German Apple Strudel

This challenge was brought to me several weeks ago by a friend, and after a couple of weekends traveling and a busy work schedule, I am finally fulfilling my promise to create “the best” German Apple Strudel.

I did quite a bit of research about different variations of recipes and styles and decided that I would use bits and pieces from a 2 or 3 different sources. I wanted to keep it simple, but add a variety of rich flavors so I based my recipe off Paula Deen’s Apple Strudel recipe on foodnetwork.com and simplified it with ideas from a globalgourmet.com recipe called Apfelstrudel (Apple Strudel) from Germany.

What You’ll Need:

• 3-4 Apples: peeled, cored, cut into quarters and thinly sliced
• 3/4 Cup of Raisins
• 1/4 Cup of Rum or Apple Juice
• 1/2 Lemon, juiced
• 1 tbs Lemon Zest, finely chopped
• 1 tbs Cinnamon
• 2 tbs Butter, cut into pieces
• 1 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
• 4-6 tbs Butter, melted for spreading
• 6 Sheets of Phyllo Dough, from the freezer section of your supermarket
• Clean piece of cloth: Doesn’t need to be anything special, I used non-woven rayon cloth

To Prepare:

• Preheat the over to 350 degrees F
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Directions

In a small bowl pour the rum or apple juice over the raisins and microwave for 45 seconds. Then let sit for 15 minutes.

In the mean time, peel, core and thinly slice the apples. There are a lot of recipes that call for one specific type of apple, but I like to use an assortment. Some red, some green and different brands as well. I feel there’s more variety in the flavor that way.

Combine apples, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon, brown sugar, butter and finally the raisins in a large bowl. This is the part I usually like to do to my personal taste preferences. Once everything is combined, try one of the apple slices. I’m a huge fan of Cinnamon so I tend to add a little extra, or you may think it needs more lemon juice. This is the part of the recipe to have a little fun with!

Once you have the apple and raisin mixture combined, set aside and carefully roll out the Phyllo Dough. One of the most important things to remember about Phyllo Dough is patience. Be gentle! Once the sheets are rolled out, cover them with a damp paper towel so that they don’t dry out.

Unfold the cloth and tape the edges to the counter. This gives you an easy area to work in while you’re preparing the dough. I also found that when its time to roll it up at the end, the cloth makes it easier to do so and the dough doesn’t stick to the counter.

Place one sheet of Phyllo Dough on the cloth and lightly brush with melted butter. Be a little generous with the butter, but be gentle. Don’t hold the edges of the dough too much because they may tear. If the phyllo sheet moves a little that’s OK, start brushing in the other direction to counteract it. Place the second sheet directly on top of the first and butter. Repeat with the remaining 4 sheets. Remember to keep the unbuttered sheets covered.

Once all the Phyllo sheets are buttered, rotate so that the cloth is  lengthwise (see picture below). Scoop out roughly 3/4 cup to 1 cup of the apple and raisin mixture, being sure to get the raisins and juices that have fallen to the bottom, and place on the nearest third of the phyllo stack leaving a 2-inch border. Remember, the apples will shrink once they are in the oven, so what may seem like a lot, may not be too much after all. So add plenty of the mixture!

Carefully lift the bottom edges of side furthest from you and fold it over, covering the filling. Fold in the left and right sides and gently roll the stack away from you until the filling is completely concealed and the seam is on the bottom. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, brush generously with butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar and a little bit of cinnamon.

Total bake time is 30 minutes. 20 minutes into baking, take the strudel out of the oven, brush again with butter and then let it finish baking for the remaining 10 minutes. 

Let cool. Serve warm or cold with some whipped cream and ice cream.

Enjoy!

Tags: Apfelstrudel, Apple, Apple Studel, Baking, German, Strudel