Autumn Fruit Strudel

(serves 8)

12 sheets phyllo dough, thawed if frozen
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
7 tsp. granulated sugar
3 or 4 tart apples, peeled, halved, cored and diced (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup mixed chopped dried fruit, such as sour cherries, apricots, cranberries, currants, golden raisins or nectarines.

1. Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 190 ⁰C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Working with 1 phyllo sheet at a time and keeping the others covered with a barely damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out, place the first sheet on the parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, brush well with some of the melted butter. Lay a second phyllo on top of the first and brush again with butter. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. of the granulated sugar. Repeat, brushing every sheet with butter and sprinkling every other sheet with 1 tsp. granulated sugar, until all of the phyllo is used.

3. In a large bowl, toss together the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and dried fruit.

4. Arrange the apple filling along one long side of the phyllo stack, positioning it about 1 inch from the edge. Fold the edge of the stack over the filling, then carefully roll up the phyllo into a log with the seam side down. Brush the log with additional melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tsp. granulated sugar.

5. Bake the strudel until the phyllo is golden and the apples are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes.

6. Transfer the strudel to a long serving platter, cut crosswise and serve warm.

My Tips:

Phyllo or filo dough is not the same as ordinary puff pastry! It may be difficult to find it, so if you find only the puff pastry, take it. The main difference is that the phyllo dough actually consists of 8 – 12 separate sheets (depends on the producer), whereas the puff pastry is only one thick sheet that will start splitting into multiple sheets while baking. So, if you are working with puff pastry, you can skip the part of brushing the sheets with butter and sprinkling them with sugar, and do it only once with your sheet of puff pastry.
You can also add 30 – 50 ml rum (brandy or whisky) to diced apples and dried fruit mix. Let it absorb the alcohol for 15 – 30 minutes, and only then add the sugar and spices. Don’t be afraid to add whisky or rum: the strudel won’t have the taste of alcohol.
You can try doing my salty version of an autumn strudel. For this you would need salted butter, and instead of dried fruit you use only golden raisins and pumpkin seeds (roasted or not, it’s up to you), preferably soaked with diced apples in rum, as suggested before. Whisky or rum will make the filling here less sweet.
You can also add different seeds and small/chopped nuts to your liking (e.g. sunflower seeds and pistachios).
Don’t use more apples than suggested by this recipe! It may seem it’s not enough, but more you won’t be able to fit in ;)