March 15, 2015
Rob
1

Recipe: Apfelstrudel (Apple strudel)

A reader of this blog, Careena, asked me on my Facebook page: “How about strudel with phyllo dough?”.

And how could I say no to an interesting recipe request? 🙂

Recipe-Apple strudel16

The apple strudel is a traditional pastry from Vienna, although it probably comes from the Ottoman Empire as a variation on baklava. The strudel is currently popular in all former domains of the Austro-Hungarian empire, which included the northern part of Italy: that’s how I knew the apfelstrudel before, but I had never made it.

Recipe-Apple strudel07

A big difficulty of this recipe is making the phyllo dough, which must be rolled out to a ridiculous level of thinness. I’ve seen people stretching a very small piece of dough to cover completely a big kitchen table. That was too much for me, so I decided to buy phyllo dough (I actually make every thing from scratch in pastry, please allow me to buy just this!). 😀

Once you buy the phyllo dough at the supermarket, making a strudel becomes super easy: let the apples macerate with sugar, add the raisins and orange zest and then roll the phyllo dough around this filling before baking.

Recipe-Apple strudel01

It is quite a healthy dessert with little fat and “not so many” calories (i.e. you can find much worse on this website), so enjoy this Austrian delicacy without restraint!

 

Apple strudel

Print recipe

Ingredients

2Apples
8mlLemon juice
120gGranulated sugar
30gRaisins
1 tablespoonOrange zest (grated)
1gCinnamon (ground)
6 sheetsPhyllo dough
60gUnsalted butter
10gGround almonds (or almond flour)

Directions

1
Peel, core and sliver the apples. Toss them with the lemon juice and half of the sugar in a bowl. Let stand 30 minutes.
2
After 30 minutes, drain off the liquid that forms
3
Place again the apples in a bowl and add the orange zest, raisins, cinnamon and the remaining sugar
4
On a piece of parchment paper, lay a sheet of phyllo dough and brush it gently with a bit of melted butter (at room temperature)
5
Cover the first sheet with another sheet of phyllo dough and brush again with butter, then sprinkle with one fourth of the ground almonds. Top with another sheet of dough, more butter and nuts and repeat until six sheets of phyllo are stacked.
6
Place the apple mixture along the short edge of the dough
7
With the help of the parchment paper, roll the phyllo around the filling tightly
8
Finish rolling the strudel and tuck the sides underneath
9
Place the strudel seam side down on a parchment-lined pan. Brush the surface lightly with melted butter.
10
Bake at 190°C for around 18-20 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Cut in 2-3cm slices and serve preferably warm.

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