If you’ve never worked with phyllo dough, just take a deep breath and do it. This festive and different dessert, with dark chocolate and neufchâtel as well as cranberries, is worth trying when you’d like to serve something special.
Like many people, I was intimidated by phyllo dough, especially when every cookbook exhorts us to work really fast and keep it well-covered so it doesn’t dry out. Then I went to pastry school and discovered that while it will dry out, it won’t happen in mere moments and there is time to get the job done without stress. That doesn’t mean there’s time to walk the dog or take a phone call while the open dough is on the counter, but it’s really not terrifying.
This recipe was in my “to try” file for about ten years and when I finally tried it, it didn’t work. The filling ran and the taste was too sharp. It’s from an old mailing list I was on, without attribution, so I don’t know if the submitter altered it without saying so or whether it was just not right. In any case, I liked the concept enough to tinker with it until I came up with something tasty that does work. So whoever came up with it, hats off for the concept.
Phyllo Cranberry Pie
A box of phyllo dough contains two wrapped packages of dough. You’ll need only one and will use only half. It should be at room temperature and make sure everything is ready to go — including plastic wrap and a damp towel for covering it — before you open the package. You’ll need a pastry brush for this and you might want to bake it on a baking sheet so your oven mitts don’t ruin the phyllo edge when removing it. Yes, there will be what I call phyllo shatterings when you cut into it; that’s part of phyllo’s charm!
8 sheets phyllo dough, plus 2 for garnish, room temperature
2 cups (6 oz) fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over
6 TB light brown sugar, packed
1 TB water
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 ounce dark or semisweet chocolate
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese (neufchâtel)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1/2 stick (2 oz) butter, melted
powdered sugar, optional, for dusting
Preheat oven to 325 F/165 C/Gas 3.
Stir together cranberries, 6 tablespoons of brown sugar, almond extract and water in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until mixture thickens and cranberries begin to pop. Add chocolate and stir until melted. Set aside.
In a food processor or blender, combine the 1/3 cup of brown sugar, neufchâtel, vanilla extract, egg and egg white and process or blend until smooth.
Spray a pie plate or brush with melted butter, being sure to spray or butter the rim as well.
Set up an “assembly line”, with your work surface (I like wax paper on the counter for this) in front of you, the phyllo on one side and the pie plate on the other. Carefully unroll the phyllo sheets; keep covered with plastic wrap and a damp, clean towel.
Remove 1 sheet of phyllo, moistening fingers if necessary, and brush it with melted butter. Fold it in half lengthwise, brush top surface with melted butter and gently move the sheet to the pie plate, buttered-side up, pressing it into the sides and letting the ends dangle over the rim. Repeat this process with another phyllo sheet and criss-cross it over the first one in the pie plate. Repeat with six more sheets, forming a full pie shell. Scrunch the edges somewhat to form a rim.
Scrape the neufchâtel mixture into the pie plate and spread it evenly. Add the chocolate/cranberry mixture and swirl.
Optional for garnish and added crunch: Butter two more sheets of phyllo, roll up from the short side, slice like a chiffonade, and add to the top in curlicues.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until phyllo is golden brown and the filling is set. Move to a rack to cool completely.
If desired, dust with powdered sugar when serving.
Serves 8
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
By the time I finished reading this my mouth was watering. It seems like a great combo of flavors and I’m keen to try it. I had to get over the phyllo dough nerves too – in reality it is true that you have plenty of time if you are a reasonably focused cook. I make spinache pie alot, and for the meat eaters in the house a sausage roll for breakfast now and then, and in my early days of marriage I used to play with baklava and pistachios and such, but my phyllo use is fairly limited in reality. Which I guess is something to think about, as I really do love it. There is a Turkish market/restaurant we go to now and then and the phyllo treats are divine. I should get with it!
It really is good. The dark chocolate was my idea; the original used milk choc which was all wrong.
I haven’t made baklava yet, although I love the stuff. Maybe after the holidays. Right now I’ve got the other half of that package in the fridge and I’m thinking of using it to wrap chicken breasts. Easy peasy!
You’re right – focus is the key with phyllo!
I love baklava, but have never attempted to make it. In fact, I am among those intimidated by phyllo dough.
Your recipe sounds wonderful though and not impossible. Maybe, I will get my courage up and try it…
It’s very doable. For me the hardest part — if you can even call it that — is keeping my fingertips moist on a dry day. It is just like very thin parchment.
Phyllo was a day at the beach after making strudel dough from scratch in school. (Never again, thank you!) I think it was our reward.