This is a really versatile dessert because you can use most any fruit that you have on hand. I have used canned peaches, apricots, fresh apples, fresh and canned pears and serveal combinations (apples and raspberries are yum). If you are going to used canned fruits do bear in mind that you will need to buy fruit in natural juice, because fruit in syrup has too much sugar. You can also pre bake this dessert until it just starts to colour and reheat it just before you want to serve it for dinner, or make the elements before hand and just roll them up right before you bake. Whichever way to choose to go, my aim here was to come up with a recipe that was low in fat, high on taste and low on the host-having-to-be-in-the-kitchen-all-night-while-everyone-else-had-fun factor.
I have also made this dessert with sugar and with sweetener. Personally I prefer sugar, but my husband says that he can't tell the difference. So decide which option suits you best. The difference between the calorie content of this dessert with sugar and without is about 58 calories, so it shouldn't send you over the edge and it is, after all dessert.
4 Sheets Fillo Pastry 3 cups berries, (Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries) 1 Cup skim evaporated milk 3 Tablespoons corn starch 5 tablespoons sweetener (if you prefer use granulated sugar and add 58 cal and 15g Carbs per serve) 1 vanilla bean 3 egg yolks 2 tablespoons lite cream cheese 1 Cup low fat cream cheese Butter flavoured cooking spray 1 Tablespoon confectioners sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
For the Creme Patissiere - Put the egg yolks into a bowl with the sweetener or sugar and mix until the yolks are a pale yellow. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod and heat the seeds, pod evaporated milk and cornstarch in a saucepan until the milk begins to boil. Take the milk off the heat and add to the eggs in a steady stream wisking as you go. Return the milk and egg mixture to the saucepan and warm over a gentle heat until mixture thickens. Remove from the heat, remove the pod and discard. Add the Creme cheese in small pieces until fully incorporated. Put a piece of cling film over the Creme and allow to cool.
Cover a baking tray with a piece of foil or alternatively use a sil pat. Spray the first sheet with butter flavoured cooking spray and top with another sheet. Repeat this process with the two remaining sheets. Spread the Creme patissiere along one edge of the pastry, leaving two inches at either end uncovered. Top with the berries. Bring the edges up to cover the fruit and Creme and roll until you have a pastry log and all the fruit and Creme is enclosed. Spray with butter flavoured spray. Prick the top of the strudel to avoid it bursting as it cooks. Bake for twenty minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven, sprinkle with confectioners sugar and serve warm
Calories
Fat
Sodium
Carbs
Fiber
Protein
179
3.2 g
285 mg
19g
3g
8g
Serving Suggestions
Instead of layering all the sheets make individual strudel by folding one piece of fillo into a triangle, putting 1/4 of the berries and 1/4 of the cream on one edge, fold up the sides and roll as you did for the large strudel.
