Apple Strudel

Ingredients

• Puff pastry
• 300 g Apricot jam
• 3 Apples
• Ground cinnamon
• Breadcrumbs or crushed cookies
• Butter
• Powdered sugar

Method

Peel and slice your apples on a mandoline to a uniform 3 mm thickness — this ensures they soften evenly without collapsing into jam during baking. apples oxidise quickly, so work fast or toss them in lemon juice. Dust the slices with cinnamon as you go; this distributes the spice evenly rather than creating bitter pockets if you sprinkle afterwards.

Roll your pastry to a 3 mm thickness on a cold surface — puff paste needs the cold laminations intact to puff properly in the oven. Spread the apricot jam in a thin, even layer, leaving a 2 cm border on all sides. This margin is structural; it seals the strudel when folded and prevents jam leaking into the oven. Layer the apple slices in neat, slightly overlapping rows, shingling them like roof tiles so they cook through without drying. The geometry matters: tightly packed apples steam and soften; scattered slices bake too hard.

Sprinkle bread-crumbs over the apples — they absorb excess moisture from the fruit and jam, stopping the pastry base from becoming soggy. Toast the breadcrumbs in a dry pan first to drive off water and deepen their flavour; waterlogged crumbs do nothing. Scatter small knobs of butter (roughly 30 g total, torn into 1 cm pieces) over the top. The butter bastes the apples as it melts and enriches the filling without making it greasy if you're restrained.

Fold the pastry border over the filling, overlapping the edges by 2–3 cm on the top surface. This creates a rim that seals and puffs during baking. Brush the exterior with beaten egg if you want colour; this isn't essential but accelerates browning. Transfer to a lined baking tray and bake at 200°C for 35–40 minutes. The strudel is done when the pastry is deep golden and the apples hiss slightly when you pierce the filling with a skewer — the sound tells you steam is still actively cooking the fruit, not that it's dried out.

Dust with powdered sugar while the strudel is still warm; the sugar dissolves slightly into the steam and clings to the pastry, creating a light glaze. Let it cool for 5 minutes before cutting, or the filling will pour out.