Apple Strudel

Fill your home with the sweet aroma of our delicious Apple Strudel - a classic dessert recipe perfect for any occasion! Our recipe features a flaky pastry crust filled with warm, cinnamon-spiced apples and topped with a dusting of powdered sugar. Whether you're entertaining guests or simply satisfying your sweet tooth, our Apple Strudel is sure to impress.

Before we settle down to make our own strudel, I want to note that whilst the pastry is actually incredibly forgiving and easy to work with once you roll it nice and thin; if that seems too difficult then simply purchase some phyllo pastry and use in place.

Why you’ll love this

Classic recipe for a recipe

Apple strudel is a classic for a reason thanks to the soft cubes of apples, light sweetness of raisins and crunch of the buttery breadcrumbs.

Easy dish

Whilst the recipe notes might seem lengthy, the reality is, once you have your pastry made this comes together quick and is super easy to serve up as it requires so little once it's baked up.

Ingredients and substitutions for Apple Strudel

• Flour: Plain flour is what was stated for most recipes, however, Austrian plain flour has a protein level (what gives baking a firmer crust to your baked goods) of 14%. The average protein level in plain flour in the US is 11% and 10% in the UK. In fact, bread flour has an average protein percentage between 12-13% making bread flour more ideal here for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we only knead the dough long enough to create a smooth dough, which doesn't activate the gluten to form a stiff finished product. Secondly, the dough needs to be rolled incredibly thin and hold itself up when shaping and the slightly firmer texture in bread flour will help avoid tearing in the dough.
• Neutral Oil: Sunflower oil was used, however, any neutral oil that won’t impart a flavor would work great here, such as Rapeseed oil.
• Breadcrumbs: Panko breadcrumbs were used, though these are likelier less traditional than breadcrumbs you can likely source at most regular supermarkets so plain breadcrumbs work perfect here also.
• Butter: Plain unsalted was used here, though you could substitute with salted, though you might want to omit the salt from the dough. You could substitute in equal measure with non dairy butter, however, I have not tried this so cannot be sure of the outcome.
• Apples: The apples used here were a mixture of ones I had picked and Granny Smith apples, meaning a variety of sizes and the fact the flesh browned quicker than store bought. If you cannot pick your apples, it is recommended to use either Granny Smith or Royal Gala. These apples have a firm texture that hold their shape during baking and a slight sweetness which requires less added sugar.
• Sugar: Confectioner’s or icing sugar was recommended and this coated the apples without drawing out too much moisture (which would give us a soggy strudel), but a light sweetness. You could substitute with superfine or caster sugar.
• Lemon juice & Cinnamon: The lemon juice helps draw out moisture from the apples and stops browning, plain fresh lemon juice was used here as it has no additives. Ground cinnamon helps to give a depth of flavor to our strudel so is recommended, though you can omit if you don’t like the flavor.
• Raisins: This is a traditional ingredient in strudel so is recommended, however, if you or someone don't like raisins in baking, simply omit them. The raisins do add a little additional sweetness and depth in flavor here (sometimes, they’re even soaked in rum for 15 minutes before being added to the apples).

See recipe card for quantities.

Equipment needed to make this

Greaseproof paper: Not only will greaseproof paper help give you a barrier to work with as you roll the pastry out super thin, but it will also help you shift the pastry from your worktop to the baking tray.

Tea towel: An unusual necessary item for baking, but in this case, a clean tea towel doesn’t just give you a great additional area to roll your pastry on to without but also will help you roll the pastry nice and cleanly.

Mixing bowls: You’ll need one for your pastry and one for your apple filling.

Small saucepan and spatula: To brown your breadcrumb mixture, you’ll need a small saucepan and to keep stirring so as not to burn those breadcrumbs.

Peeler and pairing knife: To help prepare your apples nice and easily here.

More apple recipes you’ll enjoy

Pwdin Eva - Welsh Eve’s Pudding

Appletaart - Dutch Apple Pie

Versunkener Apfelkuchen - German Apple Cake

How to make Apple Strudel:

Place the flour into a large bowl and stir a well into the center.

Add the oil, water and salt into the well and stir to form the dough.

Combine the dough until no dry patches remain in the base of the bowl and it feels smooth to the touch.

Cover and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.

Meanwhile, place 40 grams / 3 tablespoons butter on medium heat until it melts.

Toss in the breadcrumbs and stir to until lightly toasted.

Spoon into a small bowl and set aside.

Meanwhile, peel, core and dice the apples.

Place into a bowl, stirring the lemon juice. Toss in the sugar, ground cinnamon and raisins and stir to coat evenly. Set aside.

Place greaseproof paper onto a baking tray and lay the dough into the center of your baking tray and slowly and carefully roll out until it is thin enough to see your hand underneath or the details in your tea towel.

Sprinkle ½ your breadcrumb mixture over the middle section of your pastry.

Spoon over the apples over the breadcrumb mixture, allowing at least 1 ½ inches on all edges.

Smooth out the apple edges so none are sticking out before you begin folding your thin pastry.

Melt the remaining 40 grams / 3 tablespoons butter and brush over the entire edges of your pastry.

To create your strudel shape, pull the pastry on the side off your work surface and fold over the apple filling, pulling it lightly to firmly place up against the apples.

Repeat with the other side of your pastry, folding over your apples nice and snug on the edges.

Pull the bottom portion of your pastry up and over the apples, with the help of your tea towel to smooth out the edges and ensure no pieces of apple pierce through.

For the top portion of your pastry, fold as carefully as prior, but truly smooth over at your edges.

Brush with the remaining melty butter, place onto your baking tray and place into the oven to bake for 50 minutes, until golden.

Remove and allow to cool completely.

Sprinkle over a little icing sugar, slice and serve.

Dig in!

Apple Strudel

• Author: Sylvie Taylor
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 50 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
• Yield: Serves 10 1x
• Category: Desserts
• Cuisine: Austrian, German, Czech, European

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Description

This Apfelstrudel - Apple Strudel recipe is one of the most classic Apple desserts and it comes together wrapped in an easy pastry and unassuming filling for a stellar dish.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Dough
200 grams / 1 ¼ cups bread flour (see note in Ingredients section)
60 grams / ¼ cup sunflower or other neutral oil
80 milliliters / ⅓ cup water, lukewarm
¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
Apple filling
100 grams / 1 cup breadcrumbs
80 grams / 2.8 ounces butter
1.5 kilos / 3 pounds apples
115 grams / 1 cup confectioner’s/icing sugar
50 grams / ⅓ cup raisins
5 grams / 1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

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Instructions

Dough

1. Place the flour into a large bowl and stir a well into the center.
2. Add the oil, water and salt into the well and stir to form the dough.
3. Combine the dough until no dry patches remain in the base of the bowl and it feels smooth to the touch.
4. Cover and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Apple filling

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
2. Meanwhile, place 40 grams / 3 tablespoons butter on medium heat until it melts.
3. Toss in the breadcrumbs and stir to until lightly toasted.
4. Spoon into a small bowl and set aside.
5. Meanwhile, peel, core and dice the apples.
6. Place into a bowl, stirring the lemon juice. Toss in the sugar, ground cinnamon and raisins and stir to coat evenly. Set aside.

Making your strudel

1. Place greaseproof paper onto a baking tray and lay the dough into the center of your baking tray and slowly and carefully roll out until it is thin enough to see your hand underneath or the details in your tea towel.
2. Sprinkle ½ your breadcrumb mixture over the middle section of your pastry.
3. Spoon over the apples over the breadcrumb mixture, allowing at least 1 ½ inches on all edges.
4. Smooth out the apple edges so none are sticking out before you begin folding your thin pastry.
5. Melt the remaining 40 grams / 3 tablespoons butter and brush over the entire edges of your pastry.
6. To create your strudel shape, pull the pastry on the side off your work surface and fold over the apple filling, pulling it lightly to firmly place up against the apples.
7. Repeat with the other side of your pastry, folding over your apples nice and snug on the edges.
8. Pull the bottom portion of your pastry up and over the apples, with the help of your tea towel to smooth out the edges and ensure no pieces of apple pierce through.
9. For the top portion of your pastry, fold as carefully as prior, but truly smooth over at your edges.
10. Brush with the remaining melty butter, place onto your baking tray and place into the oven to bake for 50 minutes, until golden.
11. Remove and allow to cool completely.
12. Sprinkle over a little icing sugar, slice and serve.
13. Dig in!

Notes

Adapted from Tourmycountry.com and austria.info

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Nutrition

• Calories: 347 calories per serve

Keywords: pastry, apple recipe, european baking