Apple Cinnamon Strudel with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

  • Apple Cinnamon Strudel with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

    I need to make an apple pie soon, I know, but I needed to make a masterpiece with the puff pastry burning a hole in our freezer more than anything.  Apple strudel is like the cooler cousin of apple pie.  Apple strudel has international experience and offers the life-gratifying benefits of the plain Jane pie (apple + pastry + cinnamon = Important Dessert Experience) while having the added benefit of being 600 times easier to make.  Sold yet?

    Puff pastry is a most excellent thing , and not just because it’s puffy (fun!) and because already made for you in the freezer section of your grocery store.  It’s a complicated kind of pastry to make, if you’re looking to do it from scratch, so those of us with jobs and lives and Boardwalk Empire episodes On Demand to catch up on and no discretionary time of note (plus a general predilection for the easy way out) don’t have to feel guilty buying it in a box and rolling it out at home.  (It’s like bread- you could mill your own flour if you were so inclined [and stupid] when making Easy Herby Focaccia, but why not use what 2013 offers to us and buy your flour like the rest of the bakers on the planet?  So make your homemade stredel and think of frozen puff pastry like flour.  Some things aren’t really meant to do on your own.)

    I hope you love this recipe as much as I do.  It reeks of fall (in a good apples & cinnamon way, not in a leaf-rotting way).  And don’t get all step-skipping on me by skipping the cinnamon whipped cream- you did save 7 hours of hard time by buying the frozen puff pastry.  You’ve got to earn the right to have your family and friends bow and curtsey to you after serving this winner.  The least you can do is whip up some heavy cream with a bit of cinnamon sprinkled in.

    1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed (preferably Dufour brand)

    3 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs

    2 tablespoons brown sugar, tightly packed

    1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

    1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (preferably freshly ground)

    Pinch of salt

    2 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped into thin slices

    2 tablespoons pecans, lightly toasted and chopped

    2 tablespoons raisins1 teaspoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed

    2 tablespoons butter, diced into small cubes

    1 egg

    1 tablespoon water

    1/2 cup whipping cream/heavy cream

    1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

    1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

    1. Heat oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
    2. APPLE FILLING: In a large bowl, stir the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together.  Stir in the apples, pecans, raisins and lemon juice until well coated in dry mixture.  Set aside.
    3. DOUGH: unfold thawed pastry sheet on a floured surface (like a silicone mat).  Roll sheet into a 16 x 12″ rectangle.  Spread apple filling onto the bottom half of the short side of the pastry rectangle (within 1″ of the pastry edges), and dot with butter cubes.  Carefully roll up like a jelly roll.  Place seam-side down onto prepared baking sheet, tucking the ends of the strudel under to seal edges.
    4. In a small bowl, beat egg and water together.  Brush the strudel with the egg mixture and cut several slits in the top of the pastry.  Bake for about 35 minutes (until golden brown and puffy) and allow to cool for 15 – 20 minutes on baking sheet on a cooling rack.
    5. WHIPPED CREAM: beat cream, sugar and cinnamon on high until light peaks form.  Serve alongside warm strudel.

    Tips:

    • Why Dufour brand of puff pastry?  Because.  It’s amazing.  Made with butter.  It’s just great.  (If you don’t have it in your grocery store, well, another brand will be okay too.  You just won’t know what you’re missing.  Ignorance can be bliss.)  Use the whole package of Dufour, but if using another brand use one of the frozen sheets (since the packages usually come with two).
    • Apple choices are hard, because there are so many many varieties out there.  Use Granny Smith because they are flavorful and also hold their shape a bit when baking into a strudel sensation.  But really, use whatever kind you want and like.
    • Want to skip the graham cracker crumbs?  I won’t tell anyone; you can do it.  (Trust me- it adds a level of excellence that you won’t get from a graham-cracker-free strudel, but you’ll still please the masses.)  You can use any of your favorite cookie options crushed into bits… the Classic Shortbread Cookie would be incredible too.
    • Be careful not to take out of the oven too soon… like I maybe might have here.  The strudel needs to look puffy, not just golden.
    • Yes!  You can freeze this puppy.  Just thaw in the fridge then pop in a hot oven for 10 minutes to heat.
    • Enjoy…

     

     

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    October 30th, 2013 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: , ,

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