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Peaches and Cream Strudel

Peaches and Cream Strudel

Course Dessert
Cuisine Greek
Keyword peach
Servings 12 people

Ingredients

Strudel

  • 12 filo dough sheets (about 1/2 pound) thawed for at least 24 hours in the refrigerator if purchased frozen
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine melted
  • 3 large peaches
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Peaches and Cream Custard Filling

  • 2 cups whole milk or full-fat coconut milk
  • 1/3 cup semolina flour
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs well-beaten
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or margarine
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 large peach chopped

Peach Honey Syrup

  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 peach chopped
  • 1 cinnamon stick

Instructions

Peach Honey Syrup

  1. Begin by making the syrup. Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and continue to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Strain the mixture, pressing to get all the juicy syrup out of the peaches, keeping the syrup. Cool the syrup down in an ice bath and put in the fridge.

Strudel

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and lightly flour an 8-inch springform cake pan that's about 2 to 2 1/2 inches deep, and set it aside on a lipped baking sheet (this will catch any butter that may leak out of the bottom of your springform pan as it bakes).
  2. On a clean work surface, lay out your filo dough sheets in a pile and cover it with a linen or cotton towel to keep them from dying out. As you pull filo sheets from this pile, make sure to place the fabric back over the pile each time.
  3. Pull a sheet of filo and lay it on your surface. Brush it lightly with the melted butter, then grab another sheet of filo and place it on top of the first sheet, and lightly brush it with butter as well. Fold the two sheets of filo dough in half width-wise to make almost a square-shape. Place them over the cake pan and press them into the sides of the pan (there will be empty spots, thats okay), and any overhang is okay too.
  4. Repeat the previous step again, and this time place the folded filo dough in the alternate area of the pan to form a criss-cross, so that any empty spaces on the sides and bottom of the pan are covered by the filo.
  5. Cut two of the peaches into twelfths and place the slices on the bottom of the pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
  6. We will use the filo again later, so just roll it up, cover it, and place it in the refrigerator to keep it cool and prevent it from drying out while the filo shell bakes.

Peaches and Cream Custard Filling

  1. While it's baking, you can begin the custard. Heat the milk in a medium saucepan over low heat until warm, stirring every minute or two. Add the semolina, sugar, and the butter. Continue to cook over low heat until the mixture thickens to coat the back of the spoon, whisking every few minutes.

  2. In a separate bowl, whisk 1 cup of the hot milk mixture with the beaten eggs, adding the hot milk mixture in a thin steady stream while whisking. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan and whisk constantly until it thickens a bit more, about another 3 to 5 minutes. (It should be thick enough to support the weight of the filo dough spiral we'll make without the filo dough sinking into the custard.) Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and chopped peach until combined. Set aside.

Continuing Assembly with the Strudel

  1. When the shell of the strudel has baked for 20 minutes, remove it from the oven and fill it with the custard. Take your filo out of the refrigerator and unroll it on a clean working surface.
  2. Take one sheet of filo and lay it out on the work surface and brush it lightly with the melted butter. Take another sheet of filo and place it on top of the first and brush it lightly with butter. Repeat this once more so that you have three sheets of filo layered on top of each other lightly brushed with melted butter.
  3. Scrunch up the filo length-wise to create a long ridged piece of filo (see the in-process photo below). Take one end of the filo and twist it to create a slight spiral shape, and set it to the side of the work surface.
  4. Take one sheet of filo and lay it out on the work surface and brush it lightly with the melted butter. Take another sheet of filo and place it on top of the first and brush it lightly with butter. Repeat this once more so that you have three sheets of filo layered on top of each other lightly brushed with melted butter. Scrunch up the filo length-wise to create a long ridged piece of filo. Now place the end of this filo at the end of the first piece, and twist it around the original spiral to continue the spiral shape outwards.

  5. Take one sheet of filo and lay it out on the work surface and brush it lightly with the melted butter. Take another sheet of filo and place it on top of the first and brush it lightly with butter. You should have two sheets layered on top of each other lightly brushed with butter. Scrunch up the filo length-wise to create a long ridged piece of filo. Now place the end of this filo at the end of the first piece, and twist it around the original spiral to continue the spiral shape outwards. You should have a round spiral of filo measuring about 8 inches across. Pick this up and place/nestle it on top of the custard in the pan (it helps if you have a large pancake spatula or plate you can use to slide the spiral off of and onto the top of the custard).

  6. Cut the remaining peach into *very* thin slices (the thinner they are, the more flexible they will be). Tuck them into the wrinkles of the filo spiral to give the impression of flower petals. Generously brush the top of the spiral with butter, sprinkle with the tablespoon of sugar, and place it in the oven to bake until the filo spiral is lightly golden and the custard is set, about 50 to 60 more minutes. (It's okay if the top tips of the filo shell get too dark, you can always break off any dark bits before serving).
  7. When ready, remove the pan from the oven and immediately drizzle with the cold syrup. Allow the custard to cool and absorb the syrup for 1 hour. Break off any dark edges of the filo shell, unclasp the springform pan, and slice and serve.