German Apple Strudel - NO SUGAR

Hallo! (That’s hello in German, my daughter is teaching me German!)

My daughter has been learning German this term at school and she is very excited to learn the culture and food in Germany. We had been trying quite a few recipes at home. And this apple strudel (called Apfelstrudel) is a big hit in our house. I made this apple strudel without adding any sugar.

German Delicacy

In Germany, it’s not a treat that is prepared every weekend, it is reserved for special events. But in our house, we look for excuses to eat this divine dessert. I made this for my cheat day lunch on Sunday.

How I satisfy my Sugar cravings?

Sometimes you need to satisfy your sugar cravings. Once in a week I have my cheat meal, I eat home cooked delicacies. This apple strudel is one of them.

Filo Pastry

German Apple Strudel is filo pastry stuffed with cooked spiced apples and sultanas. Makes a light and fragrant dessert. This is a healthy snack or dessert for your kids too.

Usually, the delicate and flaky pastry is made from an elastic dough that is kneaded and stretched until it’s as thin as filo pastry. But guess what? I prefer to just go to the supermarket and buy filo pastry and cut my work by half! So we are taking a major short cut here. There is excellent quality filo pastry available in all the supermarkets. VEGAN filo pastries are also available these days.

Although the classic strudel is made with apples, it can be made with various fillings – such as cherries, apricots or peaches.

Soo Let’s Get Baking!!

INGREDIENTS

For the Pastry

50 g unsalted butter, melted
4 sheets filo pastry
icing sugar, for dusting (optional)

For the Filling

800 g cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into small chunks
50 g unsalted butter
1 tsp cinnamon powder
100 mil water
3 tbsp soft raisins, soaked in the orange juice
Finely grated zest of 1 large orange
A handful of breadcrumbs

METHOD

Let’s first preheat the oven to 180°C. The oven will be ready by the time you finish the filling and assemble it.
For the filling, put the apples in a pan with the butter, and water, and cook together for 8–10 minutes, until the apples have softened slightly, don’t overcook the apples as they have to retain their shape.
Remove from the heat, add the cinnamon powder, raisins and orange juice and the breadcrumbs and stir to combine. Let it cool.

Now the filling is ready, lets assemble it in the filo pastry sheets.

Take a baking tray and line it with a grease proof paper or spread butter. Spread out one sheet of filo pastry on the baking tray, and brush with some butter.
Repeat the process with four sheets, placing them on top of each other, brushing with melted butter each time.
Spoon the filling along the middle of the pastry and roll up – from the bottom first, then the sides, ending with the top – to make into a parcel, seam-side down.
Brush the remaining butter on all the parcels and bake in the oven for 15–20 minutes, or until the top is crisp and golden. Check after 10 minutes; if it is browning too quickly, reduce the heat a little.
Dust with icing sugar (optional).

NOTE

Frozen filo makes a great alternative to making strudel dough from scratch – a long and somewhat difficult process of stretching the dough.
We are using breadcrumbs to bind everything in the filling together.
Apple strudel is best eaten with double cream.

Enjoy this Sweet, Spiced Apple Strudel. Any time is apple strudel time: as a snack with your tea or coffee, as a dessert to an excellent meal, as a reward for kids’ homework or simply when you need a break. Apple strudel tastes best straight out of the oven, while it’s still warm.

ENJOY!!