Raspberry Turnover made with Puff Pastry

My first try at puff pastry and to my total disbelief it was a success! This daring culinary endeavor all started back in September; I was looking to use up some left over raspberry filling from a cake I had made and I thought – turn overs! When I was a little girl my Mèmè made them at camp. Awwwe those days at the lake…. I remember eating them warm out of the oven, delish! Well I did turn it up a notch by deciding on puff pastry instead of the traditional pie crust pastry that Mèmè used. The result. Drum roll… melt in your mouth, layered, crumbly heaven! My son’s girlfriend even said they are her all-time favorite pastry I’ve made!

I was so intimidated making puff pastry but soldiered on and was amazed at how well it came together. If you are comfortable with making pie crust then you’ll have to try puff pastry.

Raspberry Turnover made with Puff Pastry

          Yield: 16       prep time: 90 minutes       cook time: 10 min

Puff Pastry Ingredients  

6 ½ - 8 oz. unsalted butter

2 cups plain flour

½ teaspoon salt

2/3 cup chilled water

Raspberry Filling Ingredients

Raspberry Filling by Henry & Henry (which I bought at a cake decorating store) Feel free to use any filling of your choice!

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Instructions: Pastry        Adapted from ‘Cooking, a commonsense guide’

 If you have never made puff pastry before, you’ll find it easier to use the lower amount of butter. Melt (1 oz. of butter) in a pan. Sift the flour and salt into an oversized bowl and make a well in the center. Add the butter and water. Blend with your fingertips, drawing in the flour. You should end up with a crumb mixture – if it seems a little dry, add extra drops of water before bringing it all together to form a dough.

Cut the dough with a pastry scraper, using a downward cutting action, then turn and repeat in the opposite direction. The dough should now come together to form a soft ball. Score a cross in the top to prevent shrinkage, wrap and chill for 20 minutes.

Soften the remaining butter by pounding it between 2 sheets of baking paper with a rolling pin. Then, still between the sheets of baking paper, roll it into a 4 inch square. The butter must be the same consistency as the dough or the pastry layers will not be even.

Put the pastry on a well-floured surface. Roll it out to form a cross, leaving the entre slightly thicker than the arms. Place the butter in the center and fold over each of the arms to make a parcel. Turn the dough so that it looks like a book with the spine to the left. Tap and roll out the dough to form a 6 x 18 inch rectangle. Square off the corners – otherwise, every time you fold, the edges will become less neat and the layers will be uneven.

Fold the dough like a letter, the top third down and the bottom third up, to form another square, brushing off any excess flour. Turn the dough 90 degrees to bring the spine side to your left and press the seam sides down with the rolling pin to seal. Re-roll and fold as before to complete two turns. Wrap the dough and chill again.

Re-roll and fold twice more, chill, then repeat to complete six turns. On a hot day, you may need to chill after each turn. The pastry should now be yellow and ready to use – if it looks a little streaky, roll and fold once more. Wrap and keep chilled until ready to make turnovers.

Instructions: Turnover    Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Flour a board and lightly roll the puff pastry into a 16 by 16-inch square. Cut into 16 smaller squares (4 x 4-inch each) and keep chilled until ready to use.

Brush the edges of each square with the egg wash and neatly squeeze about one tablespoon of the raspberry mixture diagonally on half of the square. Fold the pastry diagonally over the raspberry mixture and seal by pressing the edges with a fork. Transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Brush the top with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, make 2 small slits, and bake for 20 minutes, until browned and puffed. Serve warm or at room temperature.