Christmas Apple Strudel Recipes

CHRISTMAS APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Have ready a 24-by-24-inch sheet of clear plastic or two pieces of parchment. Generously butter a large baking pan. Sprinkle with flour, and tap out the excess; set aside. Place flour, 8 tablespoons butter, 3 eggs, salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1 tablespoon water in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until dough comes together. Divide dough in half equally, flatten into two disks, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place bread in the clean bowl of a food processor; pulse until crumbly; set aside. Melt 10 tablespoons butter in a large skillet set over medium-low heat. Add pine nuts and breadcrumbs, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes; set aside.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sliced apples and remaining sugar; cook, stirring frequently, until apples have softened, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat; transfer apples to a large bowl. Stir in the pine-nut mixture, lemon zest, and raisins, and set aside to cool, about 15 minutes.
• Place egg yolk in a small bowl, and stir to break it open; set aside. In a small skillet on low heat, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter; set aside. Spread the plastic sheet on a clean surface, and dust with flour. Remove dough from refrigerator, and place it in the center of the plastic sheet or on parchment. Roll out into a 20-inch diameter paper-thin circle. Brush the dough with melted butter. Spread half of the reserved apple mixture on the dough. Lift the front edge of the plastic up, and fold the dough over the apple mixture and away onto itself. Repeat folding procedure, ending with the raw edge on top. Gently lift edge, and brush with egg yolk and gently press to seal. Brush ends of dough with egg; fold up; seal. Repeat process with second piece of dough. Transfer to prepared baking pan. Brush surfaces with egg yolk. Using a wooden skewer, pierce the strudels all over.
• Transfer to oven; bake, rotating pan once halfway through, until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven; transfer pan to wire rack to cool, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar; serve.

EASY APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place apples in a large bowl. Stir in brown sugar and golden raisins; set aside. Place puff pastry on baking sheet. Roll lightly with a rolling pin. Arrange apple filling down the middle of the pastry lengthwise. Fold the pastry lengthwise around the mixture. Seal edges of pastry by using a bit of water on your fingers, and rubbing the pastry edges together. Whisk egg and milk together, and brush onto top of pastry.
• Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown.

FESTIVE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/ 350 degrees F/ Gas 4. Lay out 6 sheets of filo pastry on a clean tea towel, overlapping each by an inch or so, so they cover the tea towel.
• Cook's Note: The filo should cover the tea towel completely, with just a little overhang at one of the shorter ends.
• Work quickly so your pastry doesn't dry out and brush some melted butter all over it. Sprinkle over the cinnamon and 2 ounces/ 50 g of the sugar, then crumble over your ginger nuts to add a nice bit of crunch. Carefully layer the rest of the pastry sheets on top and brush again with butter.
• Use your hands to crumble the Christmas pudding into a bowl then grate in the fruit, cores and all. You want to have about the same amount of grated fruit as you've got pudding. Add about 2 tablespoons of sugar, and mix it all together to break up the pudding a bit more. Sprinkle this all over the pastry so it's roughly covered, leaving the overhang clear. Place the chocolate in a row on top of the Christmas pudding, down the short side nearest the overhang.
• Fold the overhang over the chocolate and pinch it up, then lift up your tea towel, and use it to help you carefully roll up your strudel. Tuck the ends under to seal it and transfer to a large nonstick pan. Brush it all over with butter then sprinkle over a little more sugar. Bake in the hot oven for about 40 minutes until crisp, golden and gorgeous looking. It might split a bit and look slightly rustic, but I think that's quite nice. Cook's Note: You could wrap an extra layer of filo round it before cooking if you want it to look a bit neater.
• Once the strudel is cooked, leave to cool, then use a serrated knife to cut the strudel into
• 2-inch/ 5 cm slices. Dust these with icing sugar and serve with ready-made custard from the refrigerator.