Cherry strudel in filo pastry

Ingredients:

8-10 sheets filo pastry (I used 10)
Olive oil (enough to paint the sheets one by one)
2 cups pitted cherries (I used frozen cherries)
1 cup cranberries (I used frozen cranberries)
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp. water (or, if you use a jar of pitted cherries, use the juice)

Method:

Thaw your filo pastry overnight in the fridge
Combine the sugar, ½ cherries, ½ cranberries, and the water in a saucepan, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes (stir constantly). Add the remainder of the fruit and cook another 3-5 minutes, but these berries should not be soft, I wanted some of the more solid.
Place a clean tea towel on your kitchen bench
Place one sheet of filo pastry, lengthways, on the tea towel, brush with the olive oil and repeat this process, laying each sheet of filo pastry on top of the previous one, until you have used all 10 sheets of filo pastry
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C)
Spread the cherry mixture along with the layered pastry, lengthways, leaving 1-2 inches of the filo pastry exposed either end, fold in the two edges of the filo pastry and, roll into a strudel
Place the strudel onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and crispy
Spoon extra fruit over strudel or sift with icing sugar
Serve with ice cream
It’s so so yummy!!!

Note: Next time I will spread a layer of mascarpone cheese on the filo and then top with berry mixture before I roll into a strudel.

Prepared by Esme Slabs