Ingredients
Pastry
- 500 gpuff pastry, or quark pastry
Filling
- 300 gdried prunes
- 150 mlwater
- 2 tbspsugar
- 1strip lemon peel
- a pinch of cinnamon
To finish
- 1egg, beaten
- icing sugar
Directions
- Simmer the prunes with the water, sugar, lemon peel and cinnamon for 20 minutes until completely soft.
- Blend or mash them to a thick, smooth jam and let it cool completely.
- Cook it down until genuinely stiff. A loose filling runs out through the cut corners in the oven and welds the star to the tray.
- Roll the pastry to about 3 mm and cut it into squares of about 9 cm.
- Cut from each corner of the square towards the centre, stopping about 1 cm short of the middle.
- Stop short of the centre. Cut all the way through and the star falls into four separate pieces as soon as you fold it.
- Put a teaspoon of prune jam in the middle of each square.
- Now fold: take one corner of each cut pair and fold it into the centre, pressing it down onto the jam. Work round the square, folding alternate points, so four flaps meet in the middle.
- Press each folded point firmly into the filling, which is the only thing holding it down.
- Brush with beaten egg, avoiding the cut edges, which would glue the layers shut and stop them rising.
- Bake at 220°C (430°F) for 12 to 15 minutes, until puffed and deep golden.
- A hot oven. Puff pastry needs the shock of high heat to lift, and a moderate oven melts the butter out and gives a flat, greasy star.
- Cool them on a rack and dust with icing sugar.
- They are baked for Christmas across Finland and eaten with glögi, which is the standard pairing.
Technique
- Prune jam is traditional and Finns sell it ready-made as luumuhillo.
- The shape is a pinwheel rather than a true star, and a windmill is closer to what it is.
- Best on the day. Puff pastry softens by the second.
Substitutions
- Thick plum or damson jam, cooked down further.
- Quark pastry, which is the older Finnish base.
Variations
- Made as a filled square rather than a pinwheel.
- With apple jam instead of prune.
- With a spoonful of vanilla custard under the jam.
History
Baked in Finland through Advent, the pinwheel star cut and folded from squares of pastry.
Frequently asked questions
What is Joulutorttu?
Joulutorttu is a bread & pastry from Finland: puff pastry star filled with prune jam and dusted with icing sugar. Baked in Finland through Advent, the pinwheel star cut and folded from squares of pastry.
How long does Joulutorttu take to make?
Joulutorttu takes 30 min plus chilling of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 16 stars. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Joulutorttu?
Yes, within limits. Thick plum or damson jam, cooked down further. Quark pastry, which is the older Finnish base.
What is the most important thing to get right in Joulutorttu?
Press each folded point firmly into the filling, which is the only thing holding it down.
