Cream Horns Recipe

Pastry Horns

1. Pre-heat oven to moderate (180 degrees celsius/360 degrees fahrenheit, fan-forced).
2. Allow pastry sheets to thaw.
3. Grease a baking tray and the 8 cream horn moulds.
4. Cut pastry into 2cm wide strips using a sharp knife.
5. Using a pastry brush and some cold water, moisten the long edge of the pastry strip. Starting at the point of the cone, gently wind the pastry strip around the cone (taking care not to stretch or damage the pastry and overlapping the strip with the previous layer). The moistened edge should help hold the overlapping parts of the pastry together.
6. You'll need about two strips for each horn, so join the end of one strip to the start of another with a little water and keep winding. You should finish at least ½cm before the end of the mould (otherwise they will be hard to remove once cooked). When finishing off the last pastry strip, wind the pastry so that it meets with the previous layer, forming a circle at the top of the horn rather than seeing the short edge of the strip.
7. Whisk egg with a teaspoon of water and brush the pastry lightly and evenly with the egg wash.
8. Place horns at least 4 cm apart on the greased baking tray. Make sure you place the pastry join side down on the baking sheet.
9. Bake for 20 minutes and remove from oven. Allow to cool a little (about 5 minutes) so that you can remove the horns from the moulds. Place back on baking tray and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until a golden colour.
10. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before filling or storing.

Fluffy Mock Cream

1. Place butter, milk and icing sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and gradually increase speed from low to high. Beat on high for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
2. Dissolve gelatine in water. Lower speed on stand mixer to low-medium and gradually add the gelatine mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Increase speed to high and beat on high for another 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
3. Add vanilla extract and beat to combine.

Fresh Cream

1. Beat cream and icing sugar together for a few minutes or until cream holds together when you lift the beaters.

Preparing the Cream Horns

1. Pastry horns can be stored in an airtight container for up to a day before serving and are best filled just before serving.
2. If desired, using a piping bag and small round nozzle to pipe a little jam into the pointy end of each horn.
3. Using a piping bag with a larger star nozzle, pipe the cream into each horn, filling with enough cream so that the horns look a little like an ice cream.
4. Pipe a tiny amount of jam on top of the cream. (Alternatively – especially if you have runny jam – place a tiny piece of strawberry on top of each horn.)
5. Place in the fridge until ready to serve. (The less time in the fridge, the better)
6. Dust with icing sugar before serving.