Easy Apple Strudel

My grandma's recipe for the perfect apple strudel! It's a delicious, tart pastry that makes a stellar dessert along with a dollop of ice cream. And it's super easy to make!

What is in a Strudel?

A strudel is a traditional pastry of Viennese origin, often served for dessert. It features thin pastry sheets wrapped around a fruit filling like apple, cherry, apricot and many more.

What is the Difference Between Apple Strudel and Apple Streusel?

Easy to confuse due to the similar names, strudel and streusel are actually different types of dessert. An apple strudel has thin sheets of pastry wrapped around the filling, while streusel is a crumbly sweet topping of sugar, flour, and butter that is often layered over pies and cakes.

What are the Best Apples for Strudel?

The flavor of the apple really is the hero of this dessert. For the best tart taste, I like to use Granny Smith apples or Braeburns. Their flavor marries really well with the sweet, flaky pastry and the cinnamon. It's what my grandma uses, and this is her recipe.

How Long Can You Keep Apple Strudel in the Fridge?

You can keep apple strudel in the fridge, but it doesn't last that long or stay as tasty as when it's freshly made. I prefer to keep apple strudel covered on the counter overnight if you are eating it the next day. If you plan to keep it longer than that, then do refrigerate or freeze.

Can You Freeze an Apple Strudel?

If you're making it in advance or in bulk, apple strudel can absolutely be frozen. It is best, however, to freeze the strudel pre-baking. Assemble as you would normally, then cover and freeze the strudel before the final baking step. Wrap it in parchment paper and freeze it in an airtight container or bag.

You can then bake when ready by defrosting overnight in the refrigerator or 45 minutes at room temperature and it'll taste as if it's been freshly made.

Can You Reheat Apple Strudel?

To reheat already baked strudel, place it on a baking sheet and pop it in the oven on a low heat for around ten minutes. You'll get a much better result than microwaving it. A toaster oven works great, too.

How to Make Easy Apple Strudel

You will need to gather these ingredients:

The first step is to prepare your apples. Peel, core, and slice the apples into similar sized slices (photo 1). Toss the apple slices in a bowl with the juice of half a lemon until all the slices are lightly coated (photo 2).

Next, melt the stick of butter, and set the oven to 350F.

Note: Prepare your working surface by laying a clean towel over it. Cover your unused phyllo dough with a damp towel between uses so it doesn't dry out.

Take one sheet of your phyllo dough, lay it out on the towel, and brush it evenly all over with the melted butter. Place another sheet of phyllo dough over your buttered first sheet, and likewise brush melted butter over that sheet. Repeat this process six times so that you have a stack of six phyllo dough sheets.

Along the bottom four inches of your phyllo dough, brush a quarter cup of apricot jam across (photo 3). Then stack your apple slices neatly in rows across the bottom of the phyllo dough, on top of the jam layer (photo 4). Top the apple filling layer with three tablespoons of brown sugar and one teaspoon of cinnamon (photo 5).

Using the towel underneath the pastry, carefully roll from left to right to envelop the apple filling, and keep rolling until you have a closed parcel. Transfer the apple strudel parcel to your baking tray, seam side down.

With a sharp knife, cut slits across the top of the parcel about one inch apart. Brush the pastry with melted butter or an egg wash, whichever you prefer, to help brown in the oven. It browns better with egg wash, but butter is a great egg-free option. Mix one tablespoon of sugar with a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle the mixture on top.

Place the strudel in the oven and bake for thirty to thirty-five minutes until the apple strudel is golden brown and flakey in texture.

Cut as desired and serve with some vanilla date ice cream or whipped cream.

If you love this recipe...

Then you will love these other pastries and apple treats and sweets:

• Apple Slab Olive Oil Cake
• 3-Ingredient Pastry Flowers
• Lime Curd & Mascarpone Fruit Tart
• Guava Pastries

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Print Recipe

5 from 13 votes

Easy Apple Strudel

My grandma's recipe for the perfect apple strudel! It's a delicious, tart pastry that makes a stellar dessert along with a dollop of ice cream. And it's super easy to make!

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: Viennese

Servings: 6

Calories: 262kcal

Author: Candice

Equipment

• Pastry Brush
• Baking sheet

Ingredients

• 2 apples tart apples like Braeburns or Granny Smith
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• 1 stick butter
• 6 sheets phyllo dough
• 1/4 cup apricot jam
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon separated into 1 tsp & 1/4 tsp
• 1 egg optional

Instructions

• Peel, core, and slice the apples. Toss in a bowl with the juice of half a lemon.
• Melt the stick of butter.
• Preheat to 350F.
• Prepare your surface with a clean towel. Take one sheet of phyllo dough, place it on the towel, and brush with melted butter. Cover the unused phyllo with a damp towel between use.
• Top with another sheet of phyllo dough, and brush with melted butter. Repeat until you have 6 sheets stacked.
• Add 1/4 cup of apricot jam to the bottom 4-inches of the phyllo dough. Stack the apple slices across the bottom of the phyllo dough on top of the jam.
• Top with 3 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon.
• Using the towel, roll the phyllo until you have a closed parcel. Transfer to your baking tray seam side down.
• Cut slits across the top ~1 inch apart. Brush with melted butter or egg wash. Mix 1 tbsp sugar with 1/4 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle on top.
• Bake 30-35 minutes until golden brown and flakey. 

Video

Notes

To reheat already baked strudel, place it on a baking sheet and pop it in the oven on a low heat for around ten minutes.

Cover your unused phyllo dough with a damp towel between uses so it doesn’t dry out.

The pastry browns better when brushed with egg wash, but butter is a great egg-free option.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 239mg | Potassium: 109mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 543IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

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