Cherry Turnovers
[Photo credit: Alex Paternostro]
by Seth Paternostro
October 18, 2021
My father has always loved cherries, and I have come to enjoy keeping butter cold in the wee hours of the morn, so apple pie is an obvious choice. With a few substitutions, our turnovers of tart berries enrobed in light puff pastry cannot be turned down. Warm and proud on the baking sheet, these obedient little guys are happy to be eaten and fulfil their natural purpose. Yippee!
Makes 8 pastries
Total time
4 hours 30 minutes
Equipment:
measuring cups and spoons, mixing bowls, knife, bench scraper, rolling pin, baking sheet, digital scale, plastic wrap, 2 pastry brushes, small bowl, fork, aluminum foil (if needed), small saucepan, silicone spatula, fine mesh strainer
Tableware:
small plates, if desired
Ingredients
220 grams all-purpose flour, chilled, plus as needed for dusting
252 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks, plus 2 tbsps), cold
½ cup ice cold water, plus as needed
2 tsps cider vinegar
5 grams fine sea salt (about ¾ tsp), plus as needed
2 grams sugar (½ tsp), plus as needed
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp milk
1 lb tart cherries
1 tsp cornstarch
Black pepper, as needed
Lemon, as desired
Instructions
Set out all equipment and ingredients. Cut 2 large pieces of plastic wrap.
Mix 200 grams flour, 4 grams salt, and 2 grams sugar until homogeneous.
Cube 26 grams (2 tbsps) butter, and mix into the flour with your hands until the consistency of fine bread crumbs.
Dig a hole into the center of the flour, add the water and 1 tsp vinegar, then gently push the flour mixture into the liquids. Mix by hand until the dough comes together into a ball.
Cover with plastic wrap, shape into a square, and refrigerate for at least ½ hour.
Meanwhile, cube the rest of the butter (224 grams), then combine with 1 gram salt, 1 tsp vinegar, and 20 grams flour.
Quickly work the butter mixture with your hands until the flour is evenly distributed throughout. Stop if the butter begins melting too fast.
Place the butter on the plastic wrap, cover completely, then roughly shape into a square. Refrigerate for at least ½ hour.
Dust the counter and rolling pin with flour.
When the flour and butter squares are cool, roll the flour dough into a square about twice as large as the butter block.
Place the butter block on top of the dough, and rotate the butter block so that its corners touch the midpoints of the dough’s sides.
Fold the dough triangles over the butter block, and pinch the edges together, fully encasing the butter in the dough.
Roll into a ½-inch thick rectangle, brush any flour off the top, then fold the left and right thirds over the center, like an envelope.
Cover in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for ½ hour.
With the long side of the rectangle parallel to your rolling pin, repeat the rolling, folding, and chilling process 5 more times.
While waiting for the dough to chill, prepare the cherry filling as follows.
Combine the cherries with 1 tbsp sugar and a pinch each of salt and black pepper in saucepan.
Cook the cherries until softened, taste, and adjust with sugar and lemon juice as desired.
Place the strainer over a mixing bowl, pour the cherries on top, then return the exuded cherry juice to the saucepan.
Bring the cherry juice to a boil.
In a small bowl, combine 1 tsp cornstarch and 2 tsps water to make a cornstarch slurry, then add to the cherry juice while stirring.
Boil until thickened. If the mixture is still rather runny after about a minute, then mix with more slurry. Taste to ensure that the starch is fully incorporated and cooked through. If not, then keep simmering.
Remove from the heat, return the cherries to the liquid, and chill completely before using.
Preheat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the upper third.
After the final turn, roll the dough into a ¼-inch thick rectangle, and sweep any loose flour from the top.
Chill covered on a baking sheet for 10 minutes.
Cut the dough with a sharp knife into 8 squares, space the pieces out on a baking sheet, then refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Beat the egg yolk and milk together in a small bowl.
Brush one corner of each square with the egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides of the pastry.
Spoon 1 tbsp of cherry filling onto the center of each square, then fold the dough in half so that the egg-washed corner forms the right-angle of a triangle.
Brush the tops with the remaining egg wash, and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
Bake the pastries for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 375°F, then cook for another 20 minutes. If the tops begin turning too dark, then cover the pastries lightly with aluminum foil.
Enjoy!
Note: Puff pastry is an impressive accompaniment to any meal, let alone a party or date night. While frozen options are available, making the dough from scratch is an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Any standard pie dough will seem like a breeze afterwards, too. Regulating the temperature of the dough is of utmost importance to ensure the butter layers form correctly. Therefore, unless you keep your kitchen exceptionally cool, or you are working outside in the winter, follow the refrigeration steps, and be patient. The time involved has the added benefit of allowing the gluten in the dough to relax, which makes rolling easier and prevents the final product from shrinking out of shape. For reference, each process of rolling, folding, and chilling is called a turn. This recipe follows the traditional French technique to produce puff pastry with six total turns.
This bowl of cherries wants to hop in your oven [Photo credit: Alex Paternostro]
NUTRITION FACTS:
Calories 402 Total Fat 26.5g (34%) Saturated Fat 16.5g (82%) Cholesterol 94mg (31%) Sodium 441mg (19%) Total Carbohydrate 37.7g (14%) Dietary Fiber 1.1g (4%) Total Sugars 0.5g Protein 3.8g Vitamin D 20mcg (100%) Calcium 25mg (2%) Iron 1mg (8%) Potassium 102mg (2%) - Note: Please read our Nutrition Disclaimer.
Seth Paternostro is a writer and recipe developer based in Chicago. He is a co-founder of Our American Cuisine and graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University with an A.B. in East Asian Studies. You can learn more about him here.
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