Apples, raisins, walnuts and flaky, buttery crust.....delicious!
The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.
This was my first attempt at homemade strudel and I learned a lot throughout the process of what to do and what NOT to do next time around. All in all it was a fun experience AND a team effort. My sister-in-law is a German teacher and she has been wanting to make some authentic German food with her students so she came over to make a test run with some of the recipes first. Her apple strudel recipe was very close to the one Linda and Coco selected, with only a few variations. The one thing we discovered was you really do need a pastry cloth in order to roll the pastry out thin enough. I thought my pie mat would do the trick but it wasn't large enough or as flexible as we needed. The recipe even suggests a tablecloth but a large pastry cloth should work well.
Below are some steps for assembly and you can view the full recipe here. The filling is quite easy: some walnuts, apples, raisins, cinnamon, sugar and orange rind.
Rolling the strudel dough out thin enough is definitely a challenge. Again, I recommend a pastry cloth (not a pastry mat as used below.) The cloth will allow you to stretch the dough paper thin and give you leverage for rolling it into the log shape after filling.
Sealing up the ends....
Be sure to brush with butter throughout the baking process so the outside is lightly browned when removed from the oven.
What a beautiful strudel, bet that would be wonderful with some vanilla ice cream.
Posted by: Heavenly Housewife | May 27, 2009 at 02:37 AM
Great job! I was nervous about this challenge, but had fun!
Posted by: Rachel | May 27, 2009 at 10:19 AM
This strudel dough looks pretty tricky to handle! You did a great job and it looks excellent! Love the apple and raisin and walnut filling!
Posted by: Natasha - 5 Star Foodie | May 27, 2009 at 11:01 AM
awesome job!i love the step-by-step photos!
Posted by: raquel | May 27, 2009 at 04:47 PM
Great job, I went for the tablecloth because my pastry mat wasn't big enough!
Posted by: Speedbump Kitchen | May 27, 2009 at 06:20 PM
YUM! I love apple strudel and this looks absolutely delicious! Nice work!
Posted by: Rachael | May 28, 2009 at 10:26 AM
mmmm the filling in this sounds simple yet so flavorful and delicious!
Posted by: stephchows | May 28, 2009 at 11:13 AM
Wonderful strudel. Apples and raisins make a great combination!
Posted by: The Duo Dishes | May 28, 2009 at 08:34 PM
strudels are a tough thing to make! great job here!
Posted by: Sophia | May 28, 2009 at 11:12 PM
A well-floured cloth really helps. Nice that your sister-in-law helped you. And the result looks truly delcious.
Posted by: Simona | May 30, 2009 at 12:27 AM
That home made streudel looks wonderful. Nuts, raisins and apples together are a great combination.
Posted by: Diana | May 31, 2009 at 06:52 PM