These flaky cherry turnovers make a quick and delicious dessert, perfect for the season. Puff pastry pockets filled with cherries, drizzled with lemon glaze and crunchy nuts.
Cherry season again, and we try to make the most of it. Not only preserving cherries or these amazing Cherries in Kirsch, but also lots of cakes as well. Simple and quick recipes like today's cherry turnovers or more elaborate ones (although very easy to make as well), like the Bakewell Cherry Cake, the Fresh Cherry Loaf Cake, or the Cherry and Almond Cake.
You can enjoy these cherry turnovers with puff pastry as an easy after lunch/dinner dessert; you can serve them to guests with a cup of tea or coffee, or take them on a picnic. They travel well, you can eat them by hand, and they will not spoil easily when the weather is hot.
Ingredients: 9 | Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 12 | Difficulty: Easy
Recipe ingredients
Puff pastry: A large sheet from the refrigerator section of the supermarket. Alternatively, use frozen sheets or a block. Thaw according to the packet's instructions and roll if not already rolled.
- My ready-rolled pastry weighed 10 oz/ 275 g, and it was about 10 inches/ 25 cm inches long. The size of the sheet is not essential. Cut the dough into even squares.
Filling: Fresh cherries; however, the turnovers can be made with frozen or canned cherries or pie filling. You will also need a little cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.
If you have a glut of cherries, check out this Cherry Recipes collection.
Lemon glaze: Confectioners' sugar and some fresh lemon juice. You can make the glaze with milk or water as well. Or with cherry juice; in this case, the icing will be pink.
Nuts: I had roasted hazelnut crunch, but any other nuts are great. Try almonds, walnuts, pecans, and so on. But do roast and chop them before sprinkling them on top of the pastries.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make cherry turnovers?
Filling:
- Pit the cherries. I always use a cherry pitter;
- Mix the fruit, cornstarch, sugar, salt, and lemon juice in a small saucepan.
- Cook: Bring to a boil on medium-low heat, turn the heat down, and simmer gently, stirring continuously until thickened. It will not take long, about 3 minutes; the cherries should be slightly softer but not cooked down to a mush. Transfer to a large plate and let cool slightly.
Pastries:
- Cut the pastry into even squares; I had 12. Place some filling in the center of each square. Brush the pastry edges with egg wash. Fold one corner of each square over to the opposite corner. Press the pastry all around to seal the edges using a fork. (1)
- Transfer to a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Brush with egg wash.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes or until puffed up and golden brown. (2)
- In the meantime, toast the nuts in a dry pan.
- Drizzle the cherry puff pastry turnovers with the glaze using a spoon. (3)
- Sprinkle with nuts immediately so that the nuts can stick to the glaze while it is still soft. It is preferable to glaze only 2-3 turnovers at a time, sprinkle them with nuts, and then continue with the rest.
- Leave to set on the tray for about 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Can I make the turnovers with other fruit?
Definitely, you can make them with pretty much any fruit or berries you like. I love these turnovers with red currants (add a bit more sugar; they are very sour), raspberries, apricots, nectarines, or peaches.
How to store turnovers?
Puff pastry turnovers are best on the day you've baked them; they are at their flakiest now. However, they keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 3 days.
Make ahead: Prepare a few hours in advance and refrigerate on the baking sheet until ready to bake.
You can also freeze the prepared and unbaked turnovers for up to 1 month. Then, bake them from frozen, adding about 5 minutes to the baking time. They should be deeply golden and puffy.
Easy Cherry Turnovers
Ingredients
Turnovers:
- 1 sheet puff pastry Note 1,2
- 2 cups cherries pitted and roughly chopped,
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- Egg wash:
- 1 small egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
Glaze (Note 3):
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 ½ - 2 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice or milk/water
- â…“ cup chopped nuts Note 4
Instructions
Egg wash:
- Mix egg and milk. Set aside.1 small egg + 1 tablespoon milk
Filling:
- Pit and roughly chop the cherries. You will need 2 cups/ 200 g after you've removed the pit.2 cups cherries
- Cook cherries: Mix them with cornstarch, sugar, salt, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium-low heat, turn the heat down, and simmer gently and stirring continuously until thickened, about 3-4 minutes; the cherries should be slightly softer but not cooked down to a mush.1 tablespoon cornstarch + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar + pinch of salt + 2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- Let cool slightly on a large plate (Note 5).
Turnovers:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Unroll the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Cut the pastry into even squares; I had 12.1 sheet puff pastry
- Fill: Place some filling in the center of each square. Brush the pastry edges around the filling with egg wash. Fold one corner of each square over to the opposite corner. Using a fork, press the pastry all around to seal the edges. Transfer to the prepared tray.
- Brush with the egg wash.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until puffed up and golden brown.
- Nuts: In the meantime, toast the nuts in a dry pan. Transfer immediately to a large plate and let cool. Chop roughly if necessary. If using hazelnut crunch, there will be no need to roast and chop it; it is already roasted and chopped.â…“ cup chopped nuts
Glaze:
- Mix the confectioners' sugar with lemon juice to get a smooth, thick, slightly runny paste. Start with 1 ½ tablespoons juice, and only add the rest - drop by drop - if necessary to achieve the desired consistency.1 cup confectioners' sugar + 1 ½ - 2 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Drizzle the turnovers with the glaze using a teaspoon.
- Sprinkle with nuts immediately so that the nuts can stick to the glaze while it's still soft. It is preferable to glaze only 2-3 turnovers at a time, sprinkle them with nuts and then continue with the rest.
- Leave to set for about 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- I use refrigerated ready-rolled puff pastry of about 10 inches/ 25 cm long; a little more or less is OK. Frozen pastry is perfectly fine as well. Thaw and roll (if necessary) according to the packet's instructions.
- The recipe can be easily doubled. If you double the recipe, you will not need an extra egg to brush the pastry; one egg should be enough for 2-3 batches.
- Topping: You can dust the pastries with confectioners' sugar instead of glazing them.
- Nuts: I had hazelnut crunch, but slivered almonds, chopped walnuts, or pecans are delicious as well.
- If using frozen cherries, the procedure is the same; you will not even have to thaw the cherries. However, the cooking time might be a couple of minutes longer.
If using canned fruit, skip the sugar; they are already sweet. Instead, mix the ingredients in the saucepan and simmer gently until thickened.
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