What's the Next Best Thing to Heaven?

Glazed fruits in Phyllo dough. That's what! I wrote off these little things, glazed fruit that is, years ago because I was never fond of Christmas fruit cake with it's 15 year shelf life. But Greek style these little gems are gooooood. I have come to believe that ANYTHING is good wrapped in phyllo dough. This recipe is from Patras where, according to the ladies, it is known for it's tough men. Worth a trip perhaps.Maria is whipping up the egg whites while Virginia is getting ready to make the fruit mixture.
Virginia is making the fruit mixture and, as you can see, she encountered some rambuncious powdered sugar. No problem. The cooking must go on.

I think that it's an unusual mixture but it sure is good when baked. Sugar, egg yolks, almonds, zwieback, glazed fruit are mixed first and then the egg whites are folded in.

Now. Clarified butter. Whenever I've baked in the past I never clarified butter because quite frankly, I didn't know how and was to lazy to look it up. Now I do however, in fact there were two differing ways which we were told how to clarify butter. Seems pretty essential to phyllo dough baking. I'll have to get busy.

After the fruit mixture is done you need to brush clarified butter between each individual sheet of phyllo dough. That's why this stuff is so incredibly great. You then spread the mixture on top of the phyllo dough sheets - four of them NOT three - according to Virginia. Then you roll everything into a little tube.

You score the top before you bake it.....

....and walah!! Glazed fruit in phyllo dough.

After it's baked you make a syrup to glaze the top. You also make little holes into the top of the roll so that the glaze permeates the entire roll. Honestly, the secrets in the syrup, that's what makes the flavors of everything else in this little slice of heaven so sweet. This is my last class out of the series of four. I'll be back for more tips, treasures and tantalizing food.

Efxaristo ladies, see you in March.