It's maple syrup season. Time to enjoy some local sweetness. Time to get sappy by surprising your loved ones with turnovers for dessert--or breakfast.
It's also time to make more of your own pastry. Practice makes better! I usually make my dough/pastry a day in advance, refrigerate it, and then take it out an hour before using. Also, prepare your sauce while the turnovers are in the oven. You'll have just enough time.
Enjoy!
Yields 8 turnovers
Puff Pastry
• 250g white flour • 250g unsalted butter • ~100ml cold water • 2 tablespoons sugar • pinch of salt
In a large bowl, mix the flour with the salt and rub in the butter with your hands. Not too much, though--you still want clumps of butter. Add the water and work until you have a smooth dough. Add more water if it’s too stiff. Chill for 30 minutes.
Flour your work surface. Now the trick is to have nice layers of pastry. To do that you just have to roll the dough into a rectangle, about half an inch thick. Fold the left end towards the middle, and then fold the right end on top of it. Rotate the dough a quarter turn, roll again and repeat the folding. Do that 4-5 times. Then chill the dough for another 30 minutes or more.
Filling
• 4 medium apples, sliced • 2 tablespoons butter • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon • 1/2 cup maple syrup
Melt the butter in a pan and cook the apples with the cinnamon on medium heat for 7-8 minutes. Add the maple syrup and simmer for another 2 minutes. Set aside and leave to cool.
Putting it together
• You'll need 1 egg
Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Roll out your dough to a 1/4" thick rectangle and then cut into 8 equal squares. Roll each to about 4" diameter square. Fill each with a heaped tablespoon of the filling. Bring the dough back over and seal with your fingers. Brush the top with the beaten egg and cut up holes on top. Put the turnovers on a pan and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until crispy. Make sure to keep the juice that's left from the apples.
Maple-Pecan Caramel
• 1 cup pecans • 1 cup maple syrup • leftover juice from the apples • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
You can choose to chop the pecans a bit if you like. Toast them in a pan for a couple of minutes then add the maple syrup and juice. Simmer for 10 minutes. Leave to cool for a couple of minutes before serving.
