Apple Strudel

The Viennese made this dish famous with their delicate, thin layers of dough and sweet, tangy apple filling. Although real strudel dough is quite difficult to make, ready-made filo pastry makes a very good substitute.

Ingredients

Filling
1 slice bread
750g eating apples
1 small lemon
40g sugar
50g raisins OR sultanas
1 x 5ml spoon ground cinnamon

Pastry
6 sheets filo pastry
2 x 15ml spoons vegetable oil

Equipment

Weighing scales
Blender
Small bowl
Large bowl
Vegetable peeler
Sharp knife
Chopping board
Grater
Measuring spoons
Juice squeezer
Wooden spoon
Cling film or a clean, damp tea towel
Baking parchment or greaseproof paper
Pastry brush
Baking tray
Skewer (optional)
Oven gloves
Sieve

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan or gas mark 5.
2. Use a blender to make the fresh breadcrumbs. Simply whizz for around 10 seconds. Place the
   breadcrumbs in a small bowl.
3. Peel, quarter and core the apples. Cut into long, ½cm thick slices. Place the apple slices into the large mixing bowl.
4. Grate the lemon peel (this is called zesting). Add the zest to the apple. Squeeze the lemon and add the juice to the apple slices.
5. Stir the sugar, raisins and cinnamon into the apple mixture.
6. You are now ready to assemble the strudel so make sure you have a clean, clear work surface.
   Filo pastry dries out very quickly so use cling film or a damp tea towel to cover the pastry whilst you prepare each sheet of pastry.
7. Lay out your greaseproof paper or baking parchment and place 1 sheet of filo pastry on it.
   Brush with oil.
8. Place another sheet on top of the first sheet, so that it overlaps by about 7cm (it doesn’t have to be exact). Brush with oil.
9. Add another sheet directly over the first sheet and brush with oil.
10. Add another sheet directly over the second sheet and brush with oil.
11. Keep going until all 6 sheets are used.
12. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top 2/3 of the pastry, leaving a 4cm border around the edge.
13. Spoon the apple mixture over the top of the breadcrumbs.
14. Fold the 4cm of bare pastry edge over the filling. Now, starting from the top, roll the pastry and filling towards you, using the greaseproof paper to help you. Keep rolling until you have a big fat sausage-shaped strudel.
15. Brush the baking tray with oil.
16. Using the greaseproof paper, lift the strudel onto the baking sheet. Turn the strudel so that the edge of the pastry is underneath. If it is a bit too big for the tray, just bend it into a horseshoe shape.
17. Brush the strudel with oil.
18. Bake for 30–40 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Use a skewer or a sharp knife to insert into the middle to check that the apple is cooked.
19. When cool, cut into slices.

Skills used include:
Weighing, measuring, peeling, chopping, grating, blending, mixing/combining, rolling, melting
and baking.

Top Tips

• The amount of sheets differ in packs of filo pastry. Fresh filo pastry is readily available in
  supermarkets and any leftover sheets can be frozen to use another time.
• There are often lots of recipe ideas and useful diagrams on filo pastry packets, showing you
  different ways of shaping and using the pastry.

Something to try next time

• Try combining other fruits with the apple such as apricots, plums or raspberries (with a total
  combined weight of 750g).
• Filo pastry is a bit like wrapping paper. Try making your strudel into individual parcels rather
  than one large one.

Prepare now, eat later

• The Apple Strudel will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat until crisp and hot.
• Alternatively, freeze the strudel, whole or in slices, for up to a month. Allow to defrost if frozen and reheat in a hot oven for a few minutes until hot.