Serving up an apple strudel takes less effort than a layer cake!
Add Cranberries and Walnuts or just straight up apple is totally your choice here!
Alternatively you can switch it up with pears and raisins for another variation!
Warning: We are taking the easy route today
So if you are here for an authentic apple strudel dough recipe, look elsewhere because strudel dough pulling is an art in itself!
But believe me this Phyllo dough substitution makes a perfect flaky buttery strudel!
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Notes for Success:
Be sure to let your Phyllo dough thaw overnight in the refrigerator before beginning to avoid cracking the dough as you unroll it
It is not recommend to skimp too much on the sugar sprinkled between each layer of phyllo as you build the strudel
As this sugar between the layers will help the overall crispiness of the strudel and give a nice caramel to the finished look of it too
Typically Granny smith apples are my choice for baking apples
However this was too tart for me so I adjusted the recipe below with 8 Tablespoons of sugar
Adjust the sugar to your own taste and apples you are using
You may want to lower the sugar or omit it altogether
Strudel can be made a day ahead of time and baked just before serving.
Give yourself at least an hour for freshly baked though as it will need to cool slightly before cutting
Custard sauce is a classic accompaniment to apple strudel but vanilla ice cream is equally delicious!
WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE APPLE STRUDEL
Yield: serves 10ppl
Cranberry Apple Strudel
Prep Time
2 hours
Cook Time
45 minutes
Total Time
2 hours 45 minutes
Ingredients
- ½ Box Phyllo Pastry Dough 8oz – (1 roll from a 16oz box)
- Apples 6 large (approximately 2lbs apples after peeling & coring)
- Cranberries fresh or frozen ¾ cup
- Walnuts lightly toasted, chopped ¾ cup
- Lemon Juice ½ Tablespoon
- Granulated or Light Brown Sugar ½ cup (100g)
- Cornstarch 1½ Tablespoons (12g)
- Ground Cinnamon ½ teaspoon
- Ground Nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon
- Ground Ginger ½ teaspoon
- Vegan Butter 6 Tablespoons (85g)
- Cinnamon Sugar for sprinkling approximately ¼-½ cup * as needed
optional custard sauce
Instructions
- Thaw the phyllo dough overnight in the refrigerator
- Melt the vegan butter and reserve
- Peel * core the apples then small diced to approx ¼-½” pieces
- In a large mixing bowl combine the apples, lemon juice, cornstarch and spices and toss well to coat everything
- Add the walnuts & cranberries and toss again
- On a large kitchen towel approximately 12″ X 18″ similar size of a half sheet pan, lay out 3 pieces of phyllo dough, brush with melted butter ~sparingly! then sprinkle with about 1 Tbs cinnamon sugar
- Next layer with 4 pieces of phyllo dough and repeat the butter/sugar
- I do 3 pieces of phyllo 1 way, then 4 pieces of phyllo the other way repeating each layers with vegan butter/sugar until all the dough is gone
- **See video tutorial for the best visual of how to do this
- Pile the apple mixture in the center of the dough forming a log then roll up the dough using the towel as help to roll, fold the sides of the dough into the center keeping a nice tight roll
- Brush the top with remaining melted butter & a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar then bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 30minutes then turn the oven temperature down to 325°F and bake for another 15minutes
- The pastry will be nice & golden brown and crispy
- You may see some bubbling seep out at some areas on the side of the strudel and this is a good indicator that the strudel is done, be careful not to over bake or you will have apple sauce filling!
- Cool on the pan out of the oven for at least 10minutes before serving or it will be too hot to cut *like I did on the video! LOL
- While the strudel is baking you can prepare the*optional vanilla custard sauce as per the instructions on that page!
- Serving the warm strudel with vanilla ice cream is another perfect & delicious option!
Notes
Cranberry Apple Strudel is best served just after baking, but can be stored for up to 4 days in the refrigerator after baking, simply rewarm in a hot oven- air fryer works best for fast hot heat to re-crisp the flaky pastry
You can leave the raw strudel in the refrigerator un-baked for up to 2 days and then bake just before you want to serve it.
