Experience Austrian Cheese Strudel Recipes

EXPERIENCE AUSTRIAN CHEESE STRUDEL

Steps:

• 1. Pastry: Knead the ingredients thoroughly until you get an even round ball. (10 minutes) Brush with a little oil, cover with cling wrap and place in a nice spot to rest at room temperature for one hour.
• 2. Quark Cheese: Heat the milk in a large pan to 160 F for 40 seconds. Place the lid on the pan of milk and let the milk cool to room temperature. Whisk the buttermilk into the milk, then let it sit for 18 to 24 hours. After the milk has soured and curdled, strain it. Layer a sieve with cheesecloth or a clean cotton woven towel. Pour the milk mixture into the sieve or towel and allow it to drain overnight in the refrigerator. You will want to occasionally stir it to get the cheese to drain thoroughly.
• 3. Filling: Preheat oven to 200C and lightly grease your cookie sheet. Strain the quark and the sour cream in a fine sieve. Next, beat the egg whites until they form firm peaks and set aside. In a second bowl, beat the yolks with the sugar, vanilla sugar and butter until creamy. Add the lemon zest, corn flour, strained quark and sour cream and mix well. Set aside until needed.
• 4. Assembling: If you use filo, simply lay out the sheets to form a square, making sure the sheets overlap. It doesn't matter if you use the strudel pastry or the filo pastry, just make sure to work quickly to prevent the dough from drying out.
• 5. If making the strudel pasty: roll out the dough on a tablecloth that has been well dusted with flour. When it is about 50cm in diameter, you are ready to start stretching. Place your hands underneath the center of the pastry and keep moving your hands outwards. Don't worry about apply any force, gravity will make the dough stretch. If you get holes you can fix them by trying to stick them together. (by stretching the dough into another direction)
• 6. Once your dough is ready (the thinness and the size of the pastry you want) you will need to finish the filling for the strudel by folding in the reserved beaten egg whites.
• 7. Spread the filling evenly over 2/3 of the pastry, making sure not to touch the pastry with your spatula. Leave the edges free to fold in the filling. Drizzle some vegetable oil onto the remaining 1/4.
• 8. Rolling up: Working from the end with the filling, fold in the pastry by lifting the table cloth, then lift the whole roll into your baking tray. Drizzle a little oil on the top and bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

FARMER'S CHEESE AND RAISIN FILO STRUDEL

Steps:

• 1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350°F. Lightly brush a 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish with a little of the melted butter.
• 2. Using a rubber spatula, work the cheese through a medium-meshed wire sieve into a medium bowl. Stir the bread crumbs and milk in another medium bowl.
• 3. Beat the room-temperature butter in a large bowl with a handheld mixer on high speed until creamy. Add the sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla and beat until light in color and texture, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Mix in the farmer's cheese, soaked bread crumbs, and sour cream.
• 4. In another medium bowl, using very clean beaters, beat the egg whites at high speed until they form stiff peaks. Stir about one fourth of the whites into the cheese mixture, then fold in the remaining whites. Fold in the raisins.
• 5. Place a filo sheet in the prepared pan, letting excess dough hang over the sides. Using a soft brush, lightly brush the filo as best as you can with melted butter. Layer 5 more filo sheets, buttering each layer. Pour in the cheese mixture and spread evenly. Layer with 6 more filo sheets, buttering each layer and the top. Tuck the excess filo into the baking pan.
• 6. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 1 hour. Cool for 30 minutes. Dust the top of the strudel with confectioners' sugar. Serve warm or cooled, with the vanilla sauce, if you wish.
• MAKE AHEAD
• The strudel is best the day it is baked.