Apple strudel

The filling is easy to vary: raisins instead of cranberries, almonds or walnuts instead of pecans, pears or cherries alongside the apples. Filo pastry — often sold in Germany as strudel pastry — comes in very thin sheets; a pack usually holds 8, one strudel needs 3–4, and every sheet has to be brushed with butter.

Ingredients

Filling, version one

• apples — 4
• pecans — 100 g
• dried cranberries — 100 g
• sugar — 100 g (or less, to taste)
• ground ginger — 1/2 tsp
• ground cinnamon — 1 tsp
• breadcrumbs — 3 tbsp
• zest of one lemon

Filling, version two

• apples — 4
• dried apricots — 200 g
• sugar — 100 g
• butter — 100 g
• cornflour — 1 tbsp (slaked in water and added at the very end)

Also

• filo pastry — 8 sheets (for two strudels)
• butter — 100 g
• sugar — 2 pinches
• ice cream — to serve

Method

1. If the filo is frozen, take it out of the freezer, leave it in its packaging and let it come to room temperature for an hour.
2. Prepare the filling. Peel the apples and cut them into cubes. Chop the nuts.
3. Combine all the filling ingredients in one large bowl and mix. Drain off any juice that collects.
4. Lay out one sheet of pastry and brush it with melted butter. Repeat with 3–4 sheets.
5. Add the filling. Fold in the sides and roll it up.
6. Transfer to a baking tray seam side down. Brush with butter and sprinkle with sugar.
7. Bake for 35–40 minutes in an oven preheated to 180°C, until golden.
8. Cover the baked strudels with a towel for 5–7 minutes. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.

Tips

• The first filling goes into the strudel raw; the second is softened in butter first, which gives a more tender texture. Both work well.