Ingredients
375g Antoniou Fillo Pastry
150g unsalted butter, melted
300g cherries, pitted and halved (fresh, frozen or morello)
Cherry Sauce
250g cherries, pitted and halved (fresh, frozen or morello)
2 tablespoons sugar
Custard
200ml thickened cream (heavy cream)
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Method
Before you begin this Fillo Pastry recipe, take your Fillo Pastry out of the fridge to bring it up to room temperature in its packaging.
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius, fan forced.
To make the cherry sauce
Combine the cherries and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook on a gentle heat until the cherries have softened, approximately 10 minutes. Allow to cool. Place the cherries in a blender and blend until smooth.
Assembling the Pastry
Grease a 30cm round baking dish with butter. Brush one sheet of Fillo Pastry with butter. Lay the sheet of Filo Pastry in the baking dish, starting from one edge of the pan to the other, and fold any overhanging pastry back into the pan to form an edge. Repeat this step with three more sheets of Pastry, rotating them slightly to cover all the sides.
Lay one sheet of Fillo pastry onto your workspace, with the long side of the Fillo Pastry facing you. Brush with butter. Lay another sheet of Fillo on top and brush with butter. Using your fingers, roughly fold the Pastry in a concertina design. Coil the Pastry into a spiral, ensuring it is not too tight. Transfer to the centre of the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining Fillo Pastry, placing it around the centre spiral until the tray is full. Be sure not to compact the Pastry too closely together, as you want to create pockets for the custard to fall in when you add it.
Making the custard
Place the thickened cream in a bowl. Add the sugar and whisk until well until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla bean paste, and whisk until well combined.
Slowly pour the filling over the Fillo Pastry, ensuring it seeps into all the cavities. Shake the dish lightly to evenly distribute the filling and allow to sit for five minutes, so the custard seeps through to the base. Slot the cherries between the Fillo Pastry layers.
Bake in the oven for approximately 30-40 minutes until the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Drizzle some of the cherry sauce over the soufra, leaving some aside to serve when plated. We enjoy eating this while it’s still a little warm, but it can also be enjoyed cool.
Learn how to make a Cherry Soufra with Fillo Pastry.