Apple Strudel Braid [With Homemade Puff Pastry]

This apple strudel braid is an American style strudel made with lightly spiced cinnamon bourbon apples, an easy flaky homemade puff pastry dough, and an incredible buttered bourbon glaze.

Last year for Christmas my sister-in-law brought the most amazing apple strudel to our family Christmas. It was her grandmothers recipe and it was incredible. The strudel was the star of the show.

When I finally perfected my EASY HOMEMADE PUFF PASTRY DOUGH, I knew it would be the perfect dough for an apple dessert and that apple strudel was my inspiration.

Ingredients

Strudel uses an unleavened dough consisting of simple ingredients: flour, salt, and butter (or oil), and sometimes vinegar. What sets it apart from other dough is the method used to create the thin dough.

Tips for success

Use cold pastry dough

The number one rule to remember when working with pastry dough is that it MUST be kept cold. This is especially true when working with puff pastry as the cold butter in the warm oven will cause steam to be released allowing the layers to rise.

I like to place the pastry back in the refrigerator once the apple strudel is assembled to make sure it is very cold before going into the oven.

Use a baking sheet that has sides

It is common for the some of the filling juices to run out of the pastry. Using a baking sheet that has sides will prevent the juices from running off the pan and onto the bottom of your hot oven…creating LOTS of smoke…and setting off the fire alarm.

Not that I would know this from experience or anything…

Avoid precooking your apples

It’s tempting to precook the apples to make sure they get cooked through. I have tried both precooking the apples and not precooking the apples. The best results were acheived when I didn’t precook the apples AND I didn’t have to wait for the apples to cool before adding them to the pastry.

If you choose to cook the apples, then they MUST be completely cooled. Make it easy on yourself and just add the apple mixture directly to the pastry. It will cook for 40 minutes which is plenty of time for the apples to cook completely through.

Use parchment paper

There are several reasons for this:

To prevent the apple strudel and juices from sticking to the pan

Juices from the filling will likely leak from the opening in the pastry dough. Using parchment paper will prevent the pastry and juices from sticking to the pan.

For easy transfer

You can cut the strips of your pastry dough braid directly on a large piece of parchment paper and then transfer both the parchment paper and the pastry to your baking sheet. So much easier than trying to cut dough strips on a baking sheet with sides (again, not that I would know this from experience or anything…).

Brush the pastry with cream or egg wash

Brush the pastry with heavy whipping cream or an egg wash mixture to ensure even and golden browning.

What is apple strudel?

Strudel is a pastry that dates back to Austria and is a popular European dessert. It was created after the Turkish baklava made it’s way it’s way to Eastern Europe. The word strudel is German for “whirlpool” due to it’s swirled and layered pastry appearance. Arguably the most famous and beloved was the Viennese apple strudel, or “Apfelstrudel”.

Making traditional strudel dough

First, the strudel dough is made by kneading and then literally “slamming” the dough onto the counter top several times to help develop the gluten. Then, the dough is allowed to rest before it is rolled and stretch into a paper thin (almost transparent) sheet, similar to phyllo dough. The saying goes “the dough should be so thin you can read a newspaper through it”. The dough is then brushed with melted butter and wrapped around the filling many times until all of the dough is used.

Types of strudel (European and American)

Strudels can be savory or sweet and is named for the filling.

Common Austrian/German strudels:

• the Viennese apple strudel, or “Apfelstrudel”
• topfen/quark (a farmers curd cheese)
• milk cream (oldest known strudel recipe)
• apricot
• nut filled
• sour cherry
• spinach
• pumpkin
• meat
• rice

American Strudels:

Like many recipes, the original recipe evolved and transformed over time. Many American strudels now use puff pastry dough instead of the more traditional phyllo type dough.

• strawberry
• cream cheese
• breakfast (ham, cheese, and eggs)
• apple

What is an apple strudel braid?

An apple strudel braid is an Americanized version of the Viennese apple strudel that uses a puff pastry dough instead of the more traditional phyllo style dough. This dough is a little sturdier and is more forgiving during the braiding.

How to braid pastry dough

First, roll the puff pastry dough out into a sheet that is roughly 11 x 15 inches. Second, cut 1 inch wide strips down each side of the pastry sheet. I suggest doing this on a sheet of parchment paper to help transfer the dough onto your baking sheet.

Next, add your filling to the center, making sure not to overfill the pastry. Too much filling will make it difficult to braid the dough.

Then, starting at the top, gently cross the first dough strip over the apples at a diagonal (making sure to not pull or stretch the dough) and then cross the opposite dough strip over the first dough strip, making an X pattern. Continue to do this down the length of the strudel.

Note: the picture above shows a lot of sauce around the apples. I have since reworked the recipe to avoid this step so it will not look like the above).

Apple strudel buttered bourbon glaze

The final touch on this already amazing apple strudel braid is this buttered bourbon glaze. Bourbon and apples are like peanut butter and jelly. They are the perfect pair. This glaze turns a good pastry into an exceptional pastry so don’t be tempted to skip this step. Pour the glaze all over the top of the apple strudel soon after it comes out of the oven and then allow it to cool a bit before serving.

Enjoy!

For all you pastry lovers out there, check out these Homemade Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls.