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Italian Christmas strudel

Brigitte Hafner
Brigitte Hafner

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Italian Christmas strudel filled with figs and nuts.
Italian Christmas strudel filled with figs and nuts.Marina Oliphant

This is my version of buccellato, the beautiful fig and spice-filled pastry ring made in Sicilian pasticcerias and homes as Christmas nears.

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Ingredients

  • 250g dried figs

  • 100ml marsala or cream sherry

  • 75g raisins

  • 75g walnuts, finely chopped

  • 75g almonds, finely chopped

  • Zest of 1 lemon

  • 1 tsp cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp cloves or allspice, ground

  • 75g dark chocolate, finely chopped

  • 1/2 cup honey

  • 150g unsalted butter

  • 10 sheets filo pastry

  • Icing sugar for dusting

Method

  1. In a pot, cover the figs with water and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and allow the figs to swell and get plump (about 10 minutes). Drain and chop into small pieces. Put into a bowl with the marsala. Add the raisins, walnuts, almonds and lemon zest. Combine with the cinnamon, cloves or allspice and chocolate. In a pot, warm the honey and pour into the fig mixture. Use a wooden spoon to combine ingredients.

    Melt the butter. Lay out one pastry sheet and brush with melted butter. Lay another pastry sheet over the top and brush again with butter. Continue this until you have five layers of pastry. Spread half the mixture over the sheet and roll into a long log shape. Place on a large, greased baking tray and bend into a half-circle. Do the same with the rest of the pastry sheets and mixture and bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 20 mins.

    Serve either hot or cold with ice-cream and dusted with icing sugar.

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Brigitte HafnerBrigitte Hafner is a chef, restaurateur and recipe writer.

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Original URL: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/goodfood/recipes/italian-christmas-strudel-20111019-29uu1.html