Apfelstrude or Apple strudel.

Now some purists will say that strudel is Austrian and this might be true. But it influenced  then might have come from the Austrian Habsburg Empire and that was influenced by Turkish, Swiss, Alsacian, French, Dutch, Italian, German, Bohemian-Moravian, Hungarian, Polish, Croatian, Slovenian, Slovakian, Serbian, and Jewish cuisines to name but a few. In fact it is a direct relation to the Baklava that came to Austria via Turkey and the Ottoman Empire. But the word strudel is a German word, meaning whirlpool. Now there are many kinds of strudel but apple strudel is about the best known. And here is a good piece of strudel trivia but the oldest Strudel recipe is from 1696, it is a handwritten recipe housed at the Wiener Stadtbibliothek.

You will need.

680g/1½lbs eating apples

The juice and zest of ½ orange,

100g/3½oz caster sugar

Good pinch of nutmeg

Good pinch of cinnamon

55g/2oz sultanas

8-12 sheets ready-made filo pastry

55g/2oz butter, melted but not hot  

2tbsp dried breadcrumbs

A few good pinches of Demerara sugar

Now if you want you can make your own strudel pastry but trust me it is very hard, stretching it over the back of your hand and making it so thin that you can see you’re the back of your hand threw the pastry. It is not impossible just remember to use a really strong flour and you will be fine. Or you can be like the rest of us and use readymade filo pastry.

First peel and core your apples and then dice them in a bowl. Then add the orange juice and zest, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and sultanas and mix everything together. Just let them all steep together in the bowl for a while.

Now lay out a large sheet of greaseproof paper, or a clean damp tea towel on the work surface. Take a sheet of filo and butter it on one side and lay it down on the cloth. The do the same with another and just overlap them. Keep going so you have a big layer of filo all butter on one side covering the cloth.

Now on top of the filo sprinkle the dried breadcrumbs over them, then spoon the apple mixture down the middle of the filo sheet. Then spread it out so it covers the middle but not to the edges . Now take the corners of the cloth and use that to help you roll the pastry over so you end with it rolled over like a big cigar.

Now place on a baking sheet in a horse shoe shape and brush with the rest of the butter.  Then bake in a preheated oven set at 190c/375f for 30 minutes. Then take it out and sprinkle the Demerara sugar over it and back in the oven for another 10 minutes until it is golden brown. Take out and serve immediately.