Bookclub & Apple Strudel

​My book club just finished reading The Nazi Officer’s Wife. A true account of how a Jewish woman, Edith Beer, survived the terrible events of the Holocaust and World War II. In the book she mentions eating strudel, so I thought that would be a great treat to serve for book club.

I’ve never made strudel so I started searching the web for recipes, specifically apple strudel, because it is fall and my backyard tree is full of apples. I found a variety of apple strudel recipes, some had raisins, some didn’t.  Some added nuts to the apple mixture and some layered ground nuts in the dough. The one’s that “appeared” more authentic used toasted bread crumbs somewhere. What was used for pastry was as different as each baker themselves – some made homemade pastry so thin you could see through it, some used canned crescent dough, and other’s frozen phyllo dough. I even consulted our culinary arts faculty member at work (I work at a university) and he showed me a recipe from his pastry course. My version is compilation of all those recipes I found. Despite being my first try it was delicious and was surprisingly easy to make.

​Peel core and slice the apples. I used honey crisp, because that is what is growing in my back yard. I think any sweet-tart baking apple would work well.

Toast some bread crumbs, set aside to cool.

​Toss the apples with lemon juice, half the sugar, and let stand while you prep the dough. Follow the package directions to defrost the phyllo dough. Put a piece of parchment paper down on the counter and lay out one sheet of phyllo dough, brush with melted butter. Brush lightly, phyllo dough is fragile and tears easily.

Top with another sheet of phyllo dough and brush lightly with melted butter, then sprinkle on about
​1 tsp toasted bread crumbs. Top with a third sheet of dough, brush with butter, and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Continue until you have stacked six sheets of dough. Be sure to keep the dough you aren’t working with covered or it will dry out. I cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and then top that towel with another damp kitchen towel.

​Drain the apples and add cinnamon, raisins, and orange zest. The orange zest really makes this dish pop. It adds a flavor that makes people say “What is that? It tastes so good and refreshing.”

​Take half the apple mixture and layer down the long-side of the dough.

Roll the dough tightly around the filling and brush with butter.

​Repeat to make a second roll with the remaining half of the apple mixture. Use the parchment paper to lift the rolls onto a baking sheet.

​Bake at 375° F for about 18 minutes. Don’t make my mistake of forgetting to tuck the short ends in before rolling or you’ll lose some of the delicious liquid.

​But never fear, they clean-up quite nicely when removed from the pan and dusted with a little powdered sugar.

​Sliced on a plate and served with ice cream, no-one will know a little juice bubbled out. Especially if you are eating it while reading a good book, such as The Nazi Officer’s Wife.

Apple Strudel
6 cups Apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thinly
1 Tbs Lemon juice
1 cup Sugar (divided)
½ cup Raisins
1 Tbs Orange zest (about 1 orange)
1 tsp Ground cinnamon
12 sheets Phyllo dough
4 Tbs melted butter
3 Tbs Toasted bread crumbs
 

1. Toss the apples with the lemon juice and half the sugar in a medium bowl. Let stand while you prepare the dough, about 30 minutes.
2. Prepare the dough. Lay one sheet of phyllo dough on a piece of parchment paper. Lightly brush with melted butter. Top with another sheet of phyllo dough, brush with melted butter, sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of bread crumb. Top with a third sheet of dough, brush with butter, and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Repeat until 6 sheets of dough are stacked.
3. Drain the apples. Combine drained apples with raisins, orange zest, cinnamon, and remaining sugar.
4. Place half the apple mixture along one long side of prepared dough. Tightly roll the phyllo around the apple filling. Brush the surface lightly with melted butter.
5. Repeat the dough preparation, adding filling, and rolling for a second strudel roll.
6. Place the parchment paper and both rolls onto a baking sheet with the strudels seam side down. Bake at 375° F for 18 minutes.