How to Make a Sensational Strawberry Dessert

This Friday, the grandkids are coming over for a dining etiquette class and they’ll conclude their dinner with a sensational strawberry dessert.

Strawberries in Phyllo is a dessert that looks fancy, but it’s fairy simple to make. The berries are encased in a feather-light, sweet crust and served warm, with raspberry sauce and a cloud of whipped cream.

There are four parts to the process:

1. Mix frozen raspberries with sugar and let it sit a few hours to draw out the juices.
2. Make a super-simple sauce from the raspberry juices.
3. Roll the strawberries in phyllo to make neat packets.
4. Bake the rolls in a hot oven for 5 minutes.

About Phyllo

Back in the 80s, phyllo (or filo) dough was quite the rage. The ingredient, which has a history over centuries, was new to most of us. We learned to handle the paper-thin sheets, mostly to make appetizers and desserts.

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. If the phyllo sheet tears, just re-wrap with another layer and no one will be the wiser.

For another light and lovely dessert, try Lemon Sponge Pudding.

If you’ve never worked with phyllo before, you’ll find it in the freezer case of most supermarkets. Follow package directions for thawing and prepping. The most important thing is to not let the sheets dry out as you work because they will get brittle. Take out just what you need for the recipe and wrap the rest securely in plastic wrap for another use. Keep the phyllo sheets for your recipe under wraps, too, until you are ready to use them.

Strawberries in Phyllo

Makes 6 servings.

Sauce

• 2 cups frozen unsweetened raspberries, unthawed
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons raspberry liqueur (Chambord) or orange juice
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Strawberry Rolls

• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons unseasoned dry bread crumbs
• About 3 sheets phyllo dough (you may want a few extras in case the sheets tear)
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• About 3 pints strawberries, rinsed and hulled (see note below)
• Sweetened whipped cream, to garnish

To Make the Sauce

In a medium bowl, combine raspberries and sugar.  Let stand in the fridge at least 2 to 3 hours or overnight, stirring a few times until sugar is completely dissolved and raspberries give up their juices.  Remove raspberries with a slotted spoon and set aside. 

Pour raspberry juice into a small saucepan, add the raspberry liquor or orange juice, and bring to a simmer.  Meanwhile, combine lemon juice and cornstarch in a small bowl and mix until smooth. Add the cornstarch mixture to 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 up to two days.

To Make the Strawberry Rolls

In a small bowl, combine sugar and bread crumbs.

Note: since these instructions were written, some phyllo sheets come already precut in half. if yours comes with two packages inside the box, they are already precut. Do not cut in half as instructions written below:

Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, cut the phyllo sheets in half, crosswise, to make six sheets. Then stack the sheets and cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying. 

Lay one phyllo sheet vertically on a cutting board or other flat surface. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with about 2 teaspoons bread crumb mixture.  Arrange 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. The folds don’t have to be perfect. 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. Serve hot.

To Present the Dessert

Spoon raspberry sauce on the plate, position a hot strawberry roll on top and garnish with whipped cream. Top with a strawberry fan, if desired.

Notes:

• Strawberries come in different sizes, so it’s hard to estimate how many pint baskets to purchase. You will need 3 large strawberries for each roll or 18 all together.
• If you want to garnish with a berry as shown above, you’ll need another 6 berries for garnishing, or 24 total.
• To garnish: set aside 6 of the best-looking berries and do not hull them. Slice them vertically, from tip to cap, cutting up to the cap, but not through, so the berry holds together. Fan the berry over the whipped cream.
• Sort out berries for the rolls before you begin, eliminating undersized ones, jumbo ones, and ones with white shoulders.
• Push the rolls close together before sprinkling the tops with the breadcrumb-sugar mixture, then spread the rolls apart for baking. This keeps the breadcrumb mixture from falling off the rolls onto the baking sheet.
• For big brushing jobs like this one, use a wide pastry brush–it takes only a few strokes because the brush covers a wide area.
• If you’ve never worked with phyllo before, I recommend a practice run before planning to serve this to company. Once you gain mastery of phyllo, it’s not hard to work with, but it can be a challenge, initially.

About this recipe: The original version was developed about 20 years ago when I was the director of a national culinary center. The client was Chambord raspberry liqueur and the recipe was created to promote the liqueur to national newspaper food editors. I have adapted the recipe a few times since it was distributed. I continue to buy Chambord–mainly because I love this recipe! Of course, I used orange juice, instead of Chambord, for the children.

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