Quezi

Easy phyllo apple strudel (photo by czh - CC-BY)

When I was a little girl my mother made home made strudel. I remember what an undertaking it was to make the paper thing strudel dough. She would knead it until she was exhausted. As we got older, we got to help with the muscle power. All the kneading made the dough super elastic. Working very carefully, starting from the center of the table, mother would gently work the dough until it covered the big dining room table. She would then fill it with whatever fruit was at its peak. There was nothing more glorious than the flaky dough cut to reveal the juicy fruit filling.

I never made strudel from scratch but frozen phyllo dough makes a good substitute and making a strudel takes minimal effort for very impressive results.

Ingredients

Frozen phyllo dough
5 Tbs. / 1/3 Cup unsalted butter or margarine (melted)
4 Cups fruit (fresh is best, frozen or canned is OK)
¾ Cup sugar
1 Tbs ground cinnamon
1 lemon (juice and zest)
1 Cup raisins (optional)
1 Cup chopped or ground walnuts or almonds (optional)
½ Cup owdered sugar (sifted)

Preparations

You can defrost the phyllo dough by putting it in the refrigerator overnight or take it out of the freezer for about an hour before you want to make your strudel.

Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove in a small saucepan. You will need a pastry brush to spread the melted butter on the dough.

You can use almost any fairly firm fruit that is suitable for cooking. Apples, cherries, plums, blueberries, cranberries work well.

Prepare your larger fresh fruits by slicing them very thin or chopping them coarsely. (apples, plums). Cherries should be pitted and cut in half. Place six cups of the fresh fruit in a large bowl and sprinkle with the sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice and zest. Stir thoroughly until all the sugar is dissolved. Let the fruit sit for about half an hour. The fruits will release quite a lot of juice. To get four cups of apples for the strudel you will need six cups of sliced fruit.

If you’re using frozen or canned fruit place four cups of fruit in a bowl and follow the directions for fresh fruit.

Assembly

Unroll the defrosted phyllo dough. Carefully separate one sheet of dough and place it on your pastry board. Brush the sheet of phyllo lightly all over with the melted butter. Repeat with at least four more sheets. You can use as many as ten depending on how many layers of dough you prefer and how juicy the fruit is that you’re using. Do not butter the last sheet of phyllo. (Cover the remaining phyllo with a towel so it will not dry out while you finish assembling your strudel.)

Scatter the four cups of fruit evenly over the phyllo stack you’ve prepared. Squeeze out the juice that the fruit released so the phyllo will not get soggy. Leave about one inch uncovered around all the edges.

Optional: If you like, you can sprinkle chopped or ground walnut or almonds and/or raisins over the fruit filling.

Turn over the one inch of dough you left free at the short ends of the sheet of phyllo toward the center. Roll the filled sheets of phyllo gently and somewhat loosely to make your strudel. End with having the seam on the underside of the roll. Transfer your strudel to an ungreased baking sheet. Brush the strudel all over with the remaining melted butter.

Bake and Serve

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes and check for progress. How long it will take to bake the strudel will depend on how many sheets of phyllo and what kind of fruit you used. The strudel should be golden brown. If it’s not done at 15 minutes increase the baking time.

When done, take the strudel out of the oven and immediately cut it into 6 – 8 slices with a serrated knife. Separate the slices so that the steam of the hot fruit can escape. If you don’t slide the strudel immediately it will get soggy because of the trapped steam.

If you like, sprinkle the sliced strudel with powdered sugar. Arrange the strudel on a pretty serving plate and wait for the appreciative Ooohs and Aaahs.