Hristina’s sour cherry strudel

This stunningly easy recipe comes from a wonderful cook and friend, Hristina, who lives in Hobart and harvests and pits her own cherries in the Huon Valley every January. If you’re using frozen cherries, let them half-defrost only before using, as they will leach too much juice into the pastry. I used a packet of filo pastry and made three strudels each to serve about four people. Hristinas's recipe is based on the traditional strudel, or layered pastry with a sweet filling, that became popular around eastern Europe in the eighteenth century. Instead of using traditional handmade and stretched dough (that by legend should be thin enough for a love letter to be read through), Hristina’s uses filo pastry, which can be easily bought in most supermarkets around Australia.