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Summer season is a time to get jointly. Kids are home from university the solar shines late into the day holidays are planned and the outside contact to us for yard barbecues and picnics. And these lovely lazy times have earned desserts—especially desserts that rejoice summer time fruit or are chilled and refreshing. But that also means baking. And when there is nothing wrong with a summertime baking task, in some cases you want most flavor for bare minimum fuss.
In other terms, hot times are not the time to attempt humidity-delicate meringues or delicate pastry. It seems impolite that the months of excellent fruits for pies are the exact sizzling months that make pie crust more difficult. Cobblers and crumbles crisps soar in below perfectly, but even individuals can choose more time. And if you have forgotten to load elements into your pantry, now you have an errand to run on best of your baking.
But here is my magic formula weapon for summer season desserts of all forms: Frozen shredded phyllo dough!
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Why frozen shredded phyllo dough is my summertime dessert lifetime saver
In normal, phyllo is acknowledged for being paper slim, and when layered with butter or oil, its crispy goodness elevates sweet and savory bakes alike. But that paper thin nature tends to make it tougher to do the job with. If it dries out it will crack even more, all the layering and brushing requires a ton of time. Shredded phyllo dough is exactly the exact same dough, but slice into fine shreds, generating it a aspiration to get the job done with. Here is the secret: Toss the shreds with melted butter or neutral oil, increase sugar or spices, and then press into a pie plate to bake into a crisp shell to fill with cream or fruit!
Wait, there’s far more: You can also pile it on top rated of a fruit casserole for a variation on a classic crisp or crumble. You can bake shredded phyllo on a sheet pan and break it up into crunchy garnishes for ice product or yogurt or pudding. You can make tiny nests to fill up with goodies or press in between two sheet pans for a substitute for puff pastry layered desserts like mille-feuille. Ultimately, attempt using it in regular desserts like Turkish kunefe or Greek kataifi.
My most loved summer time use? Fill a casserole dish with the freshest berries tossed in sugar and lemon zest and a little cornstarch, pile buttered shredded phyllo on top, sprinkle with coarse uncooked sugar, a gentle dusting of cardamom, and probably some sliced almonds if I have them all over. Bake at 400° until eventually the phyllo is browned and crispy and the fruit is bubbly and cooked. Serve heat with vanilla ice cream or yogurt or whipped cream.
You’ll never want to roll out pastry again… maybe even soon after summer is more than!
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Guidelines on buying and applying shredded phyllo dough
You can obtain shredded phyllo in the frozen portion of your community Center Eastern market—larger supermarkets may well carry it as effectively. Most packages of shredded phyllo will convey to you the suitable time and temp for baking, as perfectly as some primary apps. But to get you began, a number of recommendations:
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Constantly be generous with butter or oil, because raw shredded phyllo will crisp and brown, but will taste chalky and bland when not properly-lubricated. At times a spray neutral oil like avocado or coconut, or spray ghee will be your best wager for excellent protection devoid of way too a great deal dealing with of the fragile dough.
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If you want to make a shell, nest, or sheet for anything, be absolutely sure to increase a little little bit of sugar to your mix, which will melt and caramelize and support it to stick with each other.
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If you want sheets to layer, or special styles, pre-slash in advance of baking so that you can easily snap aside as soon as crispy.