Cheese Butterflies

These are the most wonderful party food, easy to make and wonderful to eat. They look superb when decorated with finely diced tomato concass, finely chopped chives, a little sweet paprika, finely diced olives, finely diced gherkins, diced shrimps or even caviar!

Ingredients
1 amount basic cheese pastry
4oz/110g cream cheese
heaped tablespoon good mayonnaise
white pepper

Method
1 Sprinkle a work surface and a rolling pin with flour.
2 Place the ball of chilled cheese pastry on the flour.
3 Roll out the pastry to 1/4 inch thick.
4 Dip a 1 1/2 inch cutter into flour, shake off the excess.
5 Stamp out as many rounds as possible (gather up the pastry form into a ball and re-roll).
6 Cut half of the rounds in half.
7 Place the whole and half rounds onto a baking sheet.
8 Bake in the oven at 210 degrees centigrade/gas mark 7 for 10 to 12 minutes or until the rounds are crisp and slightly golden brown.
9 Place the baking sheet onto a wire cooling rack for about 5 minutes.
10 Transfer the rounds and half rounds directly onto the wire cooling rack to cool completely.
11 Into a medium sized mixing bowl place the cream cheese.
12 Beat the cheese until really soft with a wooden spoon.
13 Add the pepper to taste.
14 Beat thoroughly.
15 Add the mayonnaise.
16 Beat thoroughly.
17 Place the cheese mixture into a piping bag with a small star shaped nozzle fitted.
18 Pipe the mixture onto a cooked pastry round.
19 Place on two halves to look like a butterflies wings.
20 Pipe a line of cheese mixture to cover the join.
21 Repeat this process with the remaining cheese circles and half circles.
22 Decorate as wished.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge.