It’s rhubarb season! What better way to celebrate this wonderful fruit than with homemade jam to enjoy on just about anything? For this week’s Baking Therapy recipe, I’m making strawberry rhubarb cheesecake pastry pockets. They’re flaky, sweet, a little tart and so fun to make. These are definitely my new favourite sweet treat.
Related: Rustic Strawberry Rhubarb Tart
ingredients
Dough
Jam
Cheesecake
Egg Wash
Glaze
directions
This recipe requires 1 hour rest time.
For the dough, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the chilled, cubed butter and work into the flour by rubbing between your fingers until you have pea-sized bits throughout.
In a measuring cup, mix together the ice water and apple cider vinegar. Adding a Tbsp at a time, mix into the flour mixture. The dough should hold when pressed together (it’s okay if the dough looks slightly dry, it will hydrate while it rests).
Transfer the dough onto plastic wrap. Using the plastic, press to form the dough together into a square shape. Wrap tightly and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
For the jam, in a large saucepan, add the strawberries, rhubarb, raspberries, sugar, maple syrup, lemon juice and salt. Cook on medium-high for about 20 minutes, stirring constantly until the berries break down and the mixture starts to thicken.
Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla. Transfer to a dish and put into the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes to chill quicker.
For the cheesecake, mix together the cream cheese and icing sugar, set aside.
To assemble, lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough to about 12 by 12 inches and trim off the edges.
With a knife or a pastry cutter, cut the dough into 12 rectangles, about 3 inches by 4 inches. Transfer the dough to parchment paper.
Whisk together the egg and milk for the egg wash. Brush the borders of 6 rectangles with egg wash.
In the centre of each of those rectangles, dollop about 1 to 2 Tbsp of jam and 1 Tbsp of cheesecake filling. Make sure to save 1 Tbsp of jam for the glaze.
Roll out the remaining 6 rectangles, to they’re slightly larger than the bottom pieces. Place them on top and press down along the edges with your fingers. Take a fork and crimp the edges all the way around to seal.
Freeze for at least 30 minutes and preheat oven to 400°F.
Brush the tops with egg wash and with a fork, poke the tops of the pockets to create a few vents. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until lightly brown.
Transfer to a cooling rack.
For the glaze, whisk together the cream cheese, milk, icing sugar, strained jam and vanilla until smooth and viscous. If it’s too thick, add a little more milk.
Spoon on top of cooled pastry pockets. Add sprinkles if you desire. Enjoy!
