By Cat, Mar 2011 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)
Includes: 1. Apple Strudel
See also: 1. Danish pastry (Wienerbrød); 2. Puff Pastry; Other sites: 1. Apple Strudel from Scratch (Fine Cooking (2))
This classic dessert comes from Vienna, but many other Germanic and central-European cultures have a similar dessert. Danish Pastry is very similar – even its Danish name links it to Vienna: Wienerbrød (Vienna Bread). But the most well known is apple strudel.
There are many different types of dough used to enclose the strudel: filo (phyllo), puff pastry, and Viennese strudel dough. All are difficult and time-consuming to make, so frozen puff pastry offers a distinct advantage. If you’d like to try making your own strudel dough, see the Apple Strudel from Scratch recipe from Fine Cooking (2).
There are also many different types of fillings, although apple or apple and nut are the most well known.
Apple Strudel
This recipe is adapted from Viking River Cruises (1). Instead of making your own strudel dough, this easy recipe uses pre-made frozen puff pastry. Or use my Puff Pastry dough recipe.
The original calls for sugar, but I prefer to use a combination of stevia and Rapadura sugar. Otherwise, I follow the recipe as originally written.
Pippin or Granny Smith apples are recommended.
Makes 12 servings.
Ingredients & Equipment:
- 1 sheet (half box) frozen puff pastry dough, thawed; or homemade puff pastry
- ½ cup sugar (or ¼ tsp stevia extract powder plus 1 Tbsp Rapadura sugar)
- ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts
- 5 Tbsp raisins
- ½ tsp freshy grated lemon peel
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 – 3 apples (~ 3 cups chopped)
- 1 Tbsp toasted plain dry bread crumbs
- 2 Tbsp melted butter
- pastry cloth
- large bowl
- baking sheet
Method:
- Preheat oven to 400º F. Thaw puff pastry sheet.
- Lay out dough on lightly floured pastry cloth. Lightly flour top of pastry, then roll out to a thin rectangle about 14” x 17”, sealing any tears that form. It will be quite thin; do not over-handle. Set aside, keeping pastry on the towel.
- Peel, core and chop apples into small chunks. Toss with sugar, walnuts, raisins, lemon peel and cinnamon. If using stevia & honey, mix the stevia with the cinnamon and Rapadura before adding to the fruit/nut mix.
- Form Strudel: Lightly brush dough with ¼ of the melted butter. Sprinkle with dry bread crumbs. Add apple mixture in center of dough, leaving a 1” margin around the filling.
- Fold in 1” along 3 sides of the dough, leaving one long side unfolded. Moisten all folded edges and remaining flat dough edge lightly with water. Using the pastry cloth to assist, roll the dough toward the unfolded edge, enclosing the filing. Press gently but firmly on bottom seam and sides to seal.
- Using pastry cloth as a sling, transfer strudel, seam-side down, to a baking sheet. Gently remove cloth. Brush pastry lightly with remaining melted butter. Prick sparingly along the top with a fork. Bake about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Cut crosswise into 12 pieces and serve warm with vanilla custard sauce.
References:
- Viking River Cruises (vikingrivercruises.com/email/apple_strudel2011.aspx)
- Fine Cooking recipe (finecooking.com/articles/how-to-make-apple-strudel-from-scratch.aspx)
