Apple Strudel Recipe
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Recipe Overview
Preparation time: 20 minutes (but take filo pastry out of fridge 2 hours ahead of time and steep fruit 1 hour beforehand)
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients Needed
- 80g/2.8ozs raisins or currants
- 3 tablespoons/45ml rum (or apple juice)
- 60g/2ozs breadcrumbs (regular white or white sourdough)
- 25g/0.9ozs butter
- 100g/3.5ozs butter
- 550g/1.2lbs apples whole weight or 450g/1lb apple slices
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 150g/5ozs caster or superfine sugar
- 3 teaspoons vanilla bean paste, extract or essence
- 1 teaspoon ground cinammon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 8 sheets filo pastry (around 120g/4ozs)
- 45g/1.6ozs white sugar
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 - Take filo pastry out of the fridge 2 hours before starting. Then steep the dried fruit in the rum. Place raisins in a microwave proof bowl and pour rum or juice over. Microwave on high for 1 minute and allow to steep for 1-2 hours. The liquid should have all absorbed.
Step 2 - Place the 25g/0.9oz butter in a frypan and fry the breadcrumbs until crispy on low medium heat. This should take around 8 minutes, make sure to turn it over well. Test by picking it up between your fingers where it should be dry and crisp. Set aside to cool.
Step 3 - Brown the butter by placing it in a saucepan on medium heat and leave to bubble and become brown and nutty smelling. Watch this carefully so that it doesn't burn - it should take around 8 minutes. Drain into a bowl leaving behind the sediment. Make sure that it is warm when you are ready to use it.
Step 4 - Peel, halve and core the apples and slice into thin slices. Then cut these slices into 4 sections crossways as shown. Place in a bowl along with the lemon juice and toss. Add caster sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt as well as the rum soaked raisins and toss with your hands to ensure that the apple pieces are separated and coated with the cinnamon sugar. Cover to prevent browning.
Step 5 - Preheat oven to 200C/400f or 180C/350F fan forced and have a large baking tray ready. On a large sheet of parchment with the longer side facing you, lay one sheet of filo pastry on top. Brush with the melted browned butter, I like to flick some butter from the brush and then brush it vertically. Sprinkle each layer with 1.5 teaspoons of sugar all over. Repeat with the remaining 7 sheets of filo but on the last one, don't add butter and sugar.
Step 6 - Leaving a 2 inch border on the sides and 1 inch at the bottom spread breadcrumbs evenly over 3/4 of the strudel. Drain the apples of the juice and spread apples over the bottom half of the strudel. Fold over the left and right hand sides of the pastry. Then using the parchment, roll over the pastry to make a round, tight log. Place seam side down and brush with butter around the top and sides. I like to carefully transfer the unbaked strudel to another sheet of clean parchment as the other one has butter on it. Bake for 30 minutes, turning around after 20 minutes. Allow to rest for 45 minutes. Sift icing sugar over the strudel and serve with whipped cream, ice cream or custard!
Personal Note
The day that I made my final apple strudel I was so happy because I was quite frankly sick of seeing strudel. I left Mr NQ with dinner and a big slice of it and went out. I was going to a travel event in the city and I was running late because it was a Thursday night and it was very busy in the city. It also didn't help that I drove into the wrong parking station. Google maps isn't great in the city with all of those tall buildings and when I drove in and got to the boom gates I realised there was nowhere for me to put in a code and so I reversed backwards up the ramp, something that I consider high risk because I hate reversing and also because I didn't know if there would be a car behind me.
I briefly considered parking in the loading dock which actually seemed very quiet and dormant. But then regrouped and realised that the parking station was on the opposite side of the street so I did another loop in the busy city traffic and finally found it. I was even later at this stage. I was also busting to pee as I had been stuck in gridlocked traffic for so long.
The hosts were texting me and I was busy rushing to the restaurant where the event was held. I figured I'd just slip in quietly and take my seat. I've seen many people do this in the past and it isn't a big deal. I arrived breathless and apologised for being late and they looked at the sheet to find my seat. It was right in front of where the marketing director was doing a presentation so there was no chance to me slipping in quietly! And then he saw me and stopped talking and gave me a big hug and kiss and said "Lorraine is here!". I was blushing like crazy and then everyone started clapping. And I didn't get to pee for one and a half hours while the presentation was on because I was sitting in the front. So much for the subtle entrance - that will teach me not to be late again!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like apple strudel? And have you ever mistakenly made a big entrance?