​Easy Homemade German Apple Strudel with Puff Pastry

​Easy Homemade German Apple Strudel with Puff Pastry

Why You Should Give This Recipe a Try

I grew up in a neighborhood in NYC that boasted an incredibly diverse population. This meant exposure to all sorts of delicious foods from a variety of cultures. One of my favorite places was a bakery that served up a host of German desserts. I have great childhood memories of the sights and smells of that bakery, of the sound of string whipping around the white pastry box promising an amazing treat when I got home. This is why, as an adult, I have learned how to make a variety of German treats, including this Easy Homemade German Apple Strudel with Puff Pastry. 

While I would love to say that I have perfected the traditional homemade dough of the traditional apple strudel recipe, that’s just a little time consuming for me. Instead, this recipe uses a sheet of frozen puff pastry cut and brushed with egg wash to create a truly impressive dessert. It’s so beautiful and tasty, with a flaky crust and crunch of sparkling sugar that you won’t even miss the homemade strudel dough. 

Inside, this homemade apple strudel boasts an amazing apple filling bursting with warm apple pie spices and studded with raisins (rum-soaked raisins if that’s your thing!).

Some of the best features of this recipe:

A quick and easy flaky puff pastry crust.

A filling bursting with fresh apples cut into chunks and mixed with autumn spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and allspice.

A beautiful criss-cross dough pattern that produces an impressive looking dessert perfect for special occasions.

Apple strudel makes a great alternative to a classic dessert like apple pie during the holiday season.

​Like as my other recipes, this Homemade German Apple Strudel with Puff Pastry is easy to make and doesn’t require any complicated cooking techniques or special tools The ingredients are all easily found in any grocery store.

Recipe Ingredients

3-5 Granny Smith apples (about 2 cups cut into chunks)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

pinch of allspice

1/2 cup raisins

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1 sheet frozen puff pastry

1 large egg & 1 tbsp water

Sparkling sugar (optional)

Helpful Tools​

• Small sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Large mixing bowl
• Parchment paper
• Rolling pin
• ​Large knife, pizza cutter, or pastry cutter
• ​Rimmed baking sheet
• Mug or very small bowl
• Pastry brush

Ingredient Notes

Give the puff pastry a bit of time to thaw before beginning, about 20 minutes. It should be cold but not frozen. 

Granny Smith apples are the best choice for this recipe because they hold together when baking. You can also use Honey Crisp or any other recipe that won’t get mushy in the oven.

I’m not a fan of alcohol, but rum-soaked raisins – or even brandy-soaked raisins – are a traditional ingredient. You can make them by placing raisins in a jar, covering them rum, and shaking them. Keep shaking the jar from time-to-time over the course of several hours to a few days. The raisins will plump up when ready.

You can use golden raisins in place of regular raisins if that is your preference.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Be sure you begin by thawing the puff pastry dough. It should be thawed but still cold. If it starts to warm up too much at any point, you can put it on the baking sheet in the fridge.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

3. Cut around the core of the apples, peel them, and cut them into chunks. The chunks should be relatively small but not so small they will dissolve in the oven.

4. Put the apple chunks in a large bowl and combine with the brown sugar.

5. Sprinkle the apple mixture with cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and allspice.

6. Add the raisins to the apple mixture. If you are using rum-soaked raisins, be sure to strain off the liquid.

7. Toss the apple and raisin mixture with the all purpose flour. Set aside.

8. Place a sheet of parchment paper approximately the size of your baking sheet on a large work surface. Lightly sprinkle with flour.

9. Sprinkle a rolling pin with flour and roll out the dough to about 11×15. It does not have to be perfect.

10. Lightly score the dough making three columns. The middle column will be a bit wider than the other two. This is where the apple mixture will be placed.

11. Cut strips into the dough on the two outer columns. Each strip should be about 1/2 inch wide and will go from the outer edge to the scored part. You should have an equal number of strips on each side, but it is fine if you are off by one or two.

12. Place the apple mixture in the middle of the dough. It should not be piled too high and should be fairly evenly distributed. You may have some leftover.

13. Being crisscrossing the strips of dough over the middle. The strips should overlap diagonally. Be careful not to rip the strips of dough and do not leave big gaps with apples peeking through.

14. Lift up the strudel by the parchment paper and place it on a rimmed baking sheet.

15. Beat together an egg and 1 tbsp water in a mug or very small bowl.

16. Use the egg wash to glue down the strips. Carefully lift up the edge of each strip and add egg wash on top and underneath, pressing it down. This will keep the strips from opening during baking.

17. Lightly brush the entire surface of the strudel with egg wash.

18. Sprinkle lightly with sparkling sugar if desired. You can use a bit of cinnamon sugar instead if you wish.

19. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Check out the printable recipe card below for step-by-step directions for this easy apple strudel recipe.

Storage

Homemade German Apple Strudel with Puff Pastry is best eaten the day it is made. If you have any leftovers, wrap them in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and place them in an airtight container on the counter for 1-2 days.

Tips & Tricks

You can core the apples with an apple corer if you have one, but one of the easiest ways to prepare the apples is to simply cut around the core.

Most frozen puff pastry is folded in three. This sometimes leads to holes along the seams as you unfold it. You can fix the holes by gently pressing the dough together and using a finger dipped in warm water to act as a glue.

Be careful of the size of strips. They should not be too thin as they can easily tear during the folding. Basically, the strips should resemble ads you see posted where the phone number is written on a tear off strip at the bottom.

FAQs

How do you serve apple strudel?

You can serve you apple strudel warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or some homemade vanilla sauce. You can also top it with fresh whipped cream. 

Is there a way to prepare the leftovers for the next day?

Puff pastry doesn’t store well, but you can restore your crisp apple strudel by heating it in a 200 degree F oven for 15 minutes. I do not recommend heating it in the microwave.

Apples are a wonderful and versatile dessert ingredient. If you enjoyed this Homemade German Apple Strudel with Puff Pastry, try some of my other apple recipes:

Best Apple Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Crumb Topping

Puff Pastry Tarts with Homemade Apple Pie Filling