Russian Style Mixeddried Fruit Strudel Recipes

APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• For the dough: Mix together the flour and salt in a bowl. Beat the oil and egg together and mix into the flour. Slowly add the water while stirring until a ball of dough forms. Dust a clean work surface with some flour. Knead the dough intensely until it is smooth and silky. Lay a large smooth kitchen towel on a clean work surface and generously flour the towel. Place the dough in middle of the towel and roll out into a large thin rectangle. Brush the dough with some butter and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs to cover the entire dough surface.
• For the apples: Put the apples into a large bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon and gently toss to mix well.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brush a baking sheet with butter and set aside. Place the long side of the dough closest to you. Mound the apples into a log along the bottom edge of the rectangle, leaving about a 2-inch border from the sides and the edge of the dough closest to you. Roll up the strudel jelly-roll style using the towel as an aid and beginning at the edge closest to you. Gently tuck in the sides and transfer the strudel seam-side down to the baking sheet. Brush generously with butter. Bake until lightly golden, 50 to 60 minutes.
• Let the apple strudel cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream and a dusting of sugar. And there you have an authentic German dessert.

MOCK FRUIT STRUDEL WITH ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and stir in apples, raisins, and golden raisins. Saute for about 5 to 7 minutes until they begin to caramelize. Add pears, peaches, vanilla, cinnamon, and brown sugar and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• If phyllo was defrosted, make sure it is completely defrosted before handling it. Once removed from package, you will need to cover phyllo with waxed paper and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out. Working with 1 sheet at a time, lay out a dough sheet on a baking sheet and brush on butter. Lay another sheet on top and butter again, repeating for all the phyllo sheets, until you have a stack of 10. Start another stack of 10 on a separate baking sheet and butter in between each sheet in the same way.
• Fold cubed pound cake and bread crumbs into the fruit mixture. (This will absorb enough of the moisture to prevent the phyllo from breaking down.)
• Spread the fruit mixture evenly over each stack of prepared phyllo and gently roll up the dough from the longest side, folding the ends shut as you go. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake in oven until golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
• Serve at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and warm caramel sauce.

APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• For strudel dough: Combine water and flour. Mix thoroughly to form slightly damp dough. Knead on a floured surface, cover with a bowl, and let rest for 1 hour.
• Heat butter in pan and stir in bread crumbs to coat. Cook until slightly colored. Stir in cinnamon and remove from heat. Toss apples with sugar.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cover table with 4-foot cloth and lightly flour. Place chilled dough on cloth; do not knead. Starting from center, gently pull out dough until it is paper thin, about 2 feet square. Trim edges to a clean square. Scatter crumbs over pastry, sprinkle with raisins and then apples.
• Using tablecloth to lift pastry and roll up tightly. Seal with egg white. Place strudel onto greased baking sheet. Paint with egg yolk/butter and bake for 40 minutes. Serve hot from oven, with whipped cream.

DRIED PLUM AND CHEESE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the cream cheese until soft and smooth. Add the egg and mix. Add 1/2 cup of the sugar, the vanilla, and cinnamon and mix. Add the cut up dried plums and mix just until incorporated. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with no tip and a large opening at the end (or just set aside in a bowl).
• Transfer one sheet of phyllo to the prepared pan. Using a pastry brush, brush the phyllo with butter. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the remaining sugar and 1/3 of the ground walnuts. Repeat with the two remaining sheets of phyllo. Reserve the remaining melted butter and sugar.
• Turn the sheet pan so the wide part of phyllo is parallel to your body. Two inches in from the left-hand edge of the phyllo, working from top to bottom and leaving 2 inches bare at the top and bottom, pipe or spoon 2 lines of cream cheese mixture 3/4 inches thick.
• Starting at the edge, roll up the pastry to encase the cheese. Keep rolling to form a log. Move the log to the center of the sheet pan and tuck the ends under to keep the filling from oozing out. Brush the surface with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool 10 to 15 minutes on the pan. Using a serrated knife, cut carefully into sections and serve warm, with whipped cream or ice cream.