If you are finding some leftover puff pastries in your freezer and want to put them to good use, here is an idea on turning them into these scrumptious apple turnovers, or the French calls them "Chausson aux pommes". All you really need to make these delicious recipe are two kind of apples and puff pastry! When selecting apples for this pastry, I like the combination of royal gala for the sweetness and for pureeing; and golden delicious for the crunch and sourness.
I like keeping the skin on for the red royal gala apples when pureeing, which gives you that nice tinge of pink in your apple filling and if you like to take the challenge, you can make your own puff pastry for this recipe too!
You can use storebought puff pastry for this recipe or if you like you make your own pastry, you can follow my blog on "Mastering the Art of Puff Pastry: A Comprehensive Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions".
RECIPE
Yield: 16 turnovers
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Puff Pastry | 1 kg |
Unsalted Butter | 60g |
Caster Sugar | 50g |
Vanilla Bean Paste | 10g |
Granny Smith Apple | 2 apples |
Red Royal Gala Apple | 3 apples |
Cinnamon Powder | 1 teaspoon |
SUGAR SYRUP
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Caster Sugar | 50g |
Boiling Water | 50g |
Mix the two together and set aside ready to use.
METHOD
1. Start by preparing the apple filling.
2. Cut the granny smith green apple with the skin on to approximately 1cm cubes.
Place the diced apples and butter in a frying pan then add in the sugar. Cook the apples until just tender but still hold some texture. Do not over cook.
Strain the cooked diced apple.
3. For the red royal gala apples, cut to quarters, keeping the skin on. Place over a bowl and steam for 20 minutes +- until soft. Transfer into a deep jug and blend until you get a smooth puree in a blender or a stick blender.
Place the apple puree onto a saucepan and cook out any excess water. This should only take 5 to 10 minutes. Do not over cook the apples or they can start to turn brown. You want to keep the red hue in the apple compote.
4. Combine both the cooked diced apples and apple puree and set aside to fully cool before assembly.
5. Once ready, roll the puff pastry to approximately 5mm in thickness. Cut out individual discs with a 12cm plain cutter.
Dust both side of the puff pastry disc with some flour then rolling from the centre to form in to an oval shape, ensuring that you keep the edges slightly thicker.
Brush some egg wash around the edges, scoop a tablespoon of the cooled apples fillings in the centre then fold over to cover. Press out any air that are trapped in the filling.
With the back of the knife, push along the edges to seal. Place the assembled apple turnover onto a tray and leave in the freezer to harden for 40 minutes.
6. Remove the hardened but not entirely frozen apple turnover from the freezer. Turn them upside down so that the flat side is facing upwards. Brush the top with some egg wash. Score the top lightly with a paring knife. Pierce a hold on top of each turnovers to allow steam to escape during baking.
Bake in the preheated oven at 180 °C for 40 - 50 minutes or until golden brown.
Once baked, remove from the oven and brush the top of the turnovers with simple syrup.
Serve.
