Name: Dried Fruit Strudel with Pear-Brandy Custard Sauce
Yield: Serves 10
Ingredients: Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling; Eggnog Custard Sauce, with 3 tablespoons pear eau-de-vie or other brandy, or to taste; 2 large firm-ripe pears, such as Bosc (about 1¼ pounds); 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice; Tiny pinch freshly ground pepper; 3 cups all-purpose flour; 3 tablespoons sugar; ⅓ cup eau-de-vie, such as pear, prunelle, mirabelle or framboise, or dark rum or brandy; 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces; Cream or milk and sugar, for glaze; 2 tablespoons honey; ⅔ cup coarsely chopped dried pitted dates; Grated zest of 1 orange; Grated zest of 1 lemon; ½ cup dried currants; ½ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon ground allspice; ¼ teaspoon fresh-grated nutmeg; ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom; ⅓ cup cold water, plus more as needed; 3 gingersnap cookies, coarsely crumbled (use 4, if the pears are very juicy); 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; ¾ cup golden raisins; ¼ cup cold solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces; ⅔ cup coarsely chopped pitted prunes; ¼ cup sour cream

Preparation info

Serves
10

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Classic Home Desserts

By Richard Sax

Published 1994

About

This strudel is not an Old-World specialty, but it’s in that spirit. It’s made with a flaky sour cream dough that’s easy to handle; the filling is a blend of fresh and dried fruits—almost a mincemeat—perfumed with pear brandy. Serve the strudel warm, with a pool of cool custard surrounding each portion.

Ingredients

Sour Cream Dough

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
½

Method

SOUR CREAM DOUGH: Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse to mix. Add the butter and shortening and pulse briefly until the mixture is crumbly. Stir together the sour cream and cold water; add to the flour mixture and process just until combined. Add just enough extra cold water, a spoonful at a time, until the dough begins to clump togethe

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Ingredients

Sour Cream Dough

Method

Part of