Flaky puff pastries topped with a creamy fromage blanc and honey-soaked strawberries, then drizzled with balsamic vinegar and more honey! These strawberry pastries are a fun weekend bake and the perfect addition to your next brunch.
Let’s bake, friends!
Store-Bought Puff Pastry
While homemade puff pastry will always give you a tastier end-result (I think, at least), it can be super intimidating to make! This strawberry pastries are all about taking it easy and quickly whipping up something delicious. Whenever I’m going store-bought, I grab this one from Pepperidge Farm! Just set aside about 30-45 minutes for it to thaw before using (follow the instructions on the packaging). It’s a great alternative that will still yield flaky, buttery pastries in a pinch!
Make Your Own “Rough Puff” Pastry!
If you’re feeling adventurous and want to make your own puff pastry—consider making rough puff! I swear by this recipe from the pie-queen, Erin McDowell: “Best Rough Puff Pastry”.
Fromage Blanc—The Bright Side of Cream Cheese
That’s how Cowgirl Creamery describes their Fromage Blanc and it’s spot on! I partnered up with them for this recipe and when I tasted the fromage blanc, I just knew it had to make its way onto the blog. It’s SO creamy and delicious! If you’re not a huge cream cheese fan, this is a great alternative—spreads easy and would even make an amazing dip!
For these pastries, it worked perfectly as base! Cowgirl Creamery suggests pairing with honey and fresh herbs, so working with that I tried to craft something that rode the line between sweet and savory. In came the strawberries, honey, and balsamic vinegar!
You get the sweetness from the strawberries and honey, the creaminess from the fromage blanc, a fresh kick of herbs from the dried basil (baker’s choice—mint would be fun too!), and then a final drizzle of your favorite balsamic vinegar or vinaigrette (and more honey) on top.
The Fromage Blanc from Cowgirl Creamery pairs beautifully with all of the other flavors! Learn more about this cheese (my new addiction) on their website here, friends! Be sure to check out their Instagram for more drool-worthy cheese content too.
Materials You’ll Need:
- Various sized mixing bowls
- Rolling Pin
- Small Knife for scoring pastry edges
- Large baking sheet with parchment paper
- Cooling rack
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Pastry brush (or way to apply the egg wash, finger works)
These strawberry pastries with the fromage blanc cheese are the perfect brunch or weekend treat—I really hope you give them all a go! Tag me over on Instagram (@joshisbaking) if you make them!
Happy baking, friends!
Print
Strawberry Pastries with Fromage Blanc and Balsamic Vinegar
- Prep Time: 40 Min.
- Cook Time: 20 Min.
- Total Time: 1 Hr.
- Yield: 6 Large Pastries 1x
Description
Flaky pastries topped with a creamy fromage blanc and honey-soaked strawberries, then drizzled with balsamic vinegar and more honey!
Ingredients
- (1) sheet store-bought puff pastry, thawed
- 8 oz (227g) fresh strawberries, hulled and cut into quarters
- 1 tablespoon honey (20g), more for drizzling
- 1 cup fromage blanc cheese (200g) — mine’s from Cowgirl Creamery!
- 1 large egg (48g), lightly whisked for egg wash
- Granulated sugar for sprinkling
- Balsamic vinegar/vinaigrette for drizzling (I used a local fig-infused one!)
- Fresh or dried basil (optional—mint would be good too)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Prep a large baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside. Place your hulled and cut strawberries into a small bowl, pour the tablespoon of honey over top, and toss to evenly coat. Set aside to soak for a bit.
- Roll your thawed sheet of puff pastry into a large 12x10in. rectangle. Then cut into (6) pieces, roughly 4x5in each, and place onto your prepared baking sheet. With a small knife, lightly score a 1/2 in. border around the inside of each piece, careful not to cut all the way through.
- Place the baking sheet with your pastries in the fridge for 15 minutes to keep cold/firm up a bit. Then take them out of the fridge. Using a fork, poke 3-4 roles of holes in the middle of each pastry to keep the middles from puffing up too much.
- Spoon 2 tablespoons (~30g) of fromage blanc onto each pastry, spreading to fill the middles, but avoiding the borders. On each, spoon 2 tablespoons (~22-24g) of your honeyed strawberries on top of the cheese. Fill in any gaps with leftover strawberries as needed.
- With either a pastry brush or your finger, apply a light egg wash around the border of each pastry and lightly sprinkle the borders with granulated sugar.
- Bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes (or until desired browning). Once out of the oven, let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then carefully move pastries to a separate rack to cool completely.
- When ready to eat/serve, drizzle your balsamic vinegar/vinaigrette and more honey over the top of each pastry as desired, and then sprinkle some fresh or dried basil on top. Enjoy!
Notes
- Best enjoyed/eaten day-of, but will keep in the fridge for a few days stored in an airtight container. Bear in mind you’ll lose some of the flaky texture from the pastry and softness from the strawberries after the first day.
- I used dried basil for my herb of choice because it’s what I had on hand! Fresh basil and even mint would pair wonderfully as well!
- Again, if you need help with how to score your pastries, check out my tips on a previous recipe here!
If you’re in the mood for another quick puff pastry recipe, consider my Apple Cinnamon Pastries with a Maple Glaze!
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