastries to be super simple, so I love to use store-bought puff pastry. It still bakes up beautifully and I know you won’t be disappointed.
- Nutella – the chocolate and hazelnut flavor we all know and love. The creamy Nutella flavor in these easy pastries is just what it needs against the buttery puff pastry and the sweet whipped cream.
- Heavy cream – we’ll be whipping this up to medium peaks and piping it into the easy pastries!
- Fresh strawberries – as I said above, bonus points here if it’s strawberry season where you live and you’re able to get your hands on fresh, local strawberries. If not, that’s ok – the strawberry flavor will still be beautiful!
- Large egg – I like doing an egg wash on my puff pastry before it bakes in the oven. This makes for the perfect golden edge on the outsides which then yield an even crispier crust.
- Powdered sugar – for the perfect dust on the heart pastries after assembly and before serving.
Possible ingredient substitutions for Easy Pastries
Homemade puff pastry
I’ve made puff pastry a couple times and can confirm that it is indeed worth the time if you’re willing to tackle the project at home. There’s nothing like fresh puff pastry or fresh croissants that have been made in your home kitchen – especially when you get all the satisfaction of doing it yourself!
However, these heart pastries are meant to be very simple, so I wanted to keep things simple and easy with store-bought puff pastry.
Fresh whipped cream vs store-bought
Here’s an area where I really would recommend making it yourself. Store-bought whipped cream that you buy in the can tastes nothing like fresh whipped cream that you’ve whipped to perfect medium peaks. It doesn’t have the same flavor, the same mouthfeel, etc. I can’t remember the last time I bought whipped cream in a can, that’s how passionate I am about this! Fresh is always, always better.
How to Make Easy Heart Shaped Pastries
Step 1 – Cut out and bake the puff pastry hearts
The first step will be to cut out the puff pastry hearts. You’ll just be rolling out the store-bought puff pastry until it’s about 1/4-inch thickness, then you’ll use your heart-shaped cutters to cut out your shapes.
Quick note: you can use any shape cutter you’d like. Flowers would be cute, and stars would be as well!
Then, brush with a quick egg wash and bake them in the oven until they’re golden and crisp on the outsides.
Step 2 – Separate in half and fill with Nutella
Next, we’ll separate each heart shape in half (this happens very easily), and spread Nutella over one-half of the cooled heart shapes. I love using this offset spatula for this. It’s the perfect size and is such a versatile tool to keep in your baking drawer.
Step 3 – Add the whipped cream to the easy heart shaped pastries
Once you beat your cream up to medium-stiff peaks, you can either spread it onto the pastries with a spoon or use a piping bag and tip like I’ve done here. I like using a piping bag because you’ll be able to see the whipped cream on the sides! But if you’re in a pinch, spreading it with the back of the spoon will still yield delicious results.
Step 4 – Add a few sliced strawberries
Next, add a few of your sliced strawberries to the tops of the pastries and set the tops back on top!
Step 5 – Dust the Easy Heart Shaped Pastries with powdered sugar
This part is more for looks than anything, but it’s such a beautiful finishing touch! Just place some powdered sugar in a sifter or fine mesh sieve and shake it back and forth over the heart pastries. You will love the result!
Easy Heart Shaped Pastries FAQs
Can these heart pastries be made ahead?
Yes! You can make these ahead of time, but to maintain freshness, they should really only be made a few hours in advance. We don’t want the whipped cream to begin to deflate and weep all over the pastries!
A note on whipping perfect whipped cream:
Something I learned a couple years ago was that the slower you whip your heavy cream, the more stable the ending whipped cream will be! I’ve found that when I’m impatient and just kick my mixer up to high speed so I’m finished quicker, the result is a whipped cream that deflates very quickly.
But, when I start my mixer on a very low speed, and gradually increase it over time, my whipped cream is much more stable and can truly hold its shape for even up to a few days in the refrigerator. This is a great hack for making your whipped cream in advance!
I hope you all love this recipe, and I hope you consider making it this season! If you do end up baking this dessert, be sure to tag me on socials @sarahsdayoff so I can see all of them! I love to see all of your creations!
If you have a question about this recipe or any others on my site, drop me a line at sarah@sarahsdayoff.com or leave a comment below and I will get back to you. Happy baking!
Love,
Sarah
“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” -Proverbs 16:9
Easy Heart Shaped Pastries
Ingredients
- 2 cups sliced strawberries
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 (2-count) box frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup cold heavy cream
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar (plus more for dusting)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup Nutella
Instructions
- Combine strawberries and granulated sugar in a medium bowl, tossing to coat. Let the entire bowl chill in the refrigerator while you get the puff pastry ready and baked.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out the puff pastry sheets, working with one at a time, on a lightly floured surface until they're about 1/4-inch thick.
- Use your heart-shaped cutters to cut heart shapes out of the pastry and place them about 1 inch apart on your prepared baking sheets. Note: you can re-roll and cut more, but I wouldn't recommend it. Puff pastry should really just be used for one go!
- Crack your egg into a small bowl and lightly beat it until no streaks remain. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg over each heart shape. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until the hearts are golden brown (reference the above images for ideal color). Cool completely.
- Meanwhile, beat the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl with a hand mixer (or, you can use a whisk and do it by hand, if you're brave), starting on low speed and gradually increasing to high speed. You're looking for medium-stiff peaks here.
- Separate the cooled heart pastries in half - they should break apart pretty easily - and use an offset spatula or knife to spread the Nutella over half of the pastries.
- Next, either pipe or spread your whipped cream over the Nutella, and top with strawberries. Place the other half of the pastries on top of the strawberries, and dust with powdered sugar (optional, but it will look prettier!).
Notes
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