Viennese Apple Strudel

Do you like apple strudel? I do! It’s especially good when it’s warm out of the oven…and even more so if you’re got a fresh pot of coffee to sip on while you’re eating your strudel. But warm strudel’s hard to come by unless you make it yourself. Of course, baking your own may seem like a tall order, especially if you're making your own pastry. However, it’s a fairly easy undertaking if you use commmercially-made phyllo dough. That’s what I use most of the time. My recipe is below.

This is a dessert you can make up ahead of time, and freeze until you’re ready to bake it. This means you could have company over to dinner and have your strudel baking while you’re eating the main meal. That way you have a warm strudel, fresh out of the oven to serve to your guests when it's time for dessert. Yum! It’s even more yummy if you serve it up with sour cream sauce. That recipe is also below.

Viennese Apple Strudel

½ (16 oz.) pkg. phyllo dough, thawed
½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
6 large golden delicious apples, sliced thinly and microwaved for 5 minutes
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup finely chopped walnuts
½ cup raisins
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
½ cup plain bread crumbs
Powdered sugar to sprinkle on top
Sour cream sauce (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium-sized bowl, combine apples, sugar, nuts, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon peel. Set aside.

With about 6 T. of the butter, brush each layer of phyllo dough with a little butter, before stacking the next layer of phyllo dough on top.

Spread bread crumbs in a 3-inch strip along one edge of the stack of phyllo layers, to within 2 inches of the edge and ends. Spoon apple mixture over bread crumbs. Roll up, jelly roll style to form a log shape. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Brush strudel “log” with remaining 2 T. of melted butter. Bake in preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from oven. Let cool for about 30 minutes to an hour. Then dust with powdered sugar. Slice, and serve with sour cream sauce.


Sour Cream Sauce

1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Grated rind of 1 lemon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. cinnamon
¾ cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Mix sour cream with sugar, lemon rind, nutmeg and cinnamon. Fold in the whipped cream. Chill and serve cold.

Happy strudel making!
Glücklich Strudel backen!

~Becky