While traditional strudel is fun and challenging to make (all that stretching), by far my favorite strudel to eat is kind of a cross between pie and strudel. The dough is made from “rough puff pastry”, (which is a quick and easy version of the much more complicated puff pastry dough) instead of classic strudel dough.
Compared to store bought puff pastry, rough puff pastry doesn’t puff quite as high, nor does it shatter as easily when you cut or bite into it. I rolled my dough out very thin, which also reduced the puffiness, so it was the perfect dough to use for this recipe.
I wanted flaky, I wanted delicate, and I wanted just the right crust-to-filling ratio. Easy was a very nice bonus!
If you’re feeling motivated and want to play with stretchy dough, try my companion post, Classic Apple Strudel.
I’ve never been crazy about hot apples, especially when they’re in a sticky sauce like a traditional apple pie. I will, however, fight you for the last slice of sour cream apple pie because it’s so mellow and creamy – especially when it’s warm, with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
That was the flavor and texture I was shooting for, and was exactly what I got…on my very first try! I added some boozy, rum-soaked raisins and finely chopped pecans, and was thrilled with the results. The normally unflappable Mr. Rowdy was enthused – extremely enthused. He may have even thrown a “WOW WOW WOW!” in there as he inhaled half of the finished product.
Tips:
- If you want to serve this for breakfast, go ahead and make the dough the night before. Wrapped snugly in plastic, it will be waiting for you to roll it out, fill, and bake. (Let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes or it will be a real bear to roll out!)
- If you’d like to go for the glory and have even more layers, you can make 4-layer folds by folding each short end into the middle and the folding them together.
For more layers, you can fold ends to meet in the middle…
…then fold together, creating a 4 layer turn
| Sour Cream Apple Strudel | Print |
- DOUGH:
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cold butter
- ⅔ cup very cold water
- *****
- FILLING:
- ¼ cup raisins
- ¼ cup rum (or use apple juice, if desired)
- 3 large Granny Smith apples
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons flour
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon (more to taste) cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup toasted pecans (or walnuts), finely chopped
- ***********
- ASSEMBLY:
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ¼ cup plain breadcrumbs
- DOUGH:
- Cut 1 cup cold butter into pieces approximately 1-inch square.
- Place flour on work surface, stir in the salt, and drop the butter onto the flour.
- With a bench scraper or metal spatula, chop the butter and flour together until combined. Don't overwork the mixture - you want to see chunks of butter larger than peas.
- Begin drizzling the water over the mixture with one hand, while flipping and tossing it with the other. Again, don't over do it! It should be a crumbly mess at this point.Use your metal utensil to form the dough into a rough rectangle about 5"x 8".
- Roll out dough to approximately 6"x10", using the metal scraper to form straight edges. Keeping the short edge facing you, Flip the bottom edge up to the middle (it will be crumbly...just do the best you can) and the the top edge down to the bottom. This will create three equal sized layers. Give the dough a turn to the left, lightly flouring the surface if necessary to keep it from sticking, and repeat. Repeat 3 more times. Wrap snugly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Make filling while the dough chills.
- FILLING:
- Place raisins in small pan with rum over medium heat. When rum is just beginning to bubble, Remove from heat and let sit uncovered.
- Peel and core apples. Cut into eighths and slice thinly crosswise, making small thin pieces. You should have approximately 4 cups.
- In a large bowl, combine apples, raisins (including the excess rum) and remaining filling ingredients. Stir until apples are coated.
- ASSEMBLY:
- Remove dough from refrigerator. Using the previous instructions, roll and fold two more times.
- On a floured surface, roll dough as thinly as possible. Aim for 14"x20", with the long side facing you. Don't worry if your measurements aren't exact, but do make sure there's enough flour under the dough to keep it movable.
- Brush the surface lightly with melted butter, using a paper towel or pastry brush.
- Beginning 2 inches inside the long edge facing you, distribute the bread crumbs in a thick line all the way across, leaving an inch of plain dough on each side.
- Pile the apple mixture evenly over the bread crumbs. (The crumbs will help soak up extra moisture.) If your apples were really juicy, you may need to use your judgment and remove a little of the juice from the bowl.
- With your scraper or spatula, lift the long edge to cover as much of the apples as possible. Roll the strudel, using the scraper to lift under the dough and inch it along.
- Pinch the ends well. Roll the strudel onto a piece of parchment paper, and use the paper to lift the strudel onto a baking sheet. Curve into a half-circle if needed to fit into the pan.
- Brush with melted butter and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Heat oven to 400 F.
- Bake strudel for approximately 40 minutes, or until rich golden brown.
- Remove to a rack and mark the pieces with a serrated knife, just through the top. This will allow a little of the steam to escape and keep it crisp. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Flour, salt, and butter – ready to chop-chop!
Roughly chop together. Don’t blend in the butter – chunks are what make it flaky!
First fold is pretty rough. If it’s pretty, you overworked it. It WILL come together!
Second fold is a little better
After five folds and a cold nap, fold a couple more times and then roll it out nice and thin
Use a scraper or spatula to help roll the dough
Pinch the ends and shape it to fit the pan
Score the baked strudel and let it cool a bit before cutting
Dig in!
Oh, man. You are going to love, love, love this! Eat it while it’s warm, or soon thereafter; it gets a little soft by the second day. Since there is sour cream in the filling, make sure any leftover strudel gets wrapped and put in the fridge.
I’ll leave you with a quote from S.J. Perelman:
“I have no truck with lettuce, cabbage, and similar chlorophyll. Any dietitian will tell you that a running foot of apple strudel contains four times the vitamins of a bushel of beans.”
I’ll buy that!
Lorinda
Now this recipe I can handle. The other version looks a bit . . . challenging.
So glad to have the wise and immortal words of Mr. Perelman. I won’t have to change my diet after all.
Exactly! Strudel for good health – breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
This looks absolutely scrumptious! I love apples, and I love working with puff pastry.
Thank you, Susan! This is definitely my favorite dough to use…guess I’d better not show my face in Austria! I tried store bought puff pastry (gasp!) and it was just TOO puffy and dry. The rough puff is just right for my taste.