Peach Shells - Crispy Creamy Dessert

Here is a new possibly-addictive peach recipe from c4cooking - PEACH SHELLS .. caramelised peaches on crispy creamy pastry-shells topped with peach glazzze.. mmm YUM ... Just make them and enjoy :)

Ingredients: ( For peach shells makes 12 )

Puff pastry sheets – ( You will need 12 square sheets of ( 3 * 3 inch size)
1/4 cup – butter melted ( to brush the puff pastry sheets & muffin tray )

For caramelised peach:
3 golden peaches chopped into big pieces ( around 2.5 cups) with skin
1/4 cup – sugar
1 tbsp – water
cardamom powder – a pinch ( for cinnamon flavour, add a pinch of cinnamon powder)

For the cream cheese filling:

8 oz / 250 gms – Cream cheese – softened ( microwave on low for 40 sec)
1/4 tsp – vanilla bean paste (or 3/4 tsp of vanilla essence)
3 tbsp – sugar

• Chop the peaches into a dollar size and add into a sauce pan.
• Add 1/4 cup of sugar, pinch of cardamom (or cinnamon) and a tbsp of water..
• Heat on medium-high heat…stir every 20 seconds…and bring it a boil.
• When it starts boiling, turn the heat to medium and mix. Cook for 4 minutes.
• Stir every 40 seconds ..turn off (and remove the pan from heat).

Step 2) Preheat the Oven to 200C / 400 F

Step 3) Grease the muffin pan with butter

Step 4) Make the cream cheese filling:

• Into a bowl, add the softened cream cheese, 1/4 tsp vanilla paste, 3 tbsp of sugar and stir well with a spoon for 20 – 30 seconds.

Step 5) Cut the puff pastry sheets into 3*3 squares (need 12 small sheets of this size)

Step 6) To make shells out of these pastry sheets:

• take one sheet. Starting from one-side, join the middle-of-one-side like a pleat, press and seal-it (please see the video)..
• do this for all 4 sides (pleat and seal the middle part) – it will look like a cup / shell.
• place it inside the greased muffin-hole.

Step 7) Repeat step6 for the remaining 11 puff pastry sheets and place inside the muffin holes..

Step 8) Brush the puff pastry shells in muffin holes with some melted butter..

Step 9) Spoon a tbsp of cream cheese in the centre of each puff pastry shells and slightly spread it to look like a sealed cup.

note: fill 3/4th of the pastry shells only as the cheese will rise while baking..

Step 10) Now place 1 – 2 pieces of peach in the centre of each puff pastry shells..

note: (distribute the peaches evenly among all the shells)

Step 11) Save the syrup from the caramelised peaches to pour after baking.

Step 12) Bake them at 200 C / 400 F for 10 – 11 minutes … or until the four points/edges of the puff pastry shells turn light brown and the cheese looks slightly puffed..

note: first, the 4 points will brown, then the cheese will start puffing (this will happen around 8 – 10 minutes.. keep an eye !

Step 13) Once the edges are brown and the cheese looks puffed, takeout and place on a wire rack for 3 minutes…

Step 14) After 3 minutes, takeout the puff shells and place them on a wire rack and pour 1/3 tsp of syrup (saved in step 11) over all puffs and wait for 4 minutes ;)..