This Christmas strudel recipe is a great example of how a simple packet of filo pastry can turn a Christmas pudding into a cracking new dish. The pastry adds crunch and with the fruity centre and surprise burst of chocolate, nobody will suspect that this fab new pudding is essentially the leftovers from your Christmas dinner dessert!
Ingredients
- 12 sheets of filo pastry
- 125g butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 100g demerara sugar
- 400g Christmas pudding (leftovers)
- 3 apples or pears or a mixture of the two
- 50g good quality chocolate, chopped
- icing sugar
- ready-made custard
Method:
1. Lay out 6 sheets of pastry on a clean tea towel. Overlap each sheet by about an inch so they completely cover the tea towel, with a little overhang at one of the shorter ends. Quickly brush the melted butter all over the pastry to stop the sheets drying out, then sprinkle over the cinnamon and 50g of the sugar. Carefully layer the rest of the pastry sheets on top and brush again with butter.
2. Use your hands to crumble the Christmas pudding into a bowl then grate in the fruit. Use the same amount of grated fruit as you’ve got pudding. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and mix to break up the pudding. Sprinkle this all over the pastry so it’s roughly covered, leaving the overhang clear. Place the chocolate in a row on top of your mix, down the short side nearest the overhang.
3. Fold the overhang over the chocolate and pinch it up. Lift up your tea towel, and use it to help you carefully roll up your strudel, tucking the ends under to seal it. Transfer your strudel to a large non-stick pan, brush it all over with butter then sprinkle over a little more sugar. Bake at 180/350/gas mark 4 for about 40 minutes until crisp and golden.
4. Once cooked, leave your strudel to cool then use a serrated knife to cut the strudel into 5cm slices. Dust these with icing sugar and serve with custard.
What do you do with your leftovers at Christmas? Let us know on the Facebook page!
