It was one of those foodie days. You know, a day you want something, but you don’t know what. I opened the fridge door and peered inside to see what was hanging around. I wasn’t starving, kinda peckish — I mostly wanted a little something to go with my tea.
Alas, nothing struck my fancy.
That’s when I noticed blueberries, which were almost on their way out, and a sheet of puff pastry that was thawed and needed to be used. Bingo … with a little of this and a little of that, I made the most delicious, fluffy, warm and mouthwatering blueberry pastry square.
“You may feel that you have eaten too much … but this pastry is like feathers — it is like snow. It is in fact good for you, a digestive.” — MFK Fisher
These pastries can be made with any type of berries or fruit you have on hand. You could even add a little jam for extra measure and flavour. The great thing about this recipe, it allows you to use up the berries and fruit you have in the fridge which are starting to spoil. You know when they’re at the point that they’re not completely off, but enough that you don’t want to pop them in your yogurt, and you don’t dare throw them in the garbage.
Can we pause for a second and take in all the amazingness of puff pastry? Have you ever stepped outside the foodie box for a second to drool over the possibly hundreds of recipes you can make? There’s everything from chocolate Danishes with icing sugar sprinkled on top, apple and apricot turnovers, cinnamon sugar twists, cream puffs and strudel to name a few.
Don’t forget about savory flavour. You can make egg cups with bacon and egg, ham and cheese, sausage rolls, cheese twists, spinach feta pinwheel, asparagus and cheese or creamy chicken puff pastry. Even better, think about what you have in the fridge and make your very own recipe.
Are you up for the challenge? Come on, do it and have all the fun.
Preheat your oven to 350. Unwrap the package of puff pastry and cut the sheet into quarters. Unless you have a different shape in mind. Place your fruit/berries in a medium bowl. I have to be honest, I didn’t measure. I took a chance on the amount of blueberries and hoped I had enough to make four pastries. I sprinkled a little cornstarch on top of the berries and swirled it around so they were all coated. Then, sprinkle cinnamon, sugar and pour in a little vanilla and let it sit.
“I want to have a good body, but not as much as I want dessert.” — Jason Love
Place the four pieces of puff pastry on a parchment covered baking sheet. Fold over the four sides to make a little wall and brush with egg white. Once that’s done, divide your blueberry mixture and spoon in the middle of the pastries and place in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes. I took them out when the pastry was a beautiful golden brown colour.
When I took the pastries out of the oven I knew they needed something else. I mean, it would be fine on its own but you know me, I just needed a little something to top it off. Off to the cupboards I went and searched until I found just the thing, the most perfect thing — Fussell’s cream.
Yes, the cream of the gods. Didn’t you just hear the angels sing and sunbeams coming down around the tin jar? No? OK, maybe I’m reverting back not too long ago when there was a shortage and people were gone cracked trying to hunt down tins of this cream.
It was like a Fussell’s cream zombie apocalypse.
“Stressed is desserts spelled backwards.” — Unknown
Place a dollop if cream on top and finito!
This blueberry pastry isn’t overly sweet. It has just enough sweetness in the berries and Fussell’s cream to make it the perfect paring with a good cuppa. I hope you try it foodie friends as they’re definitely fit to eat.
Erin Sulley is a self-confessed foodie who lives in Mount Pearl. Instagram: @erinsulley