Puff pastry turnovers with curd cheese filling

These puff pastry turnovers with curd cheese filling are the perfect treat to enjoy with a cup of coffee or to serve when unexpected guests arrive. They’re made with ready-made butter puff pastry, a sweet vanilla curd cheese filling and juicy raisins, making them both quick and wonderfully delicious. If you can find ready-ground curd cheese, the recipe becomes even easier.

Makes 6 pastries.

Ingredients for the puff pastry turnovers with curd cheese filling:

• 300 g all-butter puff pastry (1 sheet), fresh or frozen
• 250 g full-fat or semi-fat curd cheese, finely ground three times
• 5 tablespoons vanilla caster sugar
• 1 large egg, separated
• ⅓ cup raisins

In a bowl, combine the curd cheese, vanilla sugar and egg yolk, mixing until smooth. Stir in the raisins. Just before filling the pastries, whisk the egg white until stiff peaks form and gently fold it into the cheese mixture.

You’ll also need:

• 1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for brushing
• icing sugar, for dusting (optional)

Lightly flour your work surface. Unroll the puff pastry (if frozen, thaw according to the package instructions first). Allow it to come to room temperature before using, as this helps prevent shrinkage during baking.

Cut the pastry into 6 equal squares using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Place a spoonful of the cheese filling in the centre of each square. Bring all four corners into the middle to form an envelope and pinch the seams together very firmly to prevent the filling from escaping during baking. (The pastries may still open slightly, which is perfectly normal.) Transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving space between each pastry. Brush with the beaten egg.

Bake at 200°C for about 25 minutes, until deeply golden and crisp. Dust with icing sugar before serving, if desired.

Enjoy!