APPLE STRUDEL
Apple Strudel is a delicious cake originated from the northern Italy (the region called Trentino Alto Adige) and made with a very thin homemade light pastry crust stuffed with a apple filling.My grand mother came from that beautiful Italian region and she always made me this Apple Strudel!For the look of this treat, I was inspired by the movie Fantastic Beasts (if you know Harry Potter Wizarding World I'm sure you watched the movie!) where Queenie made a delicious Strudel that looks like this one, for the dinner with Jacob.If you're faimiliar with Apple Pie, you could say this cake it's the same but in a different shape...but not quite. The crust is very different, made without butter, it is unsweetened, very thin a mix between crunchy and crispy. It's a bit similar to phyllo dough.The filling is made with apples, cinnamon, pine nuts (or walnuts), raisins and crumbled cookies (in some recipes you can substitute cookies with bread crumbs). a bit dryer than the classic apple pie filling. The recipe video I shot, is totally inspired by Fantastic Beasts, but if you're not a fan of this franchise, don't worry! Because the recipe is absolutely delicious and traditional, I'm sure you will love it!
Ingredients
Dough
- 250 g (2 cups) all purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 18 g (1+1/2 tbsp) vegetable oil
- about 60 ml (1/4 cup) water
Filling
- 5 (850g - 1,8 pound) apples I've used the Red Delicious
- about 2 tbsp lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
- 50 g (1/3 cup) raisins
- 50 g (3-4 tbsp) pine nuts
- 70 g (3 tbsp) sugar
- 1+1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 70 g (2,5 oz) cookies smashed into small crumbles
- unslated melted butter for brushing the dough
Decoration
- 1 red apple slice into thin slices
- some drops lemon juice
- unsalted melted butter for brushing
- powdered sugar
Instructions
Dough
- In a big size bowl, combine flour and salt.
- In a small size bowl, mix the egg and the vegetable oil.
- Add the egg mix into the flour mix and combine.
- Add the water little by little until reach a dough (not sticky).
- Knead the dough for few minutes until smooth and shape it into a ball.
- Grease the ball dough with vegetable oil and let it rest in a greased bowl, covered with plastic wrap, until prepare the filling.
Filling
- Soak the raisins in lukewarm water for about 15 minutes, or until soft.
- Meanwhile peel the apples, slice them into medium thick slices, place them in a big size bowl and irrorate with the fresh lemon juice.
- Add sugar, pine nuts, drained raisins, crumbled cookies, cinnamon and combine. Set aside.
Assembly
- Cut out ¼ of the dough, roll it into a rectangle (long about 12 inch- 30 cm), then cut 9 long strips. Braid the strips to create 3 braids for final decoration.
- Roll out the leftover dough over a baking paper into a very fine rectangle: the dough sheet has to be almost transparent.
- Brush it with melted butter.
- Place the apple filling along the side of the dough (leaving 2,5cm-1inch to the edge). Fold in the sides to avoid the filling getting out during rolling.
- Roll the dough around the filling, seal the edges and place onto a baking sheet.
- Attach the braids to the strudel and brush with melted butter.
- Bake in preheated oven at 210°C-410°F for 15 minutes, then reduce to 170°C-340°F and bake for about 25 minutes.
- Cool down on a wire rack.
Decoration
- Soak the slices into a water and lemon juice mix, then microwave for 3 minutes.
- Make Apple roses by overlapping the slices and rolling them as I show in the recipe video below.
- Place the apple roses over the strudel.
- Dust with powdered sugar and serve it warm or cold.
Video
Notes
You can store it at room temperature for 1-2 days or in refrigerator for 1 week or in freezer for up to 3 months.