Thursday, March 29, 2012

Hungarian Sour Cherry Strudel

When you see a plate of delicate and light cherry strudel...you know Spring is here!...in South Florida, we are now experiencing the most beautiful spring weather any state in the U.S. can experience. Although most of your northerners have the unusual early spring weather that you probably have not witnessed in years...or maybe not at all! Fresh cherries are very hard to find these days, and they are extremely expensive if you do find them, and not so sweet!

I love cherries, and especially in desserts. Cherry pie has to be my favorite pies of them all, but I cannot, and will not use the ooey-goeey cherry pie filling loaded with sugar, color, and corn sweetener...although (never say, never) because the famous cherry pie "filling and topping" looks so darn pretty on top of our ever so famous Philadelphia Cheese cakes! In this particular brand of canned cherries...it is all natural sour cherries in their own juice, and you only need to sweeten, and thicken the cherries for this amazing Hungarian Cherry Strudel!
You'll probably ask..."what makes it Hungarian?" and my answer would be the method of layering this delicate phyllo...or fillo, (which ever way you write or pronounce it)...I don't know of any other nationality that layers each and every layer (6) all together, with ground almonds, or walnuts, mixed together with fine plain bread crumbs, and sugar combined, that also goes into the plain sour cherries. You save the juice of the cherries to color your Easter eggs with...all natural!
I remember from my childhood, how my grandmother used to make her own strudel dough (phyllo) rolling the delicate dough on a huge table lined with floured table cloth, and just keep going around in a circle, gathering the dough until it's paper thin, and working with it quickly, so it doesn't dry out. Well, now you have the convenience of buying this fabulous dough, pre-packed, in the freezer section of your local grocery super market!

It just irritates me when you serve a nice plate of a classic European dessert...and immediately you get your first comment of "I don't like the powdered sugar on the top"...well, in this case, why not make half with, and the other half without the powdery sugar on the top?...I like to make everybody happy, so I do it that way! The following recipe...from memory, will let you make 2 nice generous rolls, and you can leave one without the sugar on the top!

Hungarian Sour Cherry Strudel
my own recipe

2- 14 1/2 ounce cans of pitted Sour Cherries in their own natural juice (not cherry pie filling)
2 cups of fine ground breadcrumbs
2 cups of ground almonds, (ground walnuts is good too)
2 cups of cane sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2- portions of 6 layers of phyllo-fillo dough
(defrost dough in fridge, the day before)
8 Tbsp. (1 stick unsalted butter melted)


Even though it says Tart...it's really sour, and the label says: in water, but it has really dark cherry liquid, which you will want to save, for another use!











Drain the liquid from the cherries, and add the cherries into a medium size bowl.
First, mix the above mentioned bread crumbs, ground almonds, and 1 cup of sugar in a separate bowl.
From the mixture, add 1 cup to the cherries, and add an additional 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and carefully stir together...set aside.







I purchase my Fillo pastry sheets in a Middle Eastern market, but they are sold in supermarkets with a different brand, and could be labeled, as PHYLLO, and not Fillo...same thing!









You have to work with the pastry sheets quickly, because they dry out fast. Any unused sheets, as you're working with them should be covered with  wet sheets of paper towel, or damp dish towel.
Take your firs 6 sheets of the pastry dough, and layer them one at a time.
First, take a fine brush, and dip into the melted butter that you have prepared in a small bowl. Don't over saturate the dough layers, just dab them a little here, and there, sprinkle with about a tablespoon of the mixed bread crumbs, sugar, and ground walnuts combination, not too much just scatter them around.

Do this same method, on every sheet, layering them as shown. (some sheets may tear, break, but it's OK, still use them).

When you get to the 6th layer, do the same by drizzling, with butter, and the combo of the crumbs, and almonds, and sugar.
Spoon half the portion of the cherries, not quite to the end of the roll...the long end, leaving at least a 2 inch border on each end. Carefully roll up in jelly roll style, tuck the ends in. Lastly, drizzle the last portion of the butter, and crumb mixture.


On a parchment lined baking sheet, (actually you have to be layering all this on the parchment lined baking sheet, so you don't have to transfer the dough)

In a preheated 400 degrees F. oven, bake for 25- 35 minutes, depending how hot your oven is. Remove...DO NOT slice immediately, wait for it to cool a little and for the filling to set, Carefully slice about 2 to 3 inches, with a sharp serrated knife. You can repeat the second portion, or save for another time (use within 2 days) I made 2 portions, one with, and one without powder (icing sugar) on the top.
Note: you have to work fast with the Phyllo, and also carefully, because the dough is very delicate.
Also, you can use different fillings, and make several different sweet, or savory things with this amazing Fillo!
This particular brand is a GREEK brand, and I will be making my favorite SPANAKOPITA...spinach pie, the next time!
Points value: 8 per serving
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48 comments:

Swathi Iyer said...

Looks delicious Elisabeth, my hubby like sour taste more, I have to find particular brand of sour cheery. I am waiting for another great recipe with that phyllo sheets.

laurie said...

oh my gosh this looks good and my eyes are not working all on cylinders today, YUMMO!!!!

Patty said...

I can't even show this to Dennis...lol...

the Junkie book said...

To die for, to die for...layering reminds me of the Goan bebinca...you might have heard about it...traditional bebinca layers 12-16!!!

Lyndsey said...

Hey, I have some phyllo in the frezzer now and was wondering what to do with it...okay I wasn't wondering I was trying to narrow it down between many things to do with it! :D Being originally from Michigan we know our cherries (the fresh cherries never taste as good here in Florida, even in season)...you know they have the cherry festival each year in Traverse City. I wonder what this early spring will do to the apple, cherry and other fruit blossoms that are coming out too early? Will be looking for the canned! The fresh c

marisz57 said...

Elisabeth, gyönyörű a rétesed! Én is szoktam sütni, de egy idő óta már nem kerülgetem az asztalt, hanem kész réteslapokat veszek.Szeretjük az almás, diós, mákos, sárgarépás, meggyes édes réteseket, a túrósat, káposztásat, tojásosat, krumplisat pedig sósan szoktam csinálni.
Említetted a spenótot, lehet, hogy megpróbálom.

trollanyu said...

Nagyon csodásak a képeid, szinte hívogatnak:) Imádom a rétest, és anyukám még húzta a rétestésztát. Olyan volt, mint egy terítő, mindig szerettem nézni, de még sosem mertem megpróbálni. Az én kedvencem a tökös mákos, de mingegyiket szeretem:)

Suzi said...

This strudel looks fantastic and each layer having the filling added is even better. I tried some cherries here in Central Florida a bout a month ago and you are right they were not sweet at all. Looking forward to them though, a real favorite. Delicious photographs.

Erika said...

These are absolutely delcious! I love them and I would love to eat them all:) És ahogy Trollanyu mondja tökös mákos az Őrségből the Best Ever!:-)

Asian-spice mix said...

I love strudel,but never had with cherry,great recipe and looks delicious !!
Ridwan

Jasna's kitchen creations said...

Looks divine!

Patty said...

This looks so authentic and so absolutely delicious!!! YUM!!

Gina said...

Lucky you are having nice Spring weather, we have had non-stop rain. I wouldn't say anything about the powdered sugar, lol. I can't wait for the cherries here, they are the sweet ones. Hope you are feeling better.
-Gina-

Jane said...

Looks amazing Elisabeth :) I would be quite intimidated at the thought of making this, but thanks to your clear instructions, I feel I could easily plough confidentally ahead. We have lost all the snow we received that last big dump, and in fact I was noticing today that 95% of our snow has now melted - I wore a spring coat today (+13C), so spring is here :)

Pegasuslegend said...

this is quite spectacular.... I just love the Oregon berries I actually have 12 cans of assorted berries right now this looks fabulous and your own recipe what an honor to try one from such an extradordinary amazing artist that you are thank you!

Cathleen said...

I have never baked anything cherry, but I definitely will soon!! This looks so good!

Emma said...

Cherries are just about my favourite fruit - I've only ever made an apple strudel, but this looks much nicer, especially with the ground nuts (I think I would use walnuts). I would really like to make this when our summer comes by again.

Oh and I love icing sugar on top! It always looks so pretty to me. And how amazing your grandmother making her own phyllo, how time consuming that must have been, and what a lost art.

The Harried Cook said...

This sounds so yummy, Elisabeth! I love sour cherries and this sounds just perfect! I have seen these Oregon berries around and I am going to snap them up the next time I see them! Thanks for sharing :)

Amelia said...

Hi Elisabeth, my coffee break now and looking at your strudel makes me soooo hungry. LOL

Very delectable strudel and delicious. Love the sprinkle of icing sugar, look very pretty. I love cherries but it way to expensive in our country be it fresh or canned.

Have a nice weekend.

ping said...

How I wish I could get my hands on sour cherries, canned or otherwise. I have so many recipes calling for them and I can't find them anywhere. And this is another recipe teasing me silly! Look at all that filling! Oh yum!

Katalin said...

Kedves Elisabeth, egy játékra szeretnélek invitálni az oldalamon! Örülnék neki, ha nálad is olvashatnék Húsvéti ajánlót!! :)

Elisabeth said...

Köszönöm Kati, a meghivást, majd körül nézek, de csak sajnos mult évben itt voltak a lányom anyós-após Olaszországbol, és az anyós főzöcskélt és sütött sok mindent. Körül nézek az én recepteimböl, mult évben, és felteszek ajánlatot!

Elisabeth said...

Ping, here as well, the cherries are the most expensive fruit, even in the can, or especially the frozen ones, if we can even find them! My daughter picked these up for me, and paid for them, which was nice!

Elisabeth said...

Claudia, thank you for your sweet compliment. Oregon berries are really very special. The ones in the can are amazing...tastes and looks just like fresh. There's no way we could find fresh sour cherries in our stores, so this is the next best thing.

Thanks for calling me an "extraordinary amazing artist?"...Wow! to be perfectly honest, I did study art throughout my middle and high school years, and took special classes as well. All my family members, right down to the little ones excel in art!

Marina@Picnic at Marina said...

I miss tart cherries. They are so popular in Europe, and hard to come by in US. Your strudel is amazing and delicious: I can smell the tart cherries through the screen!

Angie's Recipes said...

Look at all the irresistible layers! Canned tart cherries over here seem all soaked in syrup. Hope I can find some unsweetened ones.
Have a great weekend!
Angie

Carmen Anderson said...

This recipe brings back a lot of wonderful memories for me, the first time I tried and fell in love with cherry strudel was when I was studying music in Vienna. And now every time I have one of these of see one of these,I think of the fab time I had in Austria! I will definitely try this recipe soon! It looks so delicious!!!!! Thanks for sharing! Have a great weekend.

Gizi said...

Elisabeth, csodálatos rétest sütöttél!!! Pont így szeretem, jó sok töltelékkel, és jó sok porcukorral a tetején. Én a múlthéten készítettem saját kezűleg Fillo tésztát, és hamarosan felkerül a blogra is. Először féltem tőle, de végül nagyon egyszerű volt összegyúrni, és kinyújtani. (igaz kicsi lapokba nyújtottam, nem úgy mint a nagymamáink annak idején, mert így könnyebb volt dolgozni vele) Vargabéles és almás rétes készült belőle. Most szívesen elfogadnék egy szeletkét kóstolóba a Te finomságos rétesedből.
Szép hétvégét kívánok!! Puszillak

Lizzy said...

Oh, I just love strudel...and yours looks amazing! It's the same way I make my apple strudel...with bread crumbs between the filo layers...yum. Beautifully done, my friend! And I want powdered sugar on mine, please :)

Monet said...

Oh my heavens! I now know what I'm making for my easter brunch. This looks so delicious. Thank you for sharing, sweet friend. I hope you have a lovely weekend full of baking, friendship, and family.

Kathy said...

Elizabeth, Gorgeous strudel…reminds me of my grandmothers who also made the filo herself. I would love to give that a try one day! I have never tried strudel…my mom was the one who would make it! I will have to give it a try!
Thanks for the tip on my photo…I actually didn’t notice the background until you mentioned it! Never offended by you Elizabeth…grateful for the comments and support! Have a great weekend!

Dionne Baldwin said...

I developed a taste for pie cherries over the years when my parents had their cherry tree. All of my friends were very disturbed by the tartness of our cherries for they are not like the bing cherries that are more popular for consumption! This strudel looks beautiful and I bet it tastes delicious!! Thank you for sharing your recipe with us!

Marina@Picnic at Marina said...

Thanks for visiting my blog Elisabeth! I already follow you. Have a great weekend (see my comment above) :)

wanna said...

Elisabeth, csak gratulálni tudok, csodás dolgokat készítesz, és külön öröm, hogy a magyar konyha sem áll tőled távol - a távolban :)

Anna C said...

Hi Elisabeth, glad to be back in touch. Thanks for dropping by my blog. I guess I came back at just the right time; your strudel looks absolutely divine! Can't wait to get back on track and follow your posts.

Parsley Sage said...

Sounds lovely! Normally I don't eat cherries because they're too sweet but I think a 'sour' cherry sounds perfect!

Csilla said...

Imádom a rétest, ezek pedig mennyeien néznek ki! :)

Balvinder (Neetu) said...

Phyllo is very handy pastry strips. Whenever my daughter ask me some fruity snack to make I pull this out from freezer. your strudel looks absolute yummy with all those almonds, bread crumbs and tart cherries.

Petra said...

Ó, imádom a meggyes rétest, és a tiéd fantasztikus lett! :))))
Drága Elisabeth, egy játék keretében szeretnélek meghívni, hogy készíts húsvéti menüajánlót. Kérlek, nézz be hozzám. :)))

Connie Arnold said...

That looks wonderful! I love cherries. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Judit @WineDineDaily said...

Elizabeth, nagyon csodálatosan néz ki a rétesed a sok finom töltelékkel! Just love it :)

lena said...

i can imagine how delicious each layer of this filled with the almond breadcrumbs mixture that comes with a burst of the cherries in each bite!

Junia said...

i've actually never worked with phyllo dough before and i've been meaning to make spanakopita one of these days! i can't wait for your post. the cherry strudel with the powdered sugar looks heavenly!

scrambledhenfruit said...

I've never had very good luck with phyllo, but this looks so good I may have to try again. Cherries are my favorite fruit, and this looks and sounds wonderful. I'll have one with the sugar and one without, please. :)

Vicuska said...

Nagyon finom a rétesed!!! Érdekes, hogy pont cseresznyével nem készítettem, mindig a túrós és a meggyes fogy nálunk, ki fogom próbálni majd!!!

Amanda said...

oh yum! i love cherries! definitely bookmarking this recipe!

Melynda said...

Wow! Your food always look so good, but this cherry one, I would love!

mangiabella said...

oh wow - i love this method, all those nutty crunchy layers, those luscious cherries.....LOVE!!!!! Fruit trees do unusually well in New Mexico, even northern NM, and I have secretly always coveted a cherry tree. Perhaps one day :)