My Favorite Dessert

By Sandy Hu

This is my go-to dessert when I want something impressive and delicious, that doesn’t take too much time and effort.  Juicy strawberries are encased in a feather-light, crisp, sweet crust and served warm with a divine raspberry sauce and a cloud of whipped cream.

The recipe may look daunting, but it’s deceptive.  If you watch the video, you’ll be able to make this dessert without the written instructions.

There are four parts to it, but each is quite simple:

1. Mix frozen raspberries with sugar and let it sit overnight in the fridge to draw out the juices.
2. Make a simple sauce from the raspberry juices the next day.
3. Roll the strawberries in phyllo.
4. Bake the rolls in a hot oven for 5 minutes.

Phyllo can be tricky if you’ve never worked with it before.   The thickness of the sheets varies by manufacturer, with the thinnest, the most difficult to use.  I like the Athens brand, which I find quite sturdy.  If the phyllo tears, just re-wrap with another layer and no one’s the wiser.

Strawberries in Phyllo
Makes 6 servings

Sauce
1 cup frozen raspberries, unthawed
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon raspberry liqueur or orange juice
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Dessert
1 or 2 pints strawberries, rinsed, dried and stemmed *
3 sheets phyllo dough
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Sweetened whipped cream (optional)

To make the sauce, in a small bowl, combine raspberries and sugar.  Let stand in the fridge overnight or about four hours, stirring a few times to enable sugar to dissolve and raspberries to give up their juices.  Upon standing, remove raspberries with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Pour juices into a small saucepan and bring just to boiling.  In a small bowl, stir lemon juice into cornstarch, mix until smooth and pour into the saucepan, stirring constantly with a fork or a whisk until sauce is thickened and glossy.  Set aside to cool.  When cool, return raspberries to sauce and stir to combine.  If not using immediately, refrigerate sauce.

To make the dessert, remove three sheets of phyllo and using a sharp knife, cut in half crosswise to make six sheets. Stack the sheets and cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying.  In a small bowl, combine sugar and bread crumbs.

Lay phyllo sheet vertically on a cutting board or other flat surface. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with about 2 teaspoons bread crumb mixture.  Lay 3 large strawberries in a single layer on a phyllo sheet, about 2 inches from the bottom, leaving about 1 ½ inches of margin on each side.  Roll the bottom of the phyllo over the strawberries, fold the sides in and gently roll up, brushing the end of the phyllo with butter to seal.  Put on a baking sheet, seam side down.

Repeat to make a total of 6 rolls.  Brush the tops and sides of rolls with remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining bread crumb mixture.  Bake immediately or cover securely with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 8 hours.

To bake, preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Remove plastic wrap and bake about 5 minutes or until just golden, watching carefully to prevent burning.

To present, spoon sauce on the plate, put hot strawberry roll on top and garnish with whipped cream and additional strawberries, if desired.

* To ensure the best presentation, it’s good to buy 2 pints of berries.  Sort through them to find even-size ones for the rolls.  Do not stem the remainder, but save them to garnish the plates.

Tip:  Double the recipe for the sauce if you like a lot of sauce with your dessert.

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Comments

[Janet]

Sandy, as always, I really enjoyed the video. Your recipe looks delicious and easy to make!

[Sara (The Fillo Factory)]

Sandy, very nice recipe and helpful instructive video!

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Looking forward to reading more from you!