Some say life’s too short to stuff a mushroom, I say life’s too short to make home-made filo pastry. I’m more than happy to whizz up a quick batch of puff, shortcrust or hot water pastry – I think it tastes much better than shop bought. Filo, at least to me, is just that little bit too finicky and time-consuming to make from scratch.
That’s why I picked up a pre-made pack of filo for my apple & sultana strudel.
Yes, I know that filo (or phyllo) is Greek and apple strudel (or apfelstrudel) is German, but the former is the closest thing to the type of pastry traditionally used to encase the filling. Apparently you should be able to read a newspaper through it, it’s so thin!
The filling is quick to make, I added sultanas to my apples, but you could try adding walnuts, dates or figs instead. The trickiest part is the assembly. Place the pastry onto a clean tea towel or baking parchment before filling and use it to help with rolling.
This apple & sultana strudel is best served hot, and always with cream… or ice cream… or both!
- 2 Bramley apples
- 50g/1¾oz sultanas
- 30g/1oz soft brown sugar
- ½tsp ground cinnamon
- 80g/3oz butter
- 270g (6 sheets) pre-made filo pastry
- 1tbs Demerara sugar
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6 and grease a large oven tray
- Peel, core and chop the apples into large cubes
- Put the apples into a large saucepan with the sultanas, soft brown sugar, ground cinnamon and 50g/2oz of the butter
- Cook over a medium heat for 5-8 minutes, stirring to combine well, until the apple just begins to soften
- Set aside to cool
- In a small microwaveable bowl, melt the remaining butter (about 5-8 seconds)
- Fold the pastry sheets over in half, laying them out onto a clean tea towel or baking parchment
- Unfold the pastry sheets, one by one, and brush the top of each sheet with the butter using a pastry brush
- Using a slotted spoon to drain off the cooking liquid, place the apple & sultana mixture on the pastry forming a line along the long edge
- Sprinkle the rest of the pastry evenly with the Demerara sugar
- Using the tea towel/baking parchment as an aid, roll the pastry into a log shape, tucking in the ends so the filling doesn't fall out and place it onto the greased oven tray
- Brush the top with melted butter and bake for 30-35 minutes
- Serve hot