APPLE STRUDEL

Hello,

In an upcoming post I plan to tell you all about the making of hard apple cider with my friend Nancy Corbett.  The day we did that Nancy was kind enough to send me home with a big bushel full of apples.

So, what does a girl do with a big bag of apples?  Make Apple Strudel of course! Therefore, today I thought I’d show you how you too can make really yummy Apple Strudel without a whole lot of effort.

I fell in love with Apple Strudel many years ago on a college trip to Vienna, Austria.  There, the famous coffee houses all serve delicious Viennese Style Apple Strudel. My method of making it is a little less authentic, but it also is a lot less labor intensive.  Let me show you how to do it.

Now, if you’re really lucky, you have a friend like Nancy with an orchard, or have an apple tree yourself. This way you can first enjoy picking the apples you’ll need for this recipe, ripe from the tree.  Nancy grows many varieties of apples, but on the day we did our picking the Jonagold variety were ripe.  A Jonagold apple is a cross between a Jonathan and Golden Delicious apple.

It’s a great, all-purpose apples with a crisp bite and a sweet taste.  So, I used them for my Apple Strudel. Other varieties also perfect for this recipe would be Granny Smith or Pippin apples.

To get started, peel, core and then thinly slice your apples to achieve 7 cups.  It is also acceptable to chop the apples into small cubes, but I prefer the texture of sliced apples in my strudel. Add the juice of 1 large lemon (about 4 tablespoons) to the apples and gently toss to coat.  The lemon helps prevent browning of the apples.

Next, add 3/4 cup of granulated sugar to a small mixing bowl. Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon salt to the sugar and whisk to combine.

Then pour the sugar over the sliced apples, gently toss to combine and set them aside.

Next, melt 4 tablespoons (1/2 cube) of butter in a small frying pan.  To that add 3/4 cup of fine, plain white bread crumbs.  Cook, stirring over low heat until the bread crumbs brown.  The bread crumbs serve two purposes in this recipe: they absorb the juices that flow from the apples as they cook, and add a delicious bit of texture and taste to the strudel.  Now, set the bread crumbs aside while you prepare the pastry dough.

Start with two sheets of thawed, pre-made frozen puff pastry dough.  A purist would make his own pastry dough from scratch. But I promised you the easy method, so pre-made puff pastry dough it is.

Lightly flour a large work surface.  Sometimes I simply roll the pastry dough out on a large, flat, floured surface.  Other times, I’ll roll it out on a large, floured cloth which makes it easier to roll up the Apple Strudel later on. If you were a Viennese Pastry Chef you would roll your homemade pastry dough out on a table covered with a large tablecloth. But alas, a Viennese Pastry Chef I am not. So, to do it my way, unfold 2 sheets of puff pastry dough, lay them out lengthwise, side-by-side and pinch the two pieces together.  Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a large rectangle, making it as big and as thin as you can get it.  Ideally, the dough should be paper thin.

Once you have the dough as thin as you can get it, sprinkle the entire surface with the toasted breadcrumbs.

Then sprinkle the pastry dough with 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts.

Using a slotted spoon, spread the apples evenly over the pastry dough, allowing the extracted juices to remain in the bowl.

I forgot to photograph this step, but please don’t you forget to cut up 1/2 cube (4 T.) of butter into small cubes and sprinkle them over the apples.  The butter melts as the strudel cooks and gives it a luscious, buttery goodness.

It is now time to roll it all up.  Starting at the widest, lengthwise side of the dough, gently lift and roll the strudel into a long cylinder.  Had you rolled your pastry dough onto a cloth, you could use the cloth to help lift and roll the dough.

A cloth underneath also helps to transfer the strudel onto a lined baking sheet. So, even though I failed to do it in this photo, I recommend rolling your dough out on a cloth. Using your fingers, pinch closed the seam and ends of the strudel. Place the strudel seam side down on the baking sheet. Depending on the size of my baking sheet, sometimes I make the strudel in one long roll and other times I shape it into the traditional horseshoe shape.  In my opinion either style is fine. The final step is to brush the surface of the apple strudel with 3 tablespoons of melted butter.

Bake in a preheated 375 º F oven for about 40 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.  Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool until warm.  Then transfer the strudel to a serving tray, sprinkle with powdered sugar and garnish it with some fresh mint.  Using a serrated knife, cut the strudel into generous slices and serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  ENJOY!

So there you have it: APPLE STRUDEL

APPLE STRUDEL

 

Print

Prep time

40 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

 

Serve this luscious Apple Strudel warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Author: Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Austrian

Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 7 Cups Tart Apples (Pippin or Granny Smith), thinly sliced
• 4 T. Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
• ¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. Salt
• 1 Cube + 3 T. Butter, divided
• ¾ Cup Fine White Breadcrumbs
• 2 Sheets Frozen Puff Pastry, Thawed
• ¾ Cup Finely Chopped Walnuts
• Powdered Sugar for Dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place sliced apples in a large bowl and add lemon juice, tossing gently to coat the apple slices.
3. Add sugar, cinnamon and salt to the apples and toss to combine. Set aside.
4. Melt ½ cube of butter in a small frying pan.
5. Add breadcrumbs and toast over low heat, stirring constantly until breadcrumbs are golden brown.
6. Remove toasted breadcrumbs from heat and set aside.
7. Cover a large, flat surface with a cloth or large dish towel and coat lightly but thoroughly with flour.
8. Lay 2 sheets of thawed puff pastry side-by-side, lengthwise.
9. Using your fingers, press the short ends of the pastry dough together to form a long rectangle of dough.
10. Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry dough out as thin as you possibly can without breaking it.
11. Roll in all directions while keeping the rectangular shape of the dough.
12. Sprinkle the entire dough surface with the toasted breadcrumbs.
13. Sprinkle the walnuts over the breadcrumbs.
14. Using a slotted spoon, distribute the sliced apples over the entire surface of dough, allowing the extracted juices to remain in the bowl.
15. Cut ½ cube of butter into small cubes and sprinkle them over the apples.
16. Using the cloth as your helper, starting from the long end of the dough, carefully roll up the strudel into a long cylinder.
17. Using your fingers, pinch closed the seam and ends of the cylinder.
18. Using the cloth as a sling, transfer the strudel onto a large, parchment lined baking sheet, seam side down.
19. If you desire, shape the dough into a horseshoe shape. The size of your baking sheet may require this.
20. Brush surface of dough with 3 tablespoons of melted butter.
21. Bake about 40 minutes until strudel is golden brown.
22. Cool slightly, then transfer strudel to a large serving platter.
23. Dust with powdered sugar.
24. Using a serrated knife, cut into generous slices and serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
25. ENJOY!

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