Blueberry Phyllo Snake Pie

Blueberry Phyllo Snake Pie

The inspiration for this interesting and unusual dessert came from watching a Jamie Oliver episode from Morocco where he makes a M'hanncha, an almond paste filled spiral pastry made from a thin, phyllo-like pastry. I was intrigued by the method of rolling the filling into the pastry in one long rope and then forming it into a spiral before baking.

With some frozen blueberries on hand provided by my Dad and a box of phyllo pastry in the fridge that needed to be used, I decided to give a blueberry version a try. It was quite easy to put together and we all loved it. Spouse took the leftovers to share with her co-workers and they all thought it was simple and delicious too. This is a great idea to try with lots of different types of fruit. I know I'll be experimenting with more soon.

This gorgeous pastry dessert would certainly be the center of attention at any event at which you'd care to take it along. I guarantee it will get folks talking.

Blueberry Phyllo Snake Pie

• 3/4 lb frozen phyllo pastry, thawed (approximately)
• 3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest 
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• icing sugar for dusting

The sheets of phyllo pastry that I used were about 12x18. I used four per layer and used 4 layers.

Clear about a 5 foot section of your counter top and lay the first four sheets down, end to end, overlapping them by about 3 inches. Brush on a thin layer of melted butter. You don't need to cover every square inch of the surface, even half is fine; just dot your brush strokes randomly over the surface.

Begin the second layer with a half sheet of pastry, this ensures that the seams are staggered so that your pastry will not leak. You will also then need to end the second layer of pastry with a half sheet.

Brush on more butter and start the third layer with a whole pastry sheet. Brush on more butter and add the final layer of phyyl pastry, beginning and ending with a half sheet.

Mix together the sugar, cinnamon and corn starch and pour over the berries along with the lemon zest and juice. Toss together well and spoon onto the pastry about three inches from the longest edge and leaving about three inches on either end without blueberry filling. This is so that you can fold the pastry over to seal the ends.

Fold the two shortest ends of the pastry toward the middle over the blueberry filling. Fold the long edge of the pastry over the filling and then loosely begin to roll up the pastry into a rope shape. Just roll it a little at a time traveling from one end to the other and then reversing directions until it is completely rolled up, leaving the seam on the bottom. At this point, take one end of the "snake" and begin to turn it inward to form the spiral. I actually tied a piece of butcher string around the entire outside to hold it together while it baked.

With the tip of a sharp paring knife pierce a few holes in the top of the spiraled pastry to allow steam to escape. As you can see from the photo, I forgot to do this and the filling did blow out at one point and spilled blueberry juice into the spiraled pastry. I also probably didn't wait long enough before cutting the cake and some juice was still flowing. The anticipation was just too much! It did thicken when it cooled completely.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes until the top of the pastry is evenly golden brown. Let cool for a half hour at least if you want to serve it warm but it is just as delicious fully cooled.