Strawberry Nutella Cheesecake Turnovers

I made these Strawberry Nutella Cheesecake Turnovers with my very own homemade puff pastry.

Which was not easy. It was still cold here so rolling out the dough and butter was next to impossible. Luckily, it was worth it. Homemade puff pastry is astounding but I doubt I will ever make it again. Feel free to make turnovers with store-bought puff pastry to make your life easier.

The Recipe

In a small sauce pan stir together 1 1/2 cups hulled and quartered strawberries, 4 tsp sugar, 2 tsp of cornstarch…

… 1 tsp of fresh lime juice and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

Let stand for 30 minutes and then stir in 3 tbsp of water. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, reduce and simmer for 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

Cream Cheese Filling

For the cream cheese filling beat together 1/2 cup cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar…

2 tbsp Nutella…

… and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Cream until smooth.

Assembling

On a lightly floured surface roll out a piece of puff pastry to a 12″ square. Cut into 4 squares. Top with some of the Nutella and strawberry filling. Do not overfill. Please note: I totally overfilled mine.

Brush edges with water and fold 1 corner over filling to make triangle.

Use the tines of a fork to press edges together and seal. Pierce the top of each turnover with 3 air vents.

Baking

Transfer to parchment-lined baking tray. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake in a pre-heated 425F oven until puffed and golden, around 18 minutes. Yup, mine exploded!

Foodie Results

So they exploded and leaked but you know what? They still rocked! I had no idea that homemade puff pastry would really give you that shattering-in-your-mouth effect so perfectly but it does. The filling, for fans of Nutella and strawberries, was no disappointment. Creamy, heavenly and quite a contrast to the wildly flaking pastry. A light dusting of icing sugar and these were perfect.

These did not freeze well though. I tried thawing them first (a total mistake) and they got all gooshy. If you want to freeze them, do so before you put them in the oven. Just add a few minutes of baking time and you should be good to go.

I just wanted to mention that I had to close down the Cooking School for Delinquents. I just do not have the funds to buy specialty cuts of meat and wines and all the extras for the kind of cooking I wanted to explore there. It was fun though and I think we all learned a lot. So if you made your own puff pastry with me, I would say these turnovers are worthy. Enjoy!