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RECIPE

THE BEST APPLE STRUDEL

written by @juliarecipes

You will not be able to resist this decadent, flaky, crispy and juicy at the same time Apple strudel. In the Czech Republic, we have been baking  Apple strudel since 18th century. Quite a practice right? So you can trust me on this one, I will take you step by step, how to make crispy and juicy Apple Strudel with puff pastry. I am also going to reveal you some tricks how to make the Best Apple Strudel.

 

 

I cannot deny my Czech roots! Especially, when I am getting wiser with years. I realize, that it is important to me to cherish these recipes and I want to hand all this beautiful heritage to my children. And so far, they love Czech cuisine, so that makes me extremely happy. Czech cuisine reminds me of my childhood, when my mom & my grandmother used to cook everything from scratch and from fresh, local ingredients.

VIDEO HOW TO MAKE BEST APPLE STRUDEL

 

Same it is with this Apple strudel. It is a heritage, which is handed down from mother to daughter as part of Czech cuisine traditions. Apple strudel has been one of the traditional dessert for many years in the Czech Republic, altogether with other countries under the Austro-Hungarian Empire back in 18th century.

 

 

PUFF PASTRY DOUGH

Apple strudel is usually made out of puff pastry, but you can see some recipes calling for simple pie dough. While pie dough might be easier and simpler to make, apple strudel needs to be flaky, crispy from outside and juicy, decadent from inside, so I will be using classic puff pastry dough to achieve the best results.

APPLES

I am not using any special kind of apples in apple strudel. Best are the seasonal and local apples from your region. More important is to peel the skin, if apples are older (not in the season). So if you are making apple strudel around September through December, you don’t need to peel off the skin, because the skin of apple should not be thick. Some kind of apples might be with thicker skin during any season, such as McIntosh, here I would recommend removing the skin.

GRATING APPLES & FILLING

Always grate apples, when using in Apple Strudel, it will result in light and fluffy filling. When you grate apples, make sure you strain the juices, some apples might give a lot of juice, and we don’t need that in our filling, otherwise the Apple Strudel will be very saggy.  To give an extra crunch and flavor in Apple Strudel, my friend has though me once to add toasted breadcrumbs and butter on the top of the apple filling and this was a life changer! I won’t make my Apple Strudel any other way!

 

STEP BY STEP

You can see here on the pictures step by step, how to make Apple Strudel. Start with  toasting the breadcrumbs with small piece of butter for 5 minutes or until golden brown, because you will need to cool down the breadcrumbs before using them in the recipe. Cleaned, cored and grated apples will be mixed to obtain flavorful mixture.

We will use sugar, cinnamon, walnuts (or any other nuts available in your region), lemon zest, dry raisins and vanilla sugar, where this mixture will be placed on rolled puff pastry. On the top and the bottom of this apple mixture, I add toasted breadcrumb. It will absorb all the juices left from the apples, plus the butter will give extra flavor. Fold the puff pastry to cover the filling and turn the dough upside down. Keep the seam on the bottom. Brush with egg wash and bake for 35-45 minutes. Easy right 😉 I told ya, this is delicious and easy to make!

 

 

 

When you take it out from the oven, make sure you leave it to cool off on the baking sheet. It will be easier to cut it and you won’t burn your tongue, while tasting it. Because this amazing apple scent going through your kitchen will be so addictive, that you won’t be able to wait, until it cools down. At the end don’t forget to sift good amount of confectioner’s sugar to sweeten a bit more the Apple Strudel.

For the biggest gourmand, scoop one or two scoops of ice cream next to the Apple Strudel and it will be a like a cherry on the cake. Vanilla ice cream compliments very well to Apple Strudel and helps to cool down as well the hot pastry.

 

RECIPE

THE BEST APPLE STRUDEL

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes ⭐baking time: 35-45 minutes⭐servings: 20 pieces

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 454 g puff pastry (two squares of puff pastry)
• 4 large apples
• 1 cup roasted breadcrumbs
• 1 cup walnuts/pecan nuts
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 cup raisins
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
• zest from 1 large lemon
• 1 large egg for egg wash
• 1 tsp cinnamon

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F/ 177 C.
2. Toast breadcrumbs on a pan with 1 tsp of butter for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Prepare a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Clean, core and grate apples, strain the juices. In large bowl mix the apples with all the dry ingredients (chopped nuts, raisins, sugar, zest from lemon, cinnamon).
5. Lay puff pastry on a clean flour dusted surface, roll it on 14″x 8″ rectangular shape. And place 1/4 of the toasted breadcrumbs in the middle of the puff pastry.
6. Add half of the apple mixture onto the breadcrumbs. Now add another 1/4 of breadcrumbs on the top of the apple mixture and few slices of butter. Close the puff pastry by folding it over the filling. Close also the edges of puff pastry by folding it inside or under the dough.
7. Turn the Apple Strudel upside down and leave the seam on the bottom. Place the Apple Strudel on the baking sheet and repeat the process with remaining puff pastry and apple filling.
8. Brush strudel with egg wash and bake on 375  F / 177 C for 35- 45 minutes or until  nice golden brown.
9. Remove from oven and let cool in sheet pan. To garnish, sprinkle apple strudel with confectioner’s sugar. Slice and serve with vanilla sugar 🙂 YUMMY!!

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