Apple Strudel and What Makes Me a Chef

I do this a lot - I decide that I want to make a certain dish, and then I look up recipes for the dish. Usually, I've seen someone make it on tv or I read an article about it, so that is one recipe source, and the other is always the Joy of Cooking. I read both recipes and often discover that they are quite different. I combine the parts of each recipe that I like the best and use that to put my own spin on it. And I think that is what makes me a chef.

I did that with the apple strudel I made last night. The recipe in the Joy of Cooking instructs me to make my own strudel dough, so I cheated somewhat and used phyllo dough instead. But the filling in the Joy versus the one on the phyllo dough packaging were very different, so I don't think I will actually say it is adapted from either source, because I think this is actually my very own recipe for apple strudel.

Apple Strudel
Yield: 6-8 servings
Print recipe

5 medium tart dry apples (I used Gala), peeled and cored
5 sheets phyllo dough
1/4 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup + 2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 tsp cinnamon
juice and rind of half a lemon

1. Preheat oven to 375F.


2. Cut apples into wedges, then slice crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. Add lemon juice and rind to keep apples from browning.


3. In a separate bowl, combine 2/3 cup sugar, ground almonds, breadcrumbs, and cinnamon. Mix with apples.


4. Place a sheet of parchment paper slightly larger than the phyllo sheet on the work surface, long edge facing you.


5. Place one sheet of phyllo on the parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, brush the sheet with melted butter and sprinkle 1/2 tsp of sugar over the butter.



6. Place the second sheet of phyllo over the first and repeat previous step until all five sheets have been used.


7. Leaving a 2-inch border along the edge, place the apple mixture length-wise along the bottom third of the dough.



8. Use the parchment paper to help roll the strudel up over the filling.


9. Place the rolled strudel onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. It can be curved into a horseshoe shape to fit onto the baking sheet.



10. Brush the top of the strudel with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and sugar.


11. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 15 minutes.


12. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes or until golden.


13. Slice on a diagonal with a serrated knife.


14. Best served warm on the day it is made.