Cranberry & Apple Strudel for Christmas Dessert

December18

While recently working with CJ Katz on the promotional tour of her gorgeous cookbook “Taste: Seasonal Dishes from a Prairie Table”, I made strudel for my very first time. The phyllo dough that can be purchased from the freezer section of your favourite grocer, is very close to the “stretch dough” used in authentic strudel AND so much easier than attempting this art form from scratch.

Also reminiscent of Viennese Apple Strudel is the inclusion of bread crumbs. These help absorb some of the extra juices, released from the cooking fruit. This version includes both cranberries and apples which creates a gorgeous Christmas themed dessert. And you can make it ahead and freeze it if you wish.

I did so and then reheated it and served it with ice cream. Doing so also offsets that tangyness of the cranberries (and in my case the apples, which I had left soaking in lemon juice for too long).

A really helpful tip included in this recipe is to make diagonal cuts (to allow the steam from the fruit to escapes while baking) to represent a portion size. This way the strudel will be far easier to serve without decimating the flaky crust.

Apple-Lingonberry (or Cranberry) Strudel

Author: CJ Katz

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 50 mins

Total time: 1 hour 20 mins

Serves: 16

Ingredients

4 firm apples such as Prairie Sun, Gala or Granny Smith or a mixture
⅔ c pecan pieces, toasted
1½ c lingonberries or whole cranberries, fresh or frozen
finely grated zest of one lemon
⅔ c granulated sugar
4 T flour, if using lingonberries or 2 T flour, if using cranberries
8 sheets phyllo dough, thawed in the refrigerator overnight
⅓ c vegetable oil or melted butter
granulated sugar, for sprinkling
dry bread crumbs, for sprinkling

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Peel and core apples and cut into ½ inch cubes,
Coarsely chop pecans.
In a large bowl,combine the chopped apples, pecans, ligonberries, lemon zest, sugar and flour.
Toss and set aside.
On a clean counter, lay out the phyllo dough abd cover it with a barely damp tea towel.
Peel off one sheet and lay it on a flat surface.
Replace the damp tea towel pn the stack of phyllo.
Brush the sheet of phyllo with oil or melted butter; sprinkle lightly with the sugar, and then the breadcrumbs.
End with a fourth sheet of phyllo.
Arrange half of the fruit mixture along the long side of the phyllo about two inches from from the edge of the bottom and sides of the dough.
Starting at the edge nearest the filling, carefully begin to roll the phyllo over the filling.
Tuck in the sides of the dough.
Continue to roll the strudel so the dough completely encases the filling.
Tuck in any loose ends.
Brush will oil or melted butter, sprinkle with more sugar.
Place the strudel seam down on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet,
Cut 8 diagonal slits along the top to allow the steam to escape and for easy cutting when you serve.
Brush the top with oil or melted butter.
Repeat the proceedure for the other strudel.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown. If strudels begin to brown too much, set a piece of aluminum foil on the top of the strudels.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Just before serving, dust the top with icing sugar.

We are often too full for pie and Christmas pudding after dinner but this dessert is light enough to tuck into later in the evening.

Kath’s quote: “Oh! All that steam! The pudding had just been taken out of the cauldron. Oh! That smell! The same as the one which prevailed on washing day! It is that of the cloth which wraps the pudding. Now, one would imagine oneself in a restaurant and in a confectioner’s at the same time, with a laundry nest door. Thirty seconds later, Mrs. Cratchit entered, her face crimson, but smiling proudly, with the pudding resembling a cannon ball, all speckled, very firm, sprinkled with brandy in flames, and decorated with a sprig of holly stuck in the centre. Oh! The marvelous pudding!”-Charles Dickens