Fill Up on Phyllo Cups (2024)

FAQs

How to keep phyllo cups from getting soggy? ›

As soon as you pull the baked brie cups from the oven, transfer them to a wire rack. The air circulating underneath the phyllo will prevent them from becoming soggy. Keep phyllo cups on a wire rack until ready to serve.

Phyllo must be completely thawed and at room temperature for best results.

Fill 'em up! It's that easy to create a phyllo mouthparty. Light, flaky layers of dough are formed into mini pastry cups, then fully baked and frozen fresh.

You will want to keep the stack of unbuttered dough sheets covered with a slightly dampened dish towel at all times, because phyllo dries out very quickly. Tip: Always butter the top layer of pastry before baking in a hot oven to create a nice golden-brown top. Phyllo pastries come in many different shapes and sizes.

Lay a damp (NOT wet) kitchen towel over the phyllo sheets while you are putting together your recipe. Make sure the towel is just slightly damp, enough to give the phyllo dough a little moisture so it doesn't dry out. Once you take a sheet off the stack, lay the towel back over the unused dough.

There are two key elements to promoting the extensibility necessary in the dough: adding vinegar to the dough, which weakens some of the gluten bonding, making it less elastic; and ample resting. Of course, it takes practice, just like working with any kind of dough.

Favorite appetizers and recipes can all be adjusted into minis using phyllo dough. Make these cups one week ahead and refrigerate (fill before serving) or up to 2 months if freezing.

Be guided by the correct temperature for each recipe. Products baked in a too hot oven will brown too much or too soon and can crack and burst open. If the oven is too cool, the pastry will dry out during baking and the inside layers may not bake sufficiently.

Uses for phyllo:

Cut to make bite-size starters or leave in large pieces to make strudel. Phyllo pastry can be prepared ahead of time and covered and refrigerated or frozen and baked just before serving.

Phyllo dough is usually found in the frozen food section, either in flat squares or in rolls. One package contains dozens of paper-thin sheets of phyllo. Most preparations use 5 or more of these sheets stacked together. These sheets can become gummy if too damp or brittle if too dry.

Do you have to cook filo pastry straight away? ›

Good to know:

Filo pastry can be bought frozen (defrost for ~ 1 hr before use) or in the fridge section, ready to be used straight away. It's super thin and can dry easily once it's removed from it's packaging, so work quickly or use a damp kitchen towel to keep it covered and supple.

Fillings should be cooled before spooning into the phyllo as hot or warm fillings will cause the pastry to wilt. Brush the edges of the pastry lightly with an egg wash to bake and seal the edges. Do not microwave phyllo pastries and pies as this will make them limp and soggy.

One way to prevent soggy bottom pastry is to blind bake the pastry – This means partially or completely bake the pastry before adding the filling. Also, avoid over-filling your pastry.

Gently rest the pan on a tilt for 2 hours to drain the excess syrup. This will ensure that your baklava is crispy on top, and moist (not soggy) on the bottom.