Mixed Fruit Strudel Recipes

Steps:

• In a 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, bring the blueberries, 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a sheet pan.
• Cover the phyllo sheets with a piece of plastic wrap and a damp paper towel.
• Arrange 1 sheet of phyllo on a work surface with the short side nearest you (keep the remaining sheets covered) and brush with some butter. Top with 2 more phyllo sheets, brushing each sheet with butter. Place a heaping 1/4 cup blueberry mixture over the lower third of the buttered phyllo, leaving a 2-inch border along the bottom and sides. Fold the bottom edge of the phyllo up over the blueberry mixture and fold in the sides to enclose the filling completely. Roll up the phyllo to form a strudel, about 4 by 2 inches. Transfer, seam-side down, to the prepared sheet pan. Brush the top with some butter and sprinkle with sugar. Using a paring knife, cut 2 vents across the top of the strudel. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
• Bake until golden brown and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Put the flour in the bowl of an electric mixer. On slow, mix in the butter until it looks like very coarse meal. Mix in the sour cream until it masses together to form a dough. Pat into a rectangle, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
• Filling:
• Coarsely chop the prunes. In a small saucepan, cover the prunes with the prune juice and sugar. Bring to a simmer for 3 minutes. Place in a food processor with the vanilla and puree to a paste. Mix in the raisins, cherries and walnuts. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a square 16 by16 inches. Place the filling in a log running along the bottom and roll up. Pinch the ends closed. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet, seam side down. Mix the egg and water together to form a wash and paint the strudel. Bake for 30 minutes until crisp and golden. Let cool on a rack, then slice into 1 inch pieces.
• This was my Grandma Bessie's baking specialty. I haven't had this since she died but my brothers and I talk of it often, trying to re-construct what was in it. I re-discovered it at the Golden Key in Brighton Beach. Can be made on a rainy day with items in the pantry

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/ 350 degrees F/ Gas 4. Lay out 6 sheets of filo pastry on a clean tea towel, overlapping each by an inch or so, so they cover the tea towel.
• Cook's Note: The filo should cover the tea towel completely, with just a little overhang at one of the shorter ends.
• Work quickly so your pastry doesn't dry out and brush some melted butter all over it. Sprinkle over the cinnamon and 2 ounces/ 50 g of the sugar, then crumble over your ginger nuts to add a nice bit of crunch. Carefully layer the rest of the pastry sheets on top and brush again with butter.
• Use your hands to crumble the Christmas pudding into a bowl then grate in the fruit, cores and all. You want to have about the same amount of grated fruit as you've got pudding. Add about 2 tablespoons of sugar, and mix it all together to break up the pudding a bit more. Sprinkle this all over the pastry so it's roughly covered, leaving the overhang clear. Place the chocolate in a row on top of the Christmas pudding, down the short side nearest the overhang.
• Fold the overhang over the chocolate and pinch it up, then lift up your tea towel, and use it to help you carefully roll up your strudel. Tuck the ends under to seal it and transfer to a large nonstick pan. Brush it all over with butter then sprinkle over a little more sugar. Bake in the hot oven for about 40 minutes until crisp, golden and gorgeous looking. It might split a bit and look slightly rustic, but I think that's quite nice. Cook's Note: You could wrap an extra layer of filo round it before cooking if you want it to look a bit neater.
• Once the strudel is cooked, leave to cool, then use a serrated knife to cut the strudel into
• 2-inch/ 5 cm slices. Dust these with icing sugar and serve with ready-made custard from the refrigerator.

Steps:

• In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and stir in apples, raisins, and golden raisins. Saute for about 5 to 7 minutes until they begin to caramelize. Add pears, peaches, vanilla, cinnamon, and brown sugar and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• If phyllo was defrosted, make sure it is completely defrosted before handling it. Once removed from package, you will need to cover phyllo with waxed paper and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out. Working with 1 sheet at a time, lay out a dough sheet on a baking sheet and brush on butter. Lay another sheet on top and butter again, repeating for all the phyllo sheets, until you have a stack of 10. Start another stack of 10 on a separate baking sheet and butter in between each sheet in the same way.
• Fold cubed pound cake and bread crumbs into the fruit mixture. (This will absorb enough of the moisture to prevent the phyllo from breaking down.)
• Spread the fruit mixture evenly over each stack of prepared phyllo and gently roll up the dough from the longest side, folding the ends shut as you go. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake in oven until golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
• Serve at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and warm caramel sauce.

Steps:

• A day before baking the cookies, prepare the fruit: Mix the chopped dried fruit and chopped apple in a bowl, toss with 1/2 cup of the sugar, pour in the vin santo, and stir. Cover with plastic wrap, and macerate overnight in the refrigerator.
• The next day, strain the fruit, catching and reserving the juices in a small saucepan. Return the fruit to the bowl, and toss with the chopped nuts.
• To make the dough: Stir together the flour, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil, tossing the dry mix with a fork to form coarse crumbs. Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon water, and pour over the crumbs, tossing and mixing them into a slightly sticky dough. Wrap the dough in plastic, press it into a small flat block, and let it rest briefly.
• Arrange two racks in the oven, and heat it to 375°. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Unwrap the dough, place it between two other pieces of parchment paper, and roll it into a thin rectangular sheet, 12 by 15 inches. Remove the top parchment, and spread the fruit-nut filling on the dough, leaving a 1-inch margin uncovered on all sides. Gently pat the filling so it adheres to the dough.
• Roll up the dough like a jelly roll, starting at one of the longer sides, into a cylinder or log about 15 inches long. You can lift the bottom parchment to support the dough sheet as you fold it over into a spiral, enclosing the filling. When the log is finished, wrap it fully in the parchment paper (so it doesn't stick to the table), and roll it back and forth a few times to make it more compact (and easier to cut).
• Unwrap the log, and trim off the ends with the serrated knife. Next, slice the log crosswise every 1/2 inch or so, into disk-shaped spiral cookies. (If these begin to crumble as you cut, re-form the log into a compact shape, and start cutting again.) Lay the cookies flat and spaced apart on the lined baking sheets.
• Place the sheets on the two oven racks, and bake for about 15 minutes, then rotate the pans-top to bottom rack, and back to front-and bake another 15 minutes or so, until the dough is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
• Meanwhile, heat the reserved fruit juices to the boil in a small saucepan, and cook until syrupy and reduced to about 1/4 cup. Remove the baking sheets from the oven onto wire racks, and while the cookies are still hot, drizzle the fruit syrup over them.
• Let the cookies cool completely. They will keep for a week or two if well wrapped or in a cookie tin.

Steps:

• Thaw phyllo in package if frozen. Unwrap phyllo and cover sheets with a damp tea towel. On a piece of waxed paper slightly larger than the phyllo sheet place the first phyllo sheet. Brush lightly with butter and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons graham cracker crumb. Repeat twice, topped with an unbuttered sheet.
• Starting about 1-inch from the edge, spoon half of the filling in a strip along one long side of phyllo, leaving 2 inches free of filling at each end. Roll, starting at edge nearest filling and tucking in ends. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Place on ungreased baking sheet, seam side down. Brush with melted butter and cut 4 diagonal slits on top of each strudel.
• Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.