Recipe: Quick and Easy Apple and Cranberry Strudel
I have made proper strudel pastry in the past, and it is quite a therapeutic process, but if you are looking for a quick, tasty seasonal dessert, then this recipe may well be the answer. I have also given it the slightest of Spanish twists.
Apple and Cranberry Strudel
Ingredients
3 large Pink Lady apples (or any other firm-textured and fully-flavoured apple; nothing too soft or sweet)
100gms dried cranberries
2 Tbsps Pedro Ximénez (the darkest and sweetest of the sherries)
1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
2 Tbsps Brown Sugar
Juice of half a lemon
Finely grated zest of half a lemon
30gms flaked almonds plus more to decorate
Icing sugar to decorate
1 pack filo pastry sheets
25gms butter
Method
Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.
Place baking parchment on an oven tray.
Put the cranberries in a saucepan and add the 2 tbsps Pedro Ximénez (sweet sherry). Bring to a simmer and gently soften the dried cranberries in the PX.
Core, peel and then cut the apples into small chunks. Add these to the pan with the cranberries then pour over the lemon juice. Mix in the grated lemon zest, cinnamon and brown sugar and stir gently until everything is roughly incorporated in the pan. Cover the pan and let the fruit soften slightly over a gentle heat.
When the apple has softened, turn off the heart, add the flaked almonds and stir. You want the apply chunks to be just soft enough to get a fork in easily without breaking up the fruit, and for the fruit to have soaked up the Pedro Ximénez and lemon juice. It’s good for the fruit to have a bit of bite. If the fruit soaks up the liquid too quickly, you can always add another splash of Pedro Ximénez or another squeeze of lemon juice. The scent of apple, cranberry and cinnamon is just perfect for this time of the year! Take the pan off the heat and let the fruit sit for a while.
Melt the butter in a small pan. Take a single sheet of filo pastry and lay it flat on the baking paper. Brush roughly with butter, then lay on another sheet. Do this with 4 sheets of the filo pastry, brushing butter between each sheet.
Spoon the fruit onto the layers of pastry and spread out evenly leaving a border of 3 cms all the way around. Make sure the edges are well brushed with butter, then turn the two sides in over the edge of the fruit layer. Then, starting with the edge nearest you, roll up the fruit-filled pastry, making sure the tucked sides remain tucked in as you roll. Brush the end edge with butter and seal the roll, leaving the sealed edge at the bottom on the baking sheet. Brush the whole roll with more of the melted butter and then sprinkle with flaked almonds.
Place the strudel in the oven and bake for around 15 - 20 minutes until it starts turning a golden brown. Remove it from the oven, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve immediately.
You can make the strudel in advance, but you will find the pastry will go soft as it cools. It can be crisped up again if you give it 10 minutes in the oven before serving.
This delicious Christmassy strudel is best accompanied by a dollop of thick cream or a scoop of vanilla icecream. A glass of Pedro Ximénez wouldn’t go amiss either!
