Ricotta Fruit Strudel
I wanted a simple but fancy looking kind of strudel-ish, sorta Danish-ish coffee cake for a Mother’s Day treat, and I started looking quite a bit ahead for things I might “practice” on before the big day. I am that annoying cook/baker who usually has puff pastry in the freezer, ricotta in the fridge, and Demerara sugar in the cupboard. I will have frozen fruit, if not fresh, waiting for a recipe, as well.
In April, my Mother-in-Love passed away, and for a while I lost my timing. We should have had “extra” time now that we weren’t making stops for items she needed from the store, or at Dairy Queen for a small sundae. We probably should have had time on our hands because there were no more visits on Sundays, or taking her out for long drives around the lakes. During the week, our minds should have been free to wander rather than occupied with calls to her residence, to see if she were going to meals in the dining room, or attending activities; or even working on puzzles in the hallway outside her door, or keeping her feet elevated to avoid cellulitis.
Somehow, the time we weren’t spending with her went into a vacuum, and I wasn’t sure what we’d done before, I only knew the hole in my day was just about the same size as the hole in my heart.
Oh, did she love a good “roll,” though! I called them donuts. She passed her sweet tooth on in her family to my husband and his daughter. So I wanted to bake a Mother’s Day treat to bring a great big smile.
I settled on this: Ricotta Fruit Strudel. You probably do have everything handy, but if you don’t, put the ingredients on your grocery list!
Set the oven to 350 degrees, get out your parchment paper and a baking sheet, and a big bowl. Put the puff pastry in your refrigerator the night before so it will be ready to work with.
Ingredients:
1 roll Defrosted Puff Pastry
1 cup Ricotta Cheese
3 tablespoons Confectioner’s Sugar
Zest from one Lemon
A cup of fresh or frozen Fruit or Berries
1 Egg, beaten, to use as egg wash (or brush with milk)
Granulated sugar or Demerara sugar to top before baking
Whisk the ricotta, the lemon zest, and the confectioner’s sugar together until creamy.
Put the puff pastry on a sheet of parchment and roll it out a few times with your rolling pin.
Spread the ricotta mix down the middle of it.
Top the ricotta mix with the fruit.
Make cuts in the sides of the pastry, and criss-cross them over the center of the filling.
Place all that on a baking sheet. Brush with egg wash or milk, sprinkle with the sugar you’re using, and bake about 15-20 minutes. Let it cool before cutting. Store airtight in refrigerator.
You can make ahead and freeze to bake it later.
