Apple Strudel à La Sacher Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 strudel pastry dough (see my recipe) or 1 ready-made pastry dough
• 1 1/2 kg apples
• 1 lemon (juice)
• 60 g raisins (soaked in rum)
• 200 g butter, melted
• 100 g sugar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 100 g breadcrumbs
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• butter (for coating)
• icing sugar (for dusting)
• 1 egg (for coating)
• 250 g flour (preferably pastry flour)
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted for coating
• 125 ml water, lukewarm
• 2 egg yolks (for coating)
• icing sugar (for dusting)
• oil
• flour (for the work surface)
• butter (for coating)

Instructions

1. Peel and seed the apples, then slice them very thinly. Dribble some lemon juice over the slices to prevent browning.
2. In a bowl, combine 60 g raisins with 2 tablespoons of sugar.
3. Brush the pastry dough with half of the melted butter. Use the remaining butter to fry 100 g breadcrumbs until golden.
4. Combine the fried breadcrumbs with the rest of the sugar and a pinch of cinnamon, then sprinkle the mixture over the buttered pastry.
5. Distribute the sliced apples evenly over the pastry, followed by the raisin mixture.
6. Carefully roll the pastry with the help of a dish towel, ensuring that the ends are well sealed to keep the filling inside.
7. Place the rolled strudel on a greased baking tray. If your tray isn’t big enough, bend the strudel into a horseshoe shape to fit.
8. Brush the top with a beaten egg and bake it in a preheated oven at 180 °C (about 350 °F) for 30–40 minutes, occasionally brushing with melted butter for a beautiful golden finish.
9. Once baked, let the strudel cool on the tray, then dust generously with icing sugar before serving. Enjoy it warm or cold, whichever you prefer.
10. For the pastry, heap some flour onto a work surface, then knead the dough ingredients into a smooth, elastic ball.
11. Place the ball of dough in a bowl coated with oil, cover it, and refrigerate preferably overnight.
12. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry dough into a thin square with a rolling pin. With floured hands, carefully stretch the dough from the center until it becomes almost transparent.