It is absolutely not a secret that sweet dough desserts are one of my absolute favourites. And they truly have been, ever since childhood.
As a matter of fact, sweet dough desserts and pastries were the first proper dessert I tried in my life. Specifically doughnuts, which I adore to this day. But strudels, pies, anything that has layers of dough and fruit filling is a very close second, honestly.
Sweet and zesty orange jam, plenty of homemade applesauce, lots of almonds and hazelnuts, and a generous splash of amaretto make this strudel truly perfect for summer. I simply love how those deep, sweet marzipan notes of Disaronno pair wonderfully with the oranges and blackberries.
And I cannot decide if I love this strudel more when it's piping hot off the baking sheet or cold, the next day. Each way of serving has its own charm, so take my serving suggestion as precisely that, a suggestion, and serve your desserts how you like.
Ingredients
For the orange jam filling
250 grams orange jam or marmalade200 grams toasted almonds, ground
For the blackberry almond centre
420 grams fresh blackberries120 grams applesauce, unsweetened
150 grams granulated sugar
80 grams semolina
100 grams toasted almonds, finely ground
50 grams toasted hazelnuts, coarsely ground
For the assembly
500 grams filo pastry sheets, 16 pieces100 millilitres neutral oil
120 millilitres carbonated water
30 millilitres Disaronno liqueur
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
Preparation
Start by making the fruit custard centre, as it needs to cool down almost completely before proceeding. Add the applesauce and blackberries into a blender, and let it run until a smooth purée forms. Add in all the remaining ingredients except for the almonds, and let the blender run again.
Pour the purée into a heavy saucepan, place it over medium heat and let it slowly come to a boil. Make sure you whisk constantly, as it can burn easily. Once it starts to boil, cook and stir for about 5-7 minutes, until thick. Remove from the heat, add in the ground almonds, and stir them through very well. Let the filling cool down to room temperature, stirring from time to time.
Once the filling is ready and cool, divide the filo sheets into four stacks, with four sheets in each. Divide the cooled filling into two equal parts. Mix the orange jam to loosen it up a bit, and set aside. Let the oven preheat to 200˚C and line a large baking sheet with baking parchment.
Take one filo sheet, lay it flat on your work surface, brush it generously with the water and Disaronno mixture, and pipe half of the filling along the edge of that sheet. Roll it up tightly and set it aside. Take another filo sheet, brush it with the water and oil mixture, spread a portion of the orange marmalade, sprinkle on some almonds and hazelnuts, and place the rolled filo sheet on the edge. Roll it all up, and set aside.
Repeat this two more times, until all the sheets from one stack are used up, and transfer the roll onto a large baking sheet. Do the same with the remaining three stacks of filo pastry sheets, forming four large rolls in total.
Brush the rolls with any remaining water and oil mixture, and bake immediately, in a nicely preheated oven, at 200˚C, for about 25 minutes. Once baked, take them out of the oven, let them cool down to your preference, and serve. Yields 20 generous servings.
