Today we are making apple strudel with phyllo pastry. This combination of puff pastry with apples, raisins, nuts, and almond cream once brought strudel widespread popularity.
Cut the apples into small cubes and sprinkle with lemon juice. Melt the butter in a saucepan and sauté the apple cubes on it for 5-8 minutes until soft and translucent. If the skin on the fruits is too tough, it is better to peel them.
3 pc apple, ½ pc lemon
Finely chop the walnuts for the filling. Set aside 1-2 tablespoons for decorating the top of the pastry.
50 g walnuts
Add the remaining filling ingredients to the apple mixture: sugar, raisins, nuts, lemon zest, nutmeg, vanilla, and cinnamon. Cook everything together for another 5 minutes and let it cool slightly before continuing.
100 g raisins, 40 g sugar, 1-2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla extract, ¼ tsp nutmeg, ⅓ tsp salt
Frangipane Cream
Prepare the almond frangipane cream. Beat the softened butter together with powdered sugar until smooth. Then gradually mix in the egg and flour.
50 g almond flour, 20 g wheat flour, 60 g butter, 1 pc egg
Assembling the Strudel
On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, lay out the first sheet of phyllo pastry. Brush the edges with melted butter, about 3-4 cm wide around the perimeter, and spread a thin layer of cream over the rest of the surface. Place the next sheet on top and repeat the process. Work quickly as the thin pastry dries out quickly in the air.
6 leaf phyllo pastry, 15 g butter
For the last (sixth) sheet of phyllo pastry, also brush the edges with butter, but instead of frangipane cream, spread the filling in the middle.
Roll up the strudel. First, fold the short edges of the pastry inward, and then roll up the dough into a log and place it seam-side down. Brush the surface of the pastry with egg wash (a mixture of 1 egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water) or butter, and then sprinkle the remaining nuts from the filling on top.
Bake the strudel for 30 minutes in an oven preheated to 180 ˚C (356 ˚F).
Sprinkle the finished pastry with powdered sugar. Serve the strudel warm or cold. Enjoy your meal!