Filipino Spring Rolls as Dessert-A Twist on Traditional Turon

If you like Filipino food you are probably familiar with lumpia. Those delicious pork mixture filled mini 'spring rolls' dipped in vinegar and garlic sauce or a side of sweet chili sauce.

A larger, dessert-oriented cousin of this is turon. This is a sweet dessert in a full-sized spring roll wrapper. It is filled with thin-sliced bananas (usually the mini version, such as apple bananas), jackfruit and a little brown sugar to coat.

I love this dessert, and I thought it would be a great idea to experiment with some different flavors. So I came up with "Cinnamon, Apple and Peach Turon with Dulce de Leche." Let me tell you, this is my new favorite.

Here is your shopping list:

For the dulce de leche:

-1 or 2 cans sweetened condensed milk. This stuff goes a long way, so only cook two if you can use it.

For the turong:

-1 package spring roll wrappers.
-2 large apples ( I used Washington red because I had them.)
-1/2 can peaches in light syrup (unless you happen to have a cache of perfectly ripe fresh peaches.)
-Brown sugar.
-Powder cinnamon (or cinnamon sticks and a zester.)
-2 tablespoons butter.
-1/4 cup apple juice.

Preparation:

-Start by making the dulce de leche hours before. Simply throw the can/s into a pot of water and simmer over low to medium low heat for ~3 hours. Make sure the cans are covered with water.

-Thaw the spring roll wrappers for about 30-60 minutes.

-Core and slice the apples thinly. In my opinion the thinner the better. Do the same with the peaches.

*Have all ingredients ready, set a cup of water next to the spring roll wrappers to moisten your fingers. Cover open wrappers with a moist paper towel to avoid drying out.

-Heat a large frying pan filled with cooking oil. The oil should cover at least half of the turon when submerged, preferably more.

Cook:

-Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the apples and about 2 tsp. cinnamon. Cook over medium heat until slightly softened. Approximately 3 minutes. Add apple juice and cook for 2 minutes more or until liquid is reduced.

-Continue cooking apples and add peaches. Add another teaspoon of cinnamon. Cook the mixture until ingredients are incorporated. 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it stand while you prepare the spring roll wrappers.

-Lay a single wrapper flat on a baking sheet or cutting board. Drizzle a thin line of dulce de leche using a spoon or butter knife, then a small amount of the apple and peach filling. in this case a small amount is about 2-4 apple slices and 2-3 peaches, depending on size.

Avoid overfilling or the wrapper might burst during frying.

-Fold the bottom and top just over the mixture. Bring one side all the way over, then roll snugly. Moisten the last flap with water and complete the rolling.

*Moistening fingers may make it easier to pull wrappers apart.

Good example of folding, but this is a bit too much filling. 

 -Complete rolling as many turon as you want to cook, then prepare a strainer or plate with paper towels to soak up the cooking oil.

-Fry these at a low to medium-low heat until a light gold color. 3-5 minutes each side. As you pull them out of the oil, stand the turon up in the strainer or blot both sides on paper towels.

That's it! These are delicious as desserts or afternoon snack time and taste great the next day as well. Try eating these with a cold glass of milk, coffee or ginger tea. I suggest serving a tablespoon or two of the dulce de leche with these as it cooks into the mixture during frying. It is excellent for dipping into!

Enjoy!