sponge cake with crispy layers

As I promised in the last post, here is the update on using up the phyllo dough. This was inspired by a pretty simple Chinese bakery cake standard. The baked goods I grew up on were more similar to this than the all American fare I experiment these days.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a recipe specifically for this application, so I used a basic vanilla sponge cake recipe and slightly sweetened whipped cream, both from Williams Sonoma. As for the phyllo dough, I went through a trial and error. The cake from Chinese bakeries have a relatively dry crispy layer center, so I baked off the phyllo layers straight from the fridge in a stack. That did not work out, since the edges curled and the results were overly dry and left a dusty flour taste on the palette. In order to get the layers golden brown and flat, I brushed each layer with some melted butter, similar to the approach used in the last post with the exception of sugar.

Flavor speaking, this was quite close to the ones from bakeries. The only downfall was the texture from the sponge cake, which was much less fluffy. The ones from bakeries have cake layers that are much taller. I'm thinking that if the cake was baked in a cake pan, rather than a sheet pan, with more batter, I would get a similar effect. Otherwise, this was a quite a replication success.

apple strudel

I made this a while ago and never got the chance to post it. This along with a Sponge Cake with Crispy Layers, which I will post later, were made in an effort to use up my phyllo dough. The frozen phyllo came in a two pack with enough layers to make plenty of these.

The original recipe called for dried mixed fruits, but I didn't want to buy any and decided that if the filling was just apples, it would taste more like a small crispy apple pie. Be sure to use only apples good for baking, such as tart Granny Smiths or Fujis (which I used). The crispy texture will hold up well while baking.

The results remind me a bit of the individual apple pies from McDonald's, only with a crispier, flakier, less buttery crust. It provides enough cinnamon-y sweet flavor without the guilt of a butter laden pie crust.

Apple Strudel adapted from Williams Sonoma

makes 8 servings

14 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
8 tsp granulated sugar
2 large Fuji apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Working with one phyllo sheet at a time, place the first sheet on the parchment paper. Brush well with some of the melted butter. Lay a second sheet on top and brush again with butter. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of granulated sugar. Repeat, brushing every sheet with butter and sprinkling every other sheet with 1 tsp of sugar.

Toss together the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Arrange the apple filling along one long side of the phyllo stack, positioning it about 1 inch from the edge. Fold the edge of the stack over the filling, then roll up the phyllo into a log with the seam side down. Brush the log with butter and sprinkle the remaining 1 tsp sugar.

Bake until the phyllo is golden and the apples are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 45-55 minutes. Cool on pan on wire rack for 30 minutes.

crispy asparagus straws

I was able to stop by Trader Joe's over the weekend after dropping off my dog for a bath. I miss Trader Joe's, which I used to be able to shop at whenever I wanted. In fact, my apartment back in college used to be within a few miles from five supermarkets; everything you could ever want, from high end (Whole Foods)to low (Trader Joe's). Now, I'm lucky even if I happen to be in an area with a market other than Albertsons. It's hard to find more specialty items for things I want to make, but that's a whole other discussion.

Back to asparagus. I followed the ingredients in this recipe pretty much to the t, which made sense since everything it called for was relatively common. Started with steamed asparagus, just a few minutes to keep its crunch. FYI: when prepping asparagus, you want to hold the ends of the spear and bend to a snap; where it breaks is the natural spot to remove the fibrous woody ends. If your lucky with really fresh asparagus, the amount of ends removed will be short (I had a few where it took off almost half of the spear).

With the asparagus prepped, all that was needed was to roll it up in phyllo dough. Reminder: keep the delicate phyllo from drying out by placing a slightly damp towel over the unused portion. I didn't have quite enough prosciutto, since I used it in the prosciutto tea sandwiches, so I cut the pieces a bit smaller than the recipe called for.

The phyllo ended up crisping very nicely, and the prosciutto added a much needed saltiness, since the asparagus was unseasoned. I barely made a dent in the box of phyllo dough with this recipe. I must find more applications, but thank goodness they keep in the freezer in the mean time.