So, yesterday I made these apple and cinnamon turnovers. They are my own recipe and I think they were pretty yummy. Now that i'm thinking about it, a little vanilla and some nutmeg would also go really well in these. I think they would be a great dessert for Christmas, especially with a festive dusting of icing sugar.
I mean, can you honestly think of anything more festive and Christmas Loving than icing sugar and pastry stuffed to the max with cinnamon and nutmeg?
These are easy to make and are a great and quick dessert for a weekend or week day. They give the house a warm and comforting smell.
I've realised that after a few of these posts I've written, I mention the smell a lot when it comes to food. That is probably because the smell is a big factor for me. The smell is the first thing you notice. It is what you are immediately attracted towards. If you aren't actually cooking the food, you are sure going to smell it.
The ingredients that you will need are; this is for 2 turnovers
- 2 Apples, peeled and chopped in half and then into threes
- 1 pack of Puff pastry, cut into 2 triangles
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 2 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 Egg, whisked
- 20 ml Milk
- 1 knob of Butter
- 1 Lemon, zest only
- 3 tbsp of Caster Sugar
- 100 ml Water
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200C in a fan-assisted oven and place a tray on the top of the hob, for the pastry to sit on
- Peel both apples and then chop them. Put them into the pot that you are planning on stewing them in (this is where you cook the apples, to take away the bite and soften them, but not fry or cook them so much to the point of becoming mushy)
- Grate the lemon zest and sprinkle over the apples with a little of the butter and water. This will stop the apples from browning and will allow them to have the chance to marinate in the lemony juices. Making them fragrant and delicious!
- Put these on a high heat and allow the apples to simmer away and become softened for around 20 minutes. Add 2 tbsp of the sugar to the pot and this will make them caramelised and sticky. Binding the lemon to the apples. Sooooo good!
- Once the apples have been stewing for 15 of the 20 minutes, add the cinnamon and nutmeg. Let that infuse!
- Crack an egg into a mug and add the milk and whisk together. I don't know why I add milk to the egg, but apparently it is the thing to do in the culinary world. Who am I to judge?
- Cut the pastry into two triangles and brush the rim of both with the egg wash (this being the egg and milk mix) with a pastry brush.
- Put an even portion of the apples into each pastry triangle and crimp the edges together.
- You can do this in 1 of 2 ways or both, mix it up a little;
Way 1) Take two fingers, the index and middle finger and place them a nail width apart on the pastry. Place your other index finger in between your other two fingers. Then in one swift motion, while squeezing your two fingers on the outside towards each other, squish the middle one down into the pastry. This will both make an interesting design and will seal the pastry.
Way 2) Take a fork and flour it with a little plain flour. Press it down into the folded pastry and seal that way. This will create another interesting design and is a lot quicker in my opinion.
- Once the pastry is crimped, spread on the egg wash to give the pastry a nice glaze. This will, when it is baking, give it a golden and glassy shine. Then with a sharp, floured knife, slice the pastry on the top to allow the steam to get out. This also adds to the aesthetics of the dessert.
- Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of caster sugar over the egg washed pastry and pop into the oven, that by now has been preheating for at least half an hour. By putting the turnovers onto a cool tray, you are making sure that the pastry doesn't melt immediately before even getting to the oven.
- Bake this for 20 to 30 minutes, until the puff pastry is risen and golden brown on the top.
- Once cooked and risen, take out of the oven, leave to cool if you aren't eating them immediately, or if you are, serve with ice cream or cream and a fresh grating of nutmeg or cinnamon.
- I served mine with some fresh raspberries and cream as I didn't have enough cinnamon. But next time...
- And that's it! I hope you make these or order them as they are pretty special!
Thanks and talk soon!
You know you want to order something, go on, treat yourself. :)
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