Cheese & Prune Filling
Submitted by bminton
Six classic Eastern European pastry fillings: cheese with cognac raisins, prune walnut, poppy seed, ground nut, orange marmalade, and raw apple. Traditional recipes for strudel, kolache, and more.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
40 minCOOK
40 minREADY
80 minThis is a collection of six traditional pastry fillings rooted in Eastern European baking: a creamy cheese filling with cognac-soaked raisins, a spiced prune and walnut filling, a rich poppy seed filling, a ground nut filling, an orange marmalade nut spread, and a raw apple filling with cinnamon.
Each filling pairs beautifully with strudel dough, kolache, rugelach, or any yeasted pastry. The cheese filling gets its richness from cream cheese (or cottage cheese), egg yolk, and sour cream, with cognac raisins and lemon zest adding warmth and brightness.
The poppy seed filling takes the most planning. Soaking the seeds overnight and grinding them three times produces a paste with real depth, nothing like the gritty shortcuts. That extra effort pays off in flavor and texture.
Chef Tips
- For the cheese filling, make sure the cream cheese is fully softened so it blends smooth without lumps
- The prune filling works best with cooked prunes that are still slightly moist, not dried out
- Grind poppy seeds fresh if at all possible. Store-bought ground seeds go stale quickly and taste flat
- Make the raw apple filling last, right before assembly, since grated apple browns fast
Variations
- Swap cognac in the cheese filling for dark rum or amaretto
- Add dried cranberries to the ground nut filling for a tart contrast
- Use pear instead of apple in the raw fruit filling for a softer, sweeter result
Ingredients
Directions
Cheese filling40 Mix raisins with cognac. Cream together cheese, sugar, and flour. Stir in egg yolk, then melted butter, sour cream, lemon rind, and vanilla. Add cognac-soaked raisins. Prune Filling 1 cup cooked prunes, pitted ½ tablespoon lemon rind ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg 3 bsp. melted butter 1 teaspoon grated orange rind ½ cup coarsely crushed walnuts 2 tablespoon sugar Grind prunes or chop them fine. Stir in all remaining ingredients. Poppy Seed Filling ½ pound poppy seeds ½ cup butter ½ cup honey 2 Tbsp. heavy cream 1 cup coarsely crushed walnuts ½ cup raisins 1 teaspoon grated orange peel Pour enough boiling water over poppy seeds to cover. Let stand overnight. The following morning drain well. Grind poppy seeds 3 times using the finest blade of the meat grinder. It is possible to have the seeds ground in the store where you buy them, but they will be cleaner and taste better if you soak and grind them yourself. Cream butter and honey together. Add cream. Stir in ground poppy seeds, nuts, raisins, and grated orange peel Ground Nut Filling: 1½ cups almonds or any other nuts except peanuts or cashews 3 eggs ½ cup sugar ½ cup melted butter 1 tsp. grated orange rind ½ cup white sultana raisins 1 tsp. vanilla Grate nuts finely. Beat eggs and sugar for 5 minutes. Stir in grated nuts, melted butter, orange rind, raisins and vanilla. Note: Cake or cookie crumbs can be substituted for part of grated nuts. Orange Filing ⅔ cup soft butter ⅔ cup orange marmalade ⅔ cup coarsely crushed walnuts or pecans Cream butter, marmalade and nuts together. Raw Apple Filling 3 tart apples ½ teaspoon grated lemon rind ½ teaspoon vanilla 3 Tbsp. cinnamon sugar ¼ cup currants 1 teaspoon lemon juice Peel apples. Grate them on a coarse grater so that the apple pulp is in shreds. Discard cores. Add all remaining ingredients. Use as soon as possible to prevent apples from darkening.
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