Good Eats Wednesday

Oktoberfest II:
Apple Strudel

In further celebration of Oktoberfest, I thought some eye candy,

or rather eye dessert, would be in order for this week's Good Eats Wednesday.

This apple strudel has my mouth watering and in anticipation

to give this recipe a whirl...

The recipe is from the Berghoff Cookbook via ivillage.com

"Directions: This popular dessert takes its name from the flaky pastry used to wrap around the filling like a strudel, the old German word for "whirlpool". In Germany, it was a traditional harvest-time dessert and still is today during Munich's Oktoberfest. Strudel is best served the same day it is baked, and warming it for 10 minutes in a 350 degree F oven (never in a microwave) enhances it, especially if you serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups apple juice

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 ½ pound Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced ¼ inch thick (5 cups)

½ cup dark seedless raisins

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup chopped pecans

4 sheets phyllo dough

1/3 cup melted butter

3 tablespoons fine dry breadcrumbs

Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Vanilla ice cream, for garnish

Directions1. In a small bowl, create a slurry by combining ¼ cup of the apple juice with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch; mix until smooth and set aside. 2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the apples with the remaining apple juice, and the raisins, sugar and cinnamon until the apples are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir the cornstarch slurry (it may have settled) and add to the apple mixture, stirring constantly until smooth and lump free. Simmer 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and cool. Stir in the pecans, cover and chill. 3. Preheat the over to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.4. Lay out one phyllo sheet on a clean, flat, lightly floured surface. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of dry bread crumbs. Repeate this procedure with two more layers of phyllo, butter and crumbs. Top with the fourth sheet of phyllo. Spread the apple filling evenly onto phyllo surface, leaving a ½ inch clean edge on all sides. Roll into a log, folding edges at each end beneath the log, and brush with melted butter. Carefully place the strudel on the prepared baking sheet, seam side down. Bake the strudel for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before cutting into 2-inch slices and sprinkling with confectioners' sugar just before serving. Serve plain or with ice cream.

Recipe courtesy of The Berghoff Family Cookbook by Carlyn Berghoff and Jan Berghoff with Nancy Ross Ryan. Photography by Eric Craig." Read more: http://recipes.ivillage.com/recipes/index.cfm?fuseaction=recipePage&recipe=1321#ixzz0ScAmIXQa

Check out Chef In You.com for their amazing Apple Strudel food photography and recipe for homemade dough. I would like to give this recipe a try during the holidays, when there is more time for homemade dough.

Although, "strudel" is a German word, the dessert is typically associated with being Austrian. The oldest strudel recipe from 1696 is found today at the Viennese City Library. For the Austrian version, the dough is supposed to be so thin, you can "read a love letter through it!"

For those Sophia Coppola Marie Antoinette lovers, remember the mocking line when young Marie met her new royal family for the first time and one of the court ladies said behind her back, "I hope you like Strudel." :)

Either way, it looks delicious!!!