Cherry & Cream Cheese Strudel

There is something about desserts using morello cherries that makes me go weak at the knees - although slightly sour, when combined with a few simple ingredients they are little superstars! I bought a jar of morello cherries during the week and thought it was the perfect opportunity to use a recipe I had bookmarked online a little while ago.

This Hungarian recipe combines morello cherries, cream cheese, ricotta, flaky pastry and crunchy toasted almonds... delicious!

I was unable to find large sheets of filo pastry like the ones used in the video, so I used a smaller square size. Because of this, I had enough cheese filling and cherries for two strudel rolls.

The recipe and instructional video can be found here. If you are thinking of trying this recipe out, here are a few tips:

• I used 3 level tablespoons of caster sugar as I felt the cheese mixture needed it in order to balance the sourness of the cherries.
• This recipe calls for clarified butter (or 'ghee'). You can make this yourself easily- just melt the butter and let the white sediment settle. The clear yellow liquid is the clarified part, so just dip your pastry brush into this and use as required.
• This strudel is best made close to serving time to ensure the pastry remains crispy - over time it will absorb the moisture of the cherry and cheese mixture.
  

Along with a dollop of double cream, this strudel is an excellent choice for a special morning/afternoon tea at home. May you go weak at the knees over cherries!

Enjoy :)

Ladybird x