Sour cherries are one of my favorite fruits, and they are
certainly one of the best for making desserts. This strudel
recipe is made from my puff
pastry dough. Admittedly, strudel dough is a little different,
but I find that this one is easier to make and sooo tasty!
Take out your puff pastry and allow it to thaw a little. It
doesn't need to reach room temperature, but you should be able
to work with it. While that's happening, preheat your oven
to 375ºF and prepare your other ingredients.
To make this delicious sour cherry dessert, you'll
first want to drain your cherries. Place them in the collander
and save the juice for another purpose. Sprinkle the cherries
with about 1-2 tablespoons of sugar and leave them to drain
for about 30 minutes, pushing out the extra juice with a fork
every once in awhile. Also, make
sure the sour cherries are pitted! You don't want
any nasty surprises.
Meanwhile, in a sauté pan melt
your butter and then add the bread crumbs, stirring them around
until they are toasted. Remove from the flame, mix in a tablespoon
of sugar, and allow to reach room temperature.
Roll out the puff pastry dough into a nice rectangle. If
you used my puff pastry dough recipe, you'll need just half.
About 3 inches from the edge start scooping in the bread crumb
mixture along the long side of the rectangle. Place heaping
spoonfuls of the drained and pitted sour cherries right on
top of the bread crumbs (the bread crumbs help absorb excess
water from the cherries as it cooks). Fold the dough from
the edge to cover the cherries, and then fold the whole thing
over one more time like a jelly roll. Pinch to seal all along
the dough's edge.
Place on a baking pan and do two last things before placing
it in the oven. First,
brush the top with egg wash (egg mixed with a bit of water
or milk). Next, cut some slits along the top. This will allow
steam to escape while it cooks. Place it in the oven for 30–40
minutes, or until it's a golden brown color.
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Tips
Sour cherries are a typically European
variety that are hard to find fresh. Even in their
native lands, they're generally only in the market
for about 2 weeks! However, once you try it you'll
never look at ordinary cherries the same way! Luckily,
you can buy sour cherries in a light syrup all
year long.
Puff
pastry dough will only taste sooo
good if
you make it at home. However, you can buy it
ready-made in the supermarket. If you go this
route, try to find one made with butter and not
shortening.
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