How to make
Apples (the best strudel is obtained when different varieties of apples are combined) are washed, peeled, cleaned from the seeds and grated, but not too finely.
The grated apples are salted, mixed and left for 10 minutes to release their water. Then they are carefully squeezed by hand to get rid of the excess water and have a crispy strudel.
Add brown sugar (3/4 of the amount), 1 packet of cinnamon, lemon juice and rum to the squeezed apples. Mix well. This is the filling for the strudel.
The butter is melted.
Crush the walnuts, but not too finely.
Take one sheet of the fine filo pastry and grease its entire surface. A second sheet is placed on it and also greased. Always use two sheets to roll one strudel roll.
At one end of the sheet along its entire length, place the stuffing. Then roll up a roll with the sheet, but only 2-3 turns. The goal is to wrap the filling in sheets to separate it from the walnuts. That way they won't get moist and the strudel will become very crispy when baked. After this rolling, half of the area of the sheet is left uncovered in front of us. This surface is sprinkled with walnuts, cinnamon, a little brown sugar and powdered sugar. Then roll up the roll to the end. The finished roll has an apple filling in the middle, which is separated by several layers of filo pastry, and around it is a walnut-cinnamon sugar filling. When the sugar melts and caramelizes during baking, it will magically blend with the walnuts and cinnamon.
Arrange the rolls side by side in a greased baking pan. Spread butter on top and sprinkle with a little more brown sugar.
The oven is heated to 390°F (200°C). When we put the baking pan in to bake - reduce the heat to 360°F (180°C). When the color of the filo pastry starts to turn slightly orange - reduce the oven to 320°F (160°C) and bake until done.
Take out the strudel and let it cool completely and then sprinkle it with powdered sugar.
There is an option not to wait for it to cool, but to serve it hot in the company of a scoop of ice cream. Delicious!
Butter can be replaced with vegetable fat and in order to have a lean strudel. In fact, this is the exact recipe our family uses to make Christmas Eve tikvenik. The method of wrapping the roll (wrapping up to 1/3 of the area of the sheet to separate the filling and not moisten the nuts + covering the remaining 2/3 of the area with nuts, cinnamon and sugar gives it a velvety soft center with crunchy walnuts and makes the strudel very layered.
Needless to say, except with apples or pumpkin - the filling can be improvised. Try it with plums with cloves, try carrots and nutmeg, or apples with vanilla and orange peel, or apples with cardamom, or cherries with almonds, etc.
The recipe for the best strudel can be filled with regular sugar, but Muscovado adds an unique caramel flavor.
Try it and I'm sure this will become your favorite strudel!
