Monday, April 13, 2009

Banana Phyllo Parcel

Yesterday my mom and I decided to try out a banana phyllo pastry recipe we had seen on the tv show Sugar...it looked simple enough and we figured it would be perfect as a treat after our lunch.

This was relatively simple to make and the only minor glitch we had was handling the paper thin phyllo dough...how do they even get the dough that thin?!? I've come to the conclusion that it is really an art to work with phyllo dough! The trick is to make sure you have a damp cloth over the dough that you are not yet ready to work with...because once this dough dries out it rips and flakes to shreds pretty easily...

We didn't have any dried cherries on hand as the recipe called for so we decided to substitute it for prunes. These parcels were lovely and all the flavours melded well! The bananas cooked down to a mushy goo paired with the melted chocolate, creamy cheese, tangy prunes and a whiff of rum beneath a light flaky pastry... these parcels were hard to resist. We polished off five parcels between the three of us after lunch...absolutely piggish...but oh so worth it!

Banana Phyllo Parcel
4 tbs dried prunes
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 tbs sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
8 sheets phyllo pastry
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 oz semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 small bananas
3 tbs rum

Preheat oven to 175C. Beat cream cheese until smooth and stir in sugar and vanilla extract. Working with one sheet of phyllo pastry at a time (keep remaining phyllo completely covered under a damp towel), cut 1 sheet in half. Brush first half with butter and place second half on top and brush with butter. Repeat process with another sheet of phyllo cut in half. Spread 2 tbs cream cheese in the centre of the pastry. Place 1½ Tbsp chopped chocolate and a sprinkle of dried prunes over cream cheese. Peel banana and place pieces on top of filling and sprinkle with rum.
Fold end edges of pastry in over banana. Roll up banana to create a square package and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining bananas. Baste parcels with butter and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
To serve, sprinkle with icing sugar and you can add an optional drizzle of melted chocolate. Enjoy!

8 comments:

Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella said...

Yum! I love working with filo although the constant layering with butter does get tiring. Very nice combination of flavours! :)

Arwen from Hoglet K said...

This looks lovely. My mum used to make nutella and banana jaffles, so banana and chocolate is an old favourite of mine. The addition of prunes sounds perfect.

Anonymous said...

phyllo always look so intimidating! I have clumsy hands, so I'm so afraid to tear the delicate thing apart! but thanks for the tip...I think I'll give it a try sometime.
but yours...just looks so perfect!

Chefspiration said...

Lorraine - yes buttering each layer is a bit tedious..

Arwen - oooh! I love Nutella...hmm...maybe I should make this with a nutella banana filling next time...sinful!

Burpandslurp - It is quite delicate to work with but once you get the hang of it it's a breeze!

Dharm said...

Hey! I saw the same episode and put it down on my list of things to try!! I've never succesfully worked with phyllo pastry... every time I try and brush it with butter/oil, the damn pastry breaks!! Yours looks just super.

Andrew said...

am drooling already on the yummilicious flavours... LOL =D

Chefspiration said...

Dharm - Give it a try...you won't regret it!

Andrew - It truly is a dessert worthy to drool over :)

Mel @ bouchonfor2.com said...

Very tempting, yet simple. Never thought to use prunes. Will give it a try :)