Apple and Cranberry Strudel

This strudel is divine served with a thin vanilla cashew cream! You will think you have found dessert nirvana!

I’m not sure when I tasted my first apple strudel, but it probably was in the US, and it probably had a high-fat dough with a disappointing, soggy bottom. I experienced my first Austrian-style strudel while working in a Zürich restaurant. I recall learning traditional methods of preparing Austrian food from three chefs we invited from a restaurant in Burgenland – a definite hot zone for things like strudel. What a revelation! I discovered real strudel dough in Austria contains little fat, is rolled thin, and has a delightful crisp and flaky texture. It reminded me of how an Italian pizza can be rolled up and baked, which turns into a Calzone. Austrian-style strudels are also typically a bit smaller in diameter than their German or Hungarian counterparts. They are also made with a higher fat-content dough – approaching a texture similar to puff pastry.

Austrian-style strudels are customarily coated with butter instead of oil. Nevertheless, the oil works well because it doesn’t mask the other flavors and creates a crispier, albeit less flaky, exterior than those made with butter. I’ve grown to prefer the crispier variation – it’s fun to eat.

The recipe below is the classic preparation from what I learned…with the addition of dried cranberries instead of more traditional raisins (I like to fiddle with recipes). In this case, the cranberries offer a nice punch of acid that cuts through some of the fatty tastes.

Difficulty: moderate
Yield: Makes 1 large strudel (6-8 servings)