Here I am talking about Apple strudel, one of the most traditional pastry of Northern Italy, in particular of Trentino Alto Adige, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto, regions that once belonged to the Austro- Ungarian empire, where the strudel originates from. It is indeed called Apflelstrudel in German, "strudel" meaning "whirpool" from the shape given to the cake, a layered pastry with a sweet filling inside, mostly made of apples, sugar, cinnamon, raisin and bread crumbs. It can be considered the Austrian national cake, together with the equally famous chocolate Sacher torte. To make a good strudel it's very important to choose the right type of apples, which must be crisp, tart, with a fragrantly juicy flesh, like Pippin (Renette in Italian) or Winesap apples. I'm very happy to have learnt how to make this delicious cake, actually one of my favorites, at my 4th and last pastry lesson, so thank you teacher Gabriella! This recipe is part of her familiar culinary background since is her Mom's personal strudel recipe, "lo strudel di mele della mia mamma" in Italian. I love the spicy aromatic filling, the cinnamon touch, the fine sweetness of the butter, the delicate flavor of the toasted pine nuts, the fresh and scented aroma of cooked apples! Enjoy it when still warm just sprinkled with powdered sugar or well matched with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, custard or vanilla sauce. Here the recipe of Gabriella's Mom Apple strudel!
Apple strudel
(makes 8 servings)
To make the dough:
250 g white flour type 00
1/2 (half) tablespoon sugar
5-6 tablespoons water
50 g butter
a pinch of salt
To make the filling:
1 kg Pippin (Renette) apples
100 g raisin
70 g pine nuts
5 tablespoons bread crumbs
100 g sugar
1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
1 lemon grated peel
butter
Rum liqueur
Prepare the dough by mixing all the ingredients (first flour, then sugar, salt, butter, and at last water little by little). Let the dough rest under a warm pot for about 30 minutes. Peel and cut the apples in little pieces. Soak raisin in water and rum until they get soft. Toast the bread crumbs in a pot with warm butter until they get gold. In another pot toast the pine nuts in the same way. Roll out the dough as thin as possible and lay it on a clean dishcloth. Brush it with melted butter. Spread over the toasted bread crumbs, then apples, raisin (squeezed) and pine nuts. Mix 100 g sugar with the lemon peel and cinnamon and spread the compound over the filling. Close the ends of the dough towards the inside and roll up the strudel with the help of the dishcloth. Cover a baking tray with oven paper and place the strudel over it. Brush with abundant melted butter. Bake at 180 C for about 30 minutes. When half cooked brush again with melted butter. Let the strudel cool a bit. Serve warm sprinkled with powdered sugar.
