Apple strudel is one of those desserts that everyone has tried at least once in their life!
Even I, who to be honest, detest raisins! On the other hand, I love apples and all desserts made with apples and cinnamon.
It is a typical dessert from northern Italy, in fact, in my area, it is done very little, but when this autumn period comes, it is absolutely a must-do dessert.
I often prefer to avoid putting raisins in the mixture, but I like to enjoy it even hot just out of the oven.
The apple strudel has its specific dough for the wrapper, but if you are in a hurry, a roll of ready-made puff pastry is just fine, or you can try making my quick puff pastry recipe that I leave here:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 12
- Cooking methods: Electric Oven, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients
Let’s start by preparing:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- Half egg
- 2 tbsp corn oil
- 3 tbsp water (warm)
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 cup pecans
- 3 cups apples
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp rum
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- A few pods vanilla (or vanillin)
- 3 tbsp butter
- 4 tsp milk
Tools
The dough can be made by hand, in a stand mixer, or in the Thermomix.
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Knife
- 1 Baking tray
Steps
First, prepare the dough that will wrap the apple filling.
To prepare the dough, place flour, egg, water, oil, and salt in a bowl and knead quickly. You will obtain a fairly firm dough, and then let it rest in the fridge for about half an hour.
In the meantime, prepare the filling. Chop the nuts in a food processor and soak the raisins to soften them.
Cut the apples into small pieces, sprinkle them with lemon juice, add sugar, cinnamon, and rum and mix well.
Add the nuts and drained raisins to the apple mixture.
In a small saucepan, place butter and breadcrumbs and toast on the stove, then set aside.
Take the dough from the fridge and start rolling it out with a rolling pin, trying to make it as thin as possible. It’s a hard dough but very stretchable and elastic.
Spread the rolled-out dough with melted butter and milk, and spread the butter and breadcrumb mixture on its surface. Place all the apples, leaving the edges to fold over themselves. At this point, gently fold the edges to close all the apple filling inside.
Brush the surface with the remaining butter and milk and make diagonal cuts to let the steam out during baking.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes.
Let it cool and dust with powdered sugar!
Storage, notes, and variations
The strudel can be stored for a couple of days, even in the fridge if desired.
Variations: It can be made with puff pastry, shortcrust pastry, or pie crust.
You can use any nuts you prefer.
