Apple Strudel

Apple Strudel

I’m not a fan of cooked fruits, but I love apple strudel. When I lived in Berlin, the baker around the corner prepared some lovely apple strudels, among other delicious things. Just the scent was amazing—cinnamon, vanilla, butter. So, I wanted to share the recipe.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

Flour 300 g

Gluten free, self-rising flour 3 tablespoons

Butter 160g

Margarine 2 tablespoons

Egg yolks 2 (plus one to decorate the strudel)

Egg (entire) 1

Brown sugar 150g

Grated zest of one lemon

Two teaspoons of vanilla essence

Pinch of salt

For the fillings

Apples 5 (I buy New Zealand Envy. They’re big, juicy, and taste a bit like pears, but any other type would do, except maybe Granny Smith)

Sugar 1 tablespoon

Two teaspoons of vanilla essence

Cinnamon

Butter 1 teaspoon

Orange marmalade.

The dough:

Cut the butter into pieces and let them soften at room temperature until they’re malleable. Add the sugar and the margarine and whip everything until it become fluffy and soft. If you use an electric mixer, set it on low speed. I used high speed and spent the next half an hour cleaning the kitchen from bits of butter. The dogs helped though :)

Add the yolks and the egg, beat again. Add the flours, the lemon zest, salt, an vanilla, and start working the dough with your hands. When the flours are well incorporated, form a ball and put it in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. Don’t worry if it’s sticky. It’s okay. You can add more flour later when you roll the dough.

Meanwhile, prepare the apples. Peel them, cut them into thin slice, and place them in a glass container. I know many people will cringe at this, but I cook the apple for a few minutes in the microwave, to be sure everything is properly cooked. Otherwise, some hard, uncooked bits might remain.

Put the butter in a frying pan, add the sugar, vanilla, apples, and cinnamon. Let it cook for 15 mins, mixing now and then. Set aside to cool.

Cut the dough in half. You’ll need only half of it. You can store the remaining dough in the freezer or make some cookies.

Roll ¾ of the half dough into a 5mm wide slice. Spread the marmalade on top of it with a tablespoon. Fill it with the apples. Roll the remaining dough and cover the apples, then seal the borders. Before putting the strudel in the oven (180 C, static) brush the top with egg yolk. 

It takes 20 mins, more or less, to cook.

Let it cool and enjoy!

Variations: you can add sultanas and pine seeds to the apples, or chocolate chips.

Tips: the yolks are the secret for a perfect dough. They make the dough elastic and easy to roll. If you want to make homemade pasta for example, use only yolks. It’ll be perfect!

Book to go with it: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. I love South American authors, and this book is one of my absolute fav.:)

Thanks for reading!!