Shelly's Recipe

CHOCOLATE PECAN STRUDEL

Category: Napoleons/Eclairs/Strudel/Baklava/Cream Puffs

Special Strudel Dough:
1/4 cup warm water
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup warm milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract vanilla
2 eggs
4 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
4 1/4 cups, approximately all-purpose flour

Egg Wash:
1 egg yolk
2-3 tablespoons half & half or milk

Chocolate Pecan Filling:
1/4- 1/2 cup half-and-half, evaporated milk or water
2 cups finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup or honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup ground semi-sweet chocolate
pinch salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners sugar

For the dough, in a small bowl, stir the yeast and water together and whisk briefly to blend. Allow yeast to swell a couple of minutes. Then stir in milk, vanilla, eggs, sour cream, and lemon juice.

Meanwhile, in another larger bowl, cream the butter with the sugar. Blend in yeast/milk mixture. Then fold in salt, cinnamon, baking powder and flour to make a soft dough. Add in flour, as required to make a kneadable dough, and knead, about 5 minutes (not necessary to really work this dough - you want it smooth but not as elastic as a bread dough). Place dough in a well-greased bowl and cover with plastic. Let dough rest, until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

For the filling, blend all ingredients in a food processor until mixture becomes a thick paste. If too thick, loosen with more half--and-half. If not using right away, refrigerate. Warm up (at room temperature, stirring to loosen) to a spreadable consistency before using. You may have to add additional half-and-half or a touch of warm water at this point.

Gently deflate dough and divide in half. Roll each section out into a rectangle, about 10 by 10 inches, thickness about 1/4 inch. Spread on half of filling on each section - filling should be about 3/8 inch thick. Roll up in a jellyroll and place, seam side down, on baking sheet. Press roll down gently to flatten slightly. Brush each roll with beaten egg yolk and using a sharp knife, make several diagonal slashes on top surface. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rise briefly, about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Bake until nicely browned, about 25-35 minutes. Cool well, before cutting into serving sized pieces. Cover very well with plastic wrap to store as this will stale if not properly covered. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

Makes two strudel rolls