Puff pastry apple strudel
A dish so easy to make, it almost doesn’t need a recipe.
I can’t think of an easier recipe than this one to tempt taste buds and please palettes. I always keep a supply of frozen puff pastry on hand, and with a few other pantry staples this dessert can be made at a moment’s notice— thawing the pastry and dicing your apples is the only real prep involved.
There are also two ways to bake this dish in my experience. You can leave the flour out of the recipe and spoon the brown sugar that’s melted off over the pastry crust halfway through the bake time to achieve dark caramelization of the crust OR you can add a small portion of flour to the apple mixture to bind the sugar inside the pastry and bake with a classic golden crust. However you choose to bake this dish, serve it warm and make the portions big — your guests will thank you. —CFG
INGREDIENTS
2 cups of apples (2 large or 3 small/medium) suitable for baking, peeled, cored, and diced into small pieces
1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 rounded tsp cinnamon or cardamom
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts or slivered almonds (optional)
1/2 tbsp of all-purpose flour (optional)
For egg wash:
1 egg yolk
Splash of milk/cream
Pinch of salt
Granulated sugar for topping
Directions
Preheat oven to 400F.
Peel, core, and dice 2 cups of apples suitable for baking. Place diced apple pieces in a medium-sized mixing bowl and drizzle 1 tsp of lemon juice over the apple. Gently toss the apple pieces to evenly distribute the lemon juice.
Add 2/3 of a cup of brown sugar, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, 1 rounded tsp of cinnamon/cardamom to the lemon/apple mixture and lightly mix until fully incorporated.
Next, add in optional ingredients to the mixing bowl: 1/2 cup of raisins, 1/4 cup of nuts, 1/2 tbsp of all-purpose flour. Lightly mix ingredients until fully incorporated and set aside.
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and place a thawed sheet of puff pastry in the centre of the pan.
Transfer the apple mixture to the middle of puff pastry.
With paring knife, score 1/2” lines into the pastry on a slightly downward angle away from the filling on either side.
Starting on the right side, draw the scored pastry strip leftward and across the apple filling. Then take the top left pastry strip and draw it rightward across the filling, lightly overlapping the pastry strip above. Repeat these steps to complete the braiding process.
In a small bowl, add one egg yolk, a splash of cream or milk, and a small pinch of salt together. Gently whisk until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
Use a pastry brush and gently baste the puff pastry with the egg wash. Lightly sprinkle the top of the strudel with coarse/granulated sugar.
Transfer the strudel to your preheated oven and bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until golden brown.
If you want a caramelized crust, about 15-20 minutes into baking, carefully spoon the brown sugar run-off on top of the puff pastry and resume cooking.
Allow strudel to rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting
Serve and enjoy!
