The first time I cautiously opened a jar of exotic, amber yuzu marmalade, I dipped in a tiny spoon, and tentatively tested. Wow! What was that? Intense concentrated citrus flavor packed into a tiny, tiny bite. Orange, grapefruit, sweetness, kick… Lovely and tingly – flavors that could really wake you up in the morning. Maybe too strong to spread on toast, but how about in a pastry? With a rich, sweet cream filling to harmonize with the bright yuzu tang? The pastries had to be beautiful and exotic, just like yuzu. Something like filled pinwheels, maybe?

Ingredients
1 puff pastry sheet (generally sold as 2 in a package)
1 egg, separated
4 ounces whipped cream cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup yuzu marmalade
Sugar for pinwheel tops

Preparation
Thaw puff pastry sheets, per package instructions. Lightly grease a baking sheet and preheat oven to 350°.  Lightly beat egg white and set aside. Whip together cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk and flour to the cream cheese mixture. Set aside.

Carefully unfold a pastry sheet onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll and trim the pastry sheet into a 16×8-inch rectangle. Cut into 8 equal 4 inch-squares. 

Spoon 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling in the center of each pastry square, and top with one teaspoon of yuzu marmalade. Cut 1-inch diagonal lines from the corners of the pastry toward the center filling. Fold every other corner up over the filling to the center. Pinch ends lightly to seal.  Place the pastries on the prepared baking sheet. Brush top center of pastries with beaten egg white, and dust with sugar.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the pinwheels are golden brown. Transfer the pinwheels to a wire rack and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 pinwheels.

NOTE: Yuzu marmalade can be purchased in many Asian groceries, or online at For the Gourmet.