Cherry Puff Pastry Turnovers

a cherry danish on a white plate with a fork.

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5 from 3 votes

Filled with warm cherry jam and mascarpone cheese, this Cherry Puff Pastry Turnovers are made with easy puff pastry!

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Chilling time15

Total Time1 5

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 419kcal

Author: Paige

Equipment

large baking sheet
parchment paper
Medium sized saucepan
Medium sized glass bowl
Rolling Pin
Pastry brush

Ingredients

1 10 ounce bag Frozen Cherries, pitted and defrosted (but not drained)
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
¼ teaspoon Almond extract
3 tablespoons Cherry preserves
8 ounces Mascarpone Cheese, softened
1 1 Egg yolk
⅓ cup Sugar
2 tablespoons Flour
1 teaspoon Lemon zest
½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 large Egg for the egg wash
1 tablespoon Water
2 tablespoons Powdered Sugar for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 F degrees, and prepare a large baking sheet by lining with parchment paper or reusable silicone baking sheets.
FOR THE CHERRY FILLING
In a medium-size saucepan, add the cherries, the cornstarch and the cherry preserves and cook over medium-high heat until it comes to a low boil.
Stir it occasionally to keep it from sticking. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes until it's bubbly and thickened. You are looking for spoon-able, jam-like consistency, and this mixture will thicken as it cools. If it seems too syrupy after the cooking time, add another teaspoon of cornstarch and mix it in well. (The amount of liquid in your defrosted cherries may vary by brand).
Transfer the cherry mixture to a glass bowl and let it cool completely and/or refrigerate before use.
FOR THE CHEESE MIXTURE
Add the Mascarpone cheese to a medium-sized bowl with the egg yolk, sugar, flour and lemon zest and vanilla and beat with a hand-held electric mixer until smooth. Set aside until ready to assemble the pastries.
FOR THE PUFF PASTRY
Defrost one sheet of the puff pastry in the refrigerator (overnight, or for several hours) before attempting to unfold it (if you don't, it will break).
On a lightly floured surface, gently roll the pastry out with a rolling pin. The goal is just to remove the two big folded seams of the pastry, so just do this lightly.
Cut into four squares and set on the prepared baking sheet.
TO ASSEMBLE THE PASTRIES
Divide the cheese mixture onto the middle of the four squares and make a shallow indentation in the middle with the back of your spoon. (This will help the cherry jam stay in place).
Next, spoon a rounded tablespoon of the cherry jam into the middle of the cheese.
Mix the remaining egg with the tablespoon of water and use your clean fingers or a pastry brush to add the egg wash to all four edges, like a frame. Gather the points up to the middle, and pinch together to seal. Brush a little more egg wash over the whole thing (to help with browning).
Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, then bake for 28-30 minutes at 375 F degrees until golden brown.
Remove from oven, cool for 15 -20 minutes, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Notes

Be sure to line your baking sheet with parchment paper to avoid sticking. You can use silicone reusable baking sheet liners instead too
Use the back of a spoon to make an indentation in the cheese mixture, then spoon the cherry mixture on top of that. This will help the cherries stay in place with baking.
Be sure to freeze the assembled pastries for 15 minutes before baking. This will help them stay together from the heat of the oven.
That said, if they bust apart like in my photo above, it's not the worst thing in the world! They will still look and taste great!
Don't like cherries? Experiment with other fruits using the same technique, but best to stick to berries in this case. Blueberry or raspberry are good places to start, and it's easy to find jam in these flavors too.
The cherry filling for this recipe needs to completely cool before assembling the pastries. After its cooled down initially, best to refrigerate it for 30 minutes or more, or overnight.
You'll have a bit of the cherry mixture left over, which is amazing on oatmeal or plain Greek yogurt, and keeps for 5-7 in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

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