Do you know what fruit you rarely see in desserts? Cantaloupe. At least here in the States, I don't often come across a cantaloupe cheesecake or pastry. Why is that? I myself absolutely love the melon and having realized this, wanted to make a pastry with this fruit. Although unique, this raspberry cantaloupe toaster strudel is a delight. It's filled with homemade vanilla cantaloupe jam and raspberry cream and finished with a cream cheese frosting. Breakfast or dessert, this pastry will win you over!
Raspberry Cantaloupe Toaster Strudel
Ingredients
Cantaloupe vanilla jam
- 4 cups chopped cantaloupe (630 grams)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 1 vanilla bean split, seeds removed
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Raspberry cream
- 6 ounces raspberries
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened at room temperature
Remaining ingredients
- 2 sheets puff pastry
- egg wash
- 1 ounce cream cheese softened at room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make cantaloupe vanilla jam. Combine cantaloupe, sugar, vanilla seeds and pod, lemon zest and juice in a heavy bottom saucepot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer until almost all of the liquid is evaporated and cantaloupe is softened. Stir occasionally while jam is cooking. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Combine raspberries with sugar in a medium pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes, slightly mashing berries. Remove from heat and strain puree. Discard seeds and let raspberry sauce cool.
- Beat together raspberry sauce with softened cream cheese until well combined.
- Cut both sheets of puff pastry into 6 equal portions for a total of 12 pieces. Place half of the puff pastry portions on baking sheet. Fill the center of each portion with 1 tablespoon raspberry cream and 1 ½ tablespoons jam, leaving a ½-inch border.
- Brush edges of each pastry with egg wash, then place the remaining puff pastry sheets on top. Use a fork to crimp edges, sealing them together. Brush tops of pastries with egg wash and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
- Beat together 1 ounce cream cheese with powdered sugar and milk until well combined. Transfer cream cheese frosting to piping bag and drizzle frosting on top of toaster strudels. Serve warm.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
If you like cantaloupe as much as I do, I think you'll enjoy this raspberry cantaloupe toaster strudel. Imagine a flaky buttery puff pastry baked until golden brown and oozing with sweet melon jam and a tart cream and that's what you have here.
Since we're making the cantaloupe jam from scratch, you want to use a ripe melon. Melons are in season during the summer making this a great summer treat (or breakfast!).
Cut the cantaloupe into small chunks and simmer it with vanilla bean, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. If you can't find vanilla bean, you can use vanilla extract instead. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to substitute the bean.
Keep an eye on the melon while cooking, stirring it every once in a while. When the liquid is almost all evaporated and the cantaloupe is softened, the jam is ready. Remove the vanilla bean and let it cool completely. You can make the jam up to a week in advance.
While the vanilla cantaloupe jam is cooking, go ahead and make the raspberry sauce too. Simmer fresh or frozen raspberries with sugar until the berries are softened. Mash the berries while they're cooking to help break down them.
Remove the berries from the stove and strain the raspberry sauce, discarding the seeds. Let the sauce cool completely before combining it with the cream cheese. You can also make the raspberry sauce up to a week in advance and mix in the cream cheese mixture the night before.
Now that the two fillings are done, it's time to assemble the raspberry cantaloupe toaster strudels. Cut the two sheets of puff pastry into 6 equal portions each for a total of 12 pieces.
Place 6 puff pastry portions on a lined baking sheet. Then, spread about 1 tablespoon of raspberry cream in the center, leaving a ½-inch border. You want to make sure that there's space around the edges to seal the puff pastry sheets together.
Spread 1 ½ tablespoons of cantaloupe jam on top of the raspberry cream and brush the edges with egg wash. To make the egg wash, just beat together 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water.
Place the remaining puff pastry pieces on top and use a fork to crimp the edges, sealing the pastry.
Brush the tops of the dough with more egg wash. Then, bake the pastries for 20-25 minutes or until deep golden brown.
Remove the toaster strudels from the oven and let it cool slightly.
While you're waiting for the pastries to cool, make the cream cheese frosting. The frosting may seem over the top but trust me, it's the perfect finish.
Beat together softened cream cheese with powdered sugar and milk until well combined. I like to transfer the frosting into a piping bag but you can just use a spoon or spatula too.
Drizzle the cream cheese frosting on top and enjoy the raspberry cantaloupe toaster strudels while they're warm!
I wasn't quite sure how these pastries would turn out since I've never made a cantaloupe dessert before. Luckily, I quite enjoyed them! The melon jam is sweet but the slightly tart raspberry jam mellows it out. The buttery flaky pastry and cream cheese frosting just seal the deal. What cantaloupe dessert to make next?
For more sweet breakfast pastry inspiration check out these orange cardamom raisin buns!
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