This should probably come as no surprise, but my favorite thing about new places is the new food that I’ve never had before. Hawaii has had a wealth of these in the years since B2 first brought me to visit, and on our last trip back earlier this summer — just when I thought I was getting the lay of the land — B2’s mom (as part of her nonstop feeding extravaganza for B3) produced a couple of cheerful little yellow-striped melons that were wholly adorable and wholly foreign to me. As it turns out, they were Korean melons, or chamoe, and I was instantly in love — they’re floral and sweet like honeydew, with a heady, syrupy smell when you cut them open, but the white flesh is firm and crunchy, almost like a (sweet, and not at all spicy) radish. And they’re pretty much perfect straight from the fridge on a warm summer day.
Back in LA, I was ecstatic to find piles and piles of them at the magical Korean supermarkets here (of which there are many, instead of just one H-mart, as I keep tending to call all of them) and we’ve had a heap of them in our produce drawer ever since. In crunching through the surplus I brought home, B2 had the brilliant idea to bake something with them — which I admit I thought was crazy, until I realized (a) melon jam is actually a thing that is possible (did you know?!) and (b) one of my favorite pastries of all is honeydew-flavored.
So bake we did! These little puff pastries are like a cheese danish and a jam pastry rolled together, inspired by Porto’s guava and cheese pastries, another new thing I’d never had until this summer. When combined with a little sugar and a little heat, chamoe softens surprisingly quickly into a sweet and fragrant jam, a concentrated, ambrosial version of itself that tastes even closer to how it smells when first cut open. A dollop of that and a simple cream cheese filling, tucked inside puff pastry — homemade or storebought, no shame — made for a gently sweet, gently creamy, indulgently perfect weekend breakfast, the inaugural baked treat in our new kitchen and one of the first little brunches to fill our breakfast nook.
Happy Wednesday, friends!
Melon jam & cream cheese pastries (with chamoe!)
Feel free to use honeydew or cantaloupe here in place of chamoe, if you can’t find it. Yields about a dozen pastries.
Ingredients
- 1 Korean melon (chamoe), rind removed, deseeded (see Notes), and chopped (or roughly 1 1/2 cups of your favorite melon, chopped)
- 1/2 cup sugar, divided (or more, to taste)
- 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp lemon juice, divided (optional)
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 lb puff pastry, storebought or homemade
Instructions
- The day before or ahead: Simmer melon with 6 tablespoons of the sugar for 8-10 minutes, or until melon is soft and translucent and bubbles are thick and viscous. Stir in 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp lemon juice, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- The day of: Thaw the puff pastry if using frozen storebought pastry, or prepare a batch if making from scratch. Whisk the cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of sugar, half the egg (about 2 tablespoons, though I wouldn’t stress too much about getting it exactly even), 1/4 tsp lemon juice, and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (if desired) until smooth. Whisk the remaining half an egg in a small bowl with a splash of water or milk, to make the egg wash.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Working with half the pastry at a time, roll out the puff pastry and cut into roughly 2×4″ rectangles (or whatever shape you desire). On half of the rectangles, place a teaspoon or two of the chamoe jam and a teaspoon or two of the cheese filling. Dab the borders with egg wash. On the other half (the “lids”), score the centers of the rectangles with a sharp knife, then place over the rectangles with filling and seal the edges with the tines of a fork. You may want to stretch the lids slightly to ensure that they fit over the filling. Brush the lids with egg wash and sprinkle with additional sugar, if desired. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until pastries are golden and puffed. Enjoy warm!
Notes
Some melon jam recipes call for macerating the melon in sugar the night before. I tried both macerating and cooking straightaway and didn’t notice a huge difference, so went for the quicker version, but you should feel free to experiment!
You can also stir in a tablespoon of liquid pectin or about half a packet of powdered gelatin (dissolved in a bit of water) near the end of cooking if you’d like a set jam.
Finally, a note about the fleshy middles of the melon — B2’s mom tells me you can actually eat it, seeds and all, so I sometimes do out of laziness (and it’s the sweetest part, too!) If you want to leave a bit of it for the jam, I think it’s tasty, but it’s up to you if you want a smooth and seedless end product.
If you have jam left over, you can thin it with a bit of water and use it as a glaze over the pastries when they first come out of the oven. And if you have any cheese filling, you can bake it in a small ramekin for 20 minutes or so at 325 degrees, and make a mini-cheesecake!
Amanda | What's Cooking
These look amazing! And I love your breakfast nook! And a face shot of the fam! So much new coolness happening for you. Very exciting stuff!
Anne
Omg Cynthia! I’m so happy that you like LA (not that I’ve ever been there before) 😉 These melon pastries look amazing -you are a genius (or shall I say bowl 2 is a genius?) for thinking to make freaking pastries out of chamoe! I love them too but living in a small town has its limits with groceries I’m afraid.
P.S. that photo of you and bowl two is ADORABLE!
Abby @ Heart of a Baker
Ah these look incredible! One of my favorite things about moving to a new place is all the new restaurants and stores to explore, more food= always good! xo
Cathy
I saw Korean melon at the farmer’s market last week and I didn’t know what it was. Thank you for encouraging me to try it!
Tori//Gringalicious
These sound so, so, SO amazing! The melon is something so unique to add and I never would have thought to try that, but YUM! Oh, and can I just say how much I adore the pic of you two!!!!!!
heather (delicious not gorgeous)
oh i am in love with those cheese rolls from porto’s! so glad you get the chance to try those and other delicious things in california (: these sound even better than the guava ones (i like guava, but i love melons).
Erica
OKAY YES YES YES I want to make these for my little grandma now because she always slices up this on our dessert fruit platters when we visit her in California. Because Asians eat fruit for dessert like it’s our job, right?! So lovely Cynthia, and as always your posts put a big smile on my face!
Considering The Radish
This looks excellent- I’m going to have to try and track down some Korean melon now. And I love, love, love the shots of your new breakfast nook.
Erika
Love this Cynthia.. your excitement and that breakfast nook shot.. So happy for you! You teach me something new in every post. I’ve never heard of Chamoe so now I must find some because these little pastries look so so good. I’ll have to try them with cantaloupe jam too, I grew up eating that stuff, along with what they call dew syrup which is just honeydew and sugar boiled together. 🙂
patisseriemakesperfect
These sound really interesting and they remind me of the combination of manchego and quince paste which is so delicious.
These look like English sausage rolls and they are very attractive.
Chelsea (@TheWholeBite)
Ahhh that picture of you and B2! Adorable 🙂 🙂 These pastries look incredible! Such unique flavors, I love it! I hope you are enjoying your new home!
Cindy
Love! I grew up eating Korean melon–it’s so sweet and crunchy and so refreshing when it’s chilled. I would have never considered making a jam out of it!
Lindsey
i’ve never had chamoe, but it sounds just as beautiful as it looks! so i’m sure that jam mixed up with some creamy cheese wrapped up in pastry is just one of the best things! loving everything about your serene and inviting nook! so happy for you two and baby B3!!! hope you’re feeling well! xo’s!
Renee Byrd
wow these are SO GORGEOUS! such an inspiring scene.
erika
CYNTHIA Y’ALL ARE SO CUTE THERE AREN’T EVEN WORDS. These look SO delicious and ugh thanks for reminding me of pineapple cake, now I’m craving it!!!! Your breakfast nook looks so sunny and peaceful and amazing!!
PS. I’m coming to LA soon so we can go to Egg Slut and Sqirl and Gjelina and ALL THE PLACES PLZ
Ellie | from scratch, mostly
Ahhhh I’m just loving the ambiance here, and the light is so lovely! I really want to see your cute belly, and if it’s in real life even better! Would love to meet up over…um…food, what else? Haha. And hah–you’ve been Porto-fied. That place is amazing and I suggest anyone who doesn’t want to gain weight run from it the other direction.
I’m curious about chamoe made into jams, because even though I pretty much love 100% everything I try, I’ve never been able to like melons one bit. Watermelon is the only case, in which case it’s my favorite fruit. 😉
Celeste | The Whole Serving
I saw some melons like these in the Asian market but I didn’t buy. Guess who will be going back to buy themselves a melon? This looks delicious.
Krizia
I’m so excited for your move and can’t wait to see how your LA adventures unfold. Welcome to the West Cost 🙂 I hope our paths cross sometime soon.
La petite poire
Oh my your melon jam sounds incredible!!!! It’s melon season here now in Paris and I can’t wait to try your recipe. Thanks for sharing and gorgeous photos as always 🙂 🍐
Lizzie
Just tried making these and they’re looking yummy already, just one question – the cream cheese filling came out really runny, any ideas why?
tworedbowls
Hi Lizzie, I’m sorry that happened! Did you use regular cream cheese or Neufchatel? Sold in blocks, or the tub? These are the main things I can think of — I find Neufchatel slightly runnier than regular, and that the blocks are a bit firmer than the spread in the tub. I have also read elsewhere that perhaps beating vigorously can lead to it being runnier. In my experience, the filling is a little thinner than pudding, so it won’t hold its shape, but shouldn’t be altogether liquid. I hope the pastries are still tasty!
Lizzie
Thanks, I think i overwhisked it . Pastries ate yummy though, I did a nuttella version too…