Today I want to offer you a light sweet treat that surprised me by how well it turned out, the mini apple and cinnamon strudels. The pastry is made with rice paper or edible rice sheets that are now easily found even in Italy, and this was my first experiment. Besides being light, they are vegan and gluten-free: they were a hit at home!
Rice paper can be found in ethnic stores or well-stocked supermarkets and is prepared only with rice flour or tapioca and water. Once rehydrated, it becomes pliable and is suitable for making filled sweet or savory parcels or rolls. The parcels, depending on the filling, can be cooked or even eaten raw. Rice paper is typical of Vietnamese cuisine (original name: bánh tráng): you can make the famous spring rolls but also the Vietnamese summer rolls with various fillings and mixed vegetables for a super light and delicious snack.
For these mini sweet strudels I used the classic apple and cinnamon filling with a little sugar and cooked them in an air fryer, but you can also use the oven. They are truly delicious, disappeared in a flash: my boys devoured them! Let’s see how to prepare them…
Some similar fruit treats:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Air Fryer, Oven
- Cuisine: Vegan
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 1 apple (large)
- 4 sheets rice paper
- 10 g coconut sugar (or whole cane sugar)
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (1 measuring teaspoon)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 lemon (juice only)
- 1 tsp powdered sugar (optional, for decoration)
- Total points = 6 WW points
- Points for 1 mini strudel = 1.5 WW points
- Points for 2 mini strudels = 3 WW points
Tools
- Plates
- Small bowl
- Brush
- Air fryer
- Cooling rack
Steps
Peel the apple, core it, and slice it. Mix with the coconut or cane sugar, cinnamon, and also with the lemon juice to prevent the apple from browning too much and also to give more flavor to our sweet filling. Set aside.
Pour some water into a deep plate wider than the rice paper sheets, I used a ceramic tray. Submerge a rice paper sheet and let it soak for about 1 minute until it’s soft enough to fold without breaking. Some people use warm water, but I used cold tap water and found it worked just fine. Lift the sheet from the water gently, let it drain, and place it on your work surface.
Place some apple slices on the rice paper, toward the bottom, leaving space on the sides as shown in the photo. Fold the bottom edge up, then the two sides toward the center, and finally roll up gently. If the rice paper tears a bit, no problem, just overlap the two torn edges and roll: the water will help them stay sealed.
Once rolled, leave the seam side down. Here’s what the mini strudel will look like before baking: the rice paper is transparent and you can see the filling: cool, right? Form the other 3 mini strudels in the same way.
Preheat the oven to 428°F if static or 392°F if convection. Lightly grease a baking tray and place the rolls inside. Gently brush the surface with oil: one teaspoon of oil will be enough for 4 pieces. Bake for about 25-30 minutes in the center of the oven, turning the mini strudels several times during baking.
In this case, I recommend using the tray provided with your air fryer if you have one like mine in the photo, or any tray, even silicone, that fits inside the basket. Lightly grease the tray you will use, place the rolls inside, and gently brush with oil. Cook at 356°F-392°F for about 20 minutes, turning them occasionally.
Once they are nicely golden, remove the mini strudels from the tray and let them cool on a cooling rack.
And here are the mini apple and cinnamon sweet strudels ready. A dusting of powdered sugar and snack is served… and what an aroma fills the house!
I don’t know how to describe the texture of these treats. The edges remain crispy while the rest of the wrap, being made of rice flour and not fried, is a bit chewy, but good chewy. In English, there’s a specific word: chewy, meaning more “chewy” than gummy. In short, you won’t be able to eat them in two bites, but you’ll need to chew them well, which, for those of us on a diet, is ideal!
And here at home, I managed to eat half of one, and the rest was fought over by my son and the Dutchman who are waiting for me to make them again… So what are you waiting for?
Enjoy!
by Giovanna Buono
Notes
Source used for this recipe: Baked apple pie rice paper rolls
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What can I use instead of rice paper?
If you have no problems with gluten, you can certainly use either phyllo dough or light puff pastry (make sure it’s vegan). However, in that case, you will need to count the Weight Watchers points as they will be different.
How long do they keep?
You can certainly keep them for up to 3 days outside the fridge, but the texture will change, they will tend to soften, so I don’t recommend it.
What can I use instead of apple?
I have only made them with apple. If you want to use other fruit, I recommend fruit that doesn’t soften too much during cooking, such as banana. I haven’t tried it, but I think mango could also work well!
