Ginger Pear Turnovers

A Ginger Pear Turnover with a bite removed in front of a plate of turnovers.

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert

Cuisine: European

Keyword: ginger, pastry, pear, puff pastry

Prep Time: 40

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 1

Servings:

Calories: 358kcal

Author: Marta Rivera

Ginger Pear Turnovers have a sweetly spiced fresh pear and ginger filling encased in buttery, flaky puff pastry. They're perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.

Print Recipe

Equipment

4-quart saucepan
rolling pin
sheet pan (2 preferably)
pastry wheel or pizza cutter

Ingredients

For the Ginger Pear Filling

3 large (1 pound 5-ounces or 600 grams) Bosc pears cored and diced
1 inch knob ginger peeled and minced (about 1/2 tablespoon or 6 grams)
1/4 cup, packed (55 grams) brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons (25 grams) cornstarch
1/2 cup (120 milliliters) cold water
1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1 teaspoon (5 milliliters) vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon (1 gram) ground cinnamon or pumpkin spice blend, optional
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Egg Wash

1 large egg
1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) cold water

To Complete the Ginger Pear Turnovers

1 1/2 pounds (681 grams) puff pastry homemade, or 1 17.3-ounce (490 grams) box of frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 1/2 tablespoons ( 24 grams) Turbinado sugar optional for topping

Instructions

Macerate the Pears for 20 Minutes

Add the diced pears, minced ginger, and brown sugar to a 4-quart saucepan. Stir the three together to combine them well.
Allow the pears to macerate in the sugar for 15-20 minutes.

Prepare the Ginger Pear Filling

Reserve 1 cup of the macerated pears. Add the remaining pears with their liquids to a saucepan on the stove.
Bring the liquid in the pan up to a simmer over medium heat. As the pears begin to heat, they will continue to release even more juice.
Simmer the fruit mixture for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
While the pear filling simmers, in a separate, small bowl, stir together the cornstarch, apple cider vinegar, water, ground cinnamon and kosher salt.
Add this mixture to the pot in a slow steady stream after cooking the pears for 3 minutes. Stir the cornstarch slurry constantly to avoid clumping.
Once the mixture goes from opaque to translucent and sounds like rustling newspaper when you stir it, turn the heat off and stir in the reserved pears and vanilla extract.
Allow the filling to cool completely before using it to fill your turnovers.

Prepare the Egg Wash

In a small bowl, vigorously whisk together the egg and cold water until smooth and free of clumps. Set this aside.
Preheat an oven to 400°F (204°C). Line 2 half-sheet pan with parchment paper and set these aside as well.

Assemble Ginger Pear Turnovers

Lightly flour your countertop and roll out the puff pastry into a 16 x 16-inch square that's about 1/4-inch thick.
Try to keep the edges as straight as possible. If you have jagged edges, use a pastry wheel to cut them off, so your square has straight sides.
Cut the larger square into 6 smaller squares that are 4-inches.
Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash on two edges of each square.
Scoop 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of the fruit filling onto the lower third of the egg washed corner of dough.
Fold the unbrushed corner of dough over the filling and press the edges together with your fingers to seal them.
Use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges of the turnover to seal it completely. If the filling comes out of the turnover when you seal it, just crimp the dough anyway.
Make small cuts in the top of the turnovers after brushing them with the egg wash and sprinkling a pinch of turbinado sugar over them.

Bake the Turnovers

Bake the ginger pear turnovers in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and flaky.
Once the turnovers are done baking, remove the pan from the oven and allow them to cool slightly before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool further.
Wait 15 minutes after removing the turnovers from the oven to eat them.
Once cool enough to enjoy, serve your ginger pear turnovers with coffee, orange juice, or tea. Enjoy them for breakfast with yogurt or on their own.

Notes

Swaps and Substitutions:

Replace the Bosc pears with Concorde, Forelle, or Seckel pears.
Use 1 tablespoon (8 grams) ground ginger instead of fresh and add it with the ground cinnamon.
Replace the ground cinnamon with a pumpkin spice blend or chai spice blend.
If you prefer the pure flavor of ginger and pear, omit the ground cinnamon.
You can replace the apple cider vinegar with lemon juice.

Tips and Techniques:

Macerating the pears in sugar draws out as much liquid from the fruit as possible which keeps you from having to add more water to the filling.
I make my filling a day ahead and store it in the fridge to ensure it's completely cold.
Adding hot or warm filling to the dough causes the butter in the puff pastry to melt prematurely, leading to a soggy turnover.
You can refrigerate the pan of turnovers for 15-20 minutes before brushing them with the egg wash to firm up the dough, which helps keep the filling from oozing out.
I prefer to eat these ginger pear turnovers while they're warm, but they also taste great at room temperature.

Storage Instructions:

Store leftover turnovers in an air-tight container on the countertop for 3 days.
To give your turnovers that crispy, just-baked taste, heat them in a 350°F (177°C) oven or air fryer for 5 minutes.

Freezing Instructions:

To Freeze the Ginger Pear Filling:
1. Allow the filling to cool completely.
2. Transfer it to a freezer-safe container and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
3. Thaw the filling in the refrigerator overnight before stirring it and using it as instructed in the recipe.
To Freeze Unbaked Ginger Pear Turnovers:
Poke or cut venting holes in the tops of the turnovers, but don't brush them with the egg wash.
Place the turnovers on a parchment-lined sheet pan in the freezer for one hour.
Once the turnovers are completely frozen, transfer them to a freezer storage bag and freeze them for up to 3 months.
Bake the turnovers while frozen after brushing them with the egg wash and sprinkling them with sugar adding 5 minutes to the baking time.
To Freeze Baked Ginger Pear Turnovers:
1. Allow the turnovers to cool completely.
2. Put the turnovers on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and freeze them until solid, then transfer the frozen turnovers to a freezer storage bag.
3. Freeze the turnovers for 2 months.
4. When you're ready to eat them, thaw them, uncovered, at room temperature and heat them slightly to crisp them up.

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