Apple strudel is a symbol of Vienna’s coffee houses: the thinnest pastry rolled up with apples, raisins and cinnamon. In autumn, when apples are plentiful, it is worth baking at home.

The recipe from the New Sacher Cookbook was shared by Vienna’s official tourism portal wien.info.

Vienna still argues about whether breadcrumbs belong in the filling. The famous Hotel Sacher has settled the question: the crumbs are toasted in butter and sprinkled over the pastry under the apples.

What you need

For the filling:

  • tart-sweet apples, not too juicy — 1.5 kg;
  • juice of 1 lemon;
  • raisins soaked in rum — 60 g;
  • melted butter — 200 g;
  • sugar — 100 g;
  • vanilla sugar — 2 tbsp;
  • sponge or plain breadcrumbs — 100 g;
  • ground cinnamon — a pinch;
  • egg for brushing — 1;
  • icing sugar — for dusting;
  • ready-made strudel pastry or homemade.

For homemade pastry:

  • flour — 250 g;
  • salt — a pinch;
  • oil — 1 tbsp plus a little to grease the plate;
  • melted butter — 2 tbsp;
  • warm water — 125 ml;
  • flour for the work surface.

How to make it

1. Make the dough. If making the pastry yourself, heap the flour, add the salt, oil, butter and water and knead a smooth, elastic dough. Shape it into a ball, put it in an oiled deep plate, cover and leave in the fridge, ideally overnight.

2. Stretch the dough. On a large tea towel lightly dusted with flour, first roll the dough into a rectangle. Then slide the floured back of one hand under it and gently pull with the other hand from the centre towards the edges. The dough should become so thin that you could read a newspaper through it.

3. Prepare the apples. Peel and core the apples and slice them very thinly. Sprinkle with lemon juice and mix with the raisins, 2 tbsp of sugar and 1 tbsp of vanilla sugar.

4. Toast the crumbs. Brush the pastry with half of the melted butter. Toast the breadcrumbs in the remaining butter, mix them with the rest of the sugar, vanilla sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the pastry.

5. Roll up the strudel. Spread the apples evenly and use the towel to roll up the strudel. Seal the ends well and slide the strudel seam side down onto a greased baking tray. If the tray is too small, lay the roll in a horseshoe shape.

6. Bake. Brush the strudel with melted butter or beaten egg and bake in an oven preheated to 180 °C for 30–40 minutes.

7. Serve. Let it cool slightly and dust with icing sugar. Strudel is served warm or cold, with warm vanilla sauce or whipped cream.

The apples for strudel should be dry rather than juicy, so that the pastry stays crisp.

As a reminder, at the weekend we baked a French pear tarte Tatin.

Nota bene

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