Air Fryer
Air Fryer Apple Turnovers
Flaky puff pastry and soft spiced apple in about 20 minutes. Why you pierce the top, why the apples cook first, and why overfilling splits them.
Ingredients
- 320g ready-rolled puff pastry
- 2 Bramley apples
- 3 tbsp soft brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp milk, to brush
Method
- Peel and chop the apples into small even chunks and toss them with 2 tbsp of the brown sugar, the cinnamon and the lemon juice.
- Air fry the apples ON THEIR OWN at 190°C (375°F) for 10 minutes, until softened. Let them cool a little.
- Cut the sheet of puff pastry into four equal rectangles.
- Spoon the softened apple onto one half of each rectangle, leaving a clear 1cm border. Do not overfill — the pastry splits.
- Brush the border with milk, fold the empty half over and press the edges together with a fork to seal.
- Pierce a small hole in the top of each one so steam can escape, brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with the last of the sugar.
- Air fry at 190°C (375°F) for 10-12 minutes, flipping carefully with a spatula halfway, until puffed and deep golden.
Notes
- Pierce the top. Steam has to get out somewhere — without a vent hole the filling forces the seam open and you get apple in the basket instead of in the turnover.
- Cook the apples first, on their own. Raw apple takes far longer than pastry, so uncooked filling means burnt pastry wrapped around crunchy fruit.
- Do not overfill. It is the single most common reason they split. A clear border and a restrained spoonful beats a generous one.
- Seal with a fork, not just pressed fingers. The crimping locks the layers together and it is what holds under the pressure of the steam.
- Let the cooked apple cool a little before it goes on the pastry. Hot filling starts melting the butter in the puff pastry before it ever reaches the air fryer.
- Air fryer models vary. Treat the times as a guide, go by colour and crispness, and adjust the seasoning to your taste.
Watch it
More More Air Fryer Recipes
Air fryer models vary in power and basket size, so treat the times here as a guide — go by colour and crispness rather than the clock, and adjust the seasoning and glaze to your taste.
Recipe source: Quantities and method from Liana's Kitchen (lianaskitchen.co.uk): 320g ready-rolled puff pastry, 2 Bramley apples, 2 tbsp brown sugar plus 1 tbsp for the tops, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp lemon juice and 2 tbsp milk to brush, making four turnovers at 190°C (375°F) — apples cooked alone for 10 minutes first, then the turnovers for 10-12, flipped halfway. Corroborated against delicious. magazine, who cook at 200°C (390°F) for 10 minutes then flip for 5 more. Both seal the edges with a fork and both warn against overfilling; Liana's Kitchen add piercing the top to vent the steam.