Prateek Dhar Wali

It is difficulty to find anyone who doesn’t appreciate a baked apple dessert. This is an Austrian apfelstrudel with a raspberry coulis for a twist. Strudel can be traced back to the 17th century, gaining popularity during the Habsburg Empire. Even though an apple strudel (apfelstrudel) is most widely known, there are various types including sour cherry, apricot, plum and raisin. Enjoy!

Dough

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced into small pea size pieces

1/4 cup ice water

Filling

3 tablespoons unsalted butter (40 g)

2/3 cups fine bread crumbs

½ cup of brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2-3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced into small pieces

2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing the dough

Powdered sugar for dusting

Raspberry Coulis

3 tablespoons of sugar

3 tablespoons water

1/3 cup of fresh raspberries

To make the dough place the flour, salt, and sugar in a small food processor. Pulse a few times, then add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times. Add the ice water and pulse until the dough comes together. Knead into a ball, wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

For the filling, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a non-stick sauce pan over medium heat and add the breadcrumbs. Toast them until they are golden. Remove and let them cool.

Peel the apples, core them and dice into small pieces. Now add 2 tablespoons of butter to the same sauce pan and add the apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cool the apples till they caramelize, about 5 minutes, keep them on the firmer side (not too soft). Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a clean and lightly floured surface into a rectangular shape. Brush half the dough some melted butter. Spread the breadcrumbs over one side and then add the apple mixture. Fold in the long sides of the rectangle and then start to roll the dough. Place the strudel onto a sheet of parchment paper with the seam-side down.

Put the dough onto a baking sheet and brush it with the remaining melted butter.

Baking the strudel for 35-45 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

To make the raspberry coulis, add the raspberries, sugar and water to the small food processor and puree till smooth, may need more or less water. Then using a fine mesh strainer pour and press the mixture through to remove the seeds. Place the coulis at the base of the bowl with the apfelstrudel on top and cover with powdered sugar.

My wife is Austrian, so obviously I had to attempt to make a Linzer torte. This is an Austrian torte, originating from the city of Linz. It is a crumbly pastry with jam and nuts, usually hazelnuts but I used almonds. The jam can be redcurrant, raspberry or apricot. The cake is usually covered by a lattice of dough strips. The torte is a holiday classic around Christmas and thought to be one of the oldest cakes in the world. Enjoy!

Dough

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 ground clove

¼ tsp of salt

1 stick of cold unsalted butter

½ cup of granulated sugar

½ tsp of lemon zest

½ cup ice cold water

Filling

2 cups seedless raspberry jam

½ cup of ground slivered almonds

Glaze

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon water

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter 1 square cake pan then line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit.

In a food processor add 2 cups of flour, salt, sugar and butter. The butter should be cold and cut into small cubes. Pulse with mixture 10-12 times. Now add the cinnamon, clove and lemon zest and pulse 3-4 times. Then add 1/2 cup of the water and mix till it forms a dough ball. Place the dough into saran wrap and cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Then process the almonds till ground and put aside.

After 30 min divide the dough roughly ¾ and ¼ portions. Roll out the ¾ portion of the dough to fit the inside of the square pan. Press evenly and firmly over the bottoms and then about 1 inch up the sides with your fingers.

Roll the remaining ¼ portion of dough between two pieces of waxed paper and then cut to make strips for the lattice.

Now sprinkle the ground almonds over the dough in the pan. Add the raspberry jam to cover the dough. Arrange strips crisscrossing them on an angle to make a lattice top with diamond-shaped openings. I alternated three in each direction to weave the lattice.

To add a little finish, mix egg yolk and water. Brush it all over lattice top and border. Sprinkle with almonds, if desired. Bake the torte for 45 to 60 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. Then use a small, sharp knife and cut into squares. Add powdered sugar if desired.