Apple Strudel

About this dish

Strudel arrived in Vienna by way of the Ottoman-influenced pastries of the Habsburg empire's eastern reaches, where stretched, paper-thin dough was already an old technique by the time Viennese kitchens adopted it in the 1600s. The apple filling became the standard not because it's the most elaborate option but because it travels: apples keep through a Central European winter in a way soft fruit never could, so this is what home bakers actually had on hand. The toasted breadcrumb layer is the part beginners skip and regret — it's there to soak up the apples' juice as the strudel bakes, so the bottom layer of pastry stays crisp instead of turning to paste.

• Vegetarian
• Not vegan because of Unsalted butter
• Contains gluten because of Filo pastry sheets, Dry breadcrumbs
• Contains dairy because of Unsalted butter

• 6piecesFilo pastry sheets
• 1kgCrisp apple
• 80gCaster sugar
• 6gGround cinnamon
• 15mlLemon juice
• 60gRaisins
• 80gShelled walnuts
• 100gUnsalted butter
• 50gDry breadcrumbs
• 20gIcing sugar

Instructions

1. 1

   Melt a third of the butter in a pan and toast the breadcrumbs in it over medium heat until golden, about 5 minutes, then set aside to cool.

   5 min

   Tip: This layer sits between the pastry and the filling, and its whole job is to soak up juice before it reaches the dough. Skip it and the bottom sheets go translucent and gluey wherever the filling touches them.

2. 2

   Peel and thinly slice the apples, then toss them with the sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, raisins and chopped walnuts.

   10 min

   Tip: The lemon juice isn't there for flavour so much as to stop the sliced apples browning while you finish the pastry — do this step last, right before assembly.

3. 3

   Lay out the sheets of filo, brushing each one with melted butter and scattering a little of the toasted breadcrumbs before adding the next.

   10 min

   Tip: Filo tears if it sits out and dries, so keep the sheets you're not using covered with a damp cloth. Working fast here matters more than working neatly.

4. 4

   Spread the apple filling along one long edge, roll the pastry up around it into a tight log, brush the outside with the remaining butter, and bake at 190°C (375°F) until deep golden, about 40 minutes.

   40 min

   Tip: Roll it seam-side down onto the baking tray before it goes in the oven — an exposed seam is where the filling's juice finds its way out and burns onto the tray.

5. 5

   Let the strudel cool for at least 15 minutes, then dust generously with icing sugar before slicing.

   5 min

   Tip: Cutting it hot collapses the layers and the filling runs everywhere; the crumb structure needs those first fifteen minutes to set.