Cherry Strudel

I love cooking classes. They’re just such a fun way to get your hands dirty amongst strangers that become friends. As someone that spends the majority of her time cooking alone, talking either to the void on Instagram, or Crawley, my most avid fan (or so I like to think), it’s always a welcome way to spend an afternoon or an evening. The problem I run across often is that I do now how to make…well, a lot, so I’m not going to pay someone quite a lot of money to teach me how to make something that I can piece together with my own common sense. As such, I don’t attend cooking classes that often, so when I do, I’m always excited about it. Mom and I kicked off the summer taking a strudel class a few weeks ago. The result was a savory asparagus strudel and a sweet cherry strudel, and it’s the latter that I’m sharing with you today.

If you’ve been with me on this almost-seven-year (!) journey so far, you maaaay recall that I’ve made strudel before. Apple strudel, after Mom and I returned from taste-testing every strudel we could find in Austria. It was a disaster, not only because I didn’t know what a proper picture looked like, but also because the dough was one big ugly holy mess. It tasted great, but looked unimpressive and lost a lot of layers thanks to the big gaping holes that appeared when I was trying to stretch the dough. I failed, so I went to school to learn how to do it properly, and let’s just say it’s all in the technique.

This dough, after all, is simplicity at its finest. After all, strudel is one of those old-world recipes. The kind that existed in every kitchen before KitchenAid took over, made with ingredients even the poorest could afford, and often crafted by grandmas without recipes, or the blood, sweat and tears that accompanied my own former strudel making efforts. This doesn’t necessarily require skill, but patience, and the realization that it doesn’t have to be perfect. Holes are not the end of the world; the most important thing it’s made with love, and served to those you love.

Gosh, so cheesy. But that’s what I took from my cooking class, and the countless strudels- like, the really good strudels- that I’ve eaten in my 37 years.

A few notes:

While fresh fruit and cherries are so in right now here in Michigan, the base for the filling is actually preserves! Great, since it eliminates the worry of too much moisture making our gorgeously flaky crust soggy. Still, use the best preserves (because if you know me you know I love fancy jams…local purveyors usually have marvelous ones!) in any flavor you like and you won’t be disappointed. Especially because this filling also has a cheesecakey farmers’ cheese throughout.

You’ll need a large muslin cloth on which to stretch the dough. Head to your craft store to pick some up, and give it a wash without using detergent before getting started.

Cherry Strudel

June 21, 2019

Servings: Makes 2 Strudel

Prep: 2 hr 30 min

Cook: 30 min

Total: 3 hr

Difficulty: Medium

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Homemade cherry strudel uses fresh hand-stretched dough and is wrapped around a cheesecake and fruit preserve filling, baked into a deliciously flaky pastry

By: Chrissy

Ingredients

For the dough:
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 large or XL eggs
1 TB melted butter
Warm water- enough water to make 10 ounces when added to the eggs
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter (for brushing)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
For the jam filling:
1 1/2 cups cherry preserves
6 TB breadcrumbs
For the cheese filling:
2 cups Farm cheese or cream cheese
1 TB unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 TB cornstarch (omit if using cream cheese)
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Step 1 Make the dough:
Step 2 Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl, making a well in the middle of the flour mixture.
Step 3 In a measuring cup, add the eggs and lightly beat. Add enough warm water to equal 10 ounces. Add the melted butter, and mix well.
Step 4 Pour the liquid measure into the center of the flour well. with a fork, slowly combine, working from the center out. Continue to mix until the dough forms a stick and soft ball.
Step 5 Turn the dough out on a surface (unfloured). Work a minute or two.
Step 6 In the bowl of a stand mixer, let beat about 5 minutes, until the dough is satiny smooth and less sticky. Place dough in an oiled bag and let sit at room temperature for two hours.
Step 7 Make the fillings in the meantime.
Step 8 Preheat the oven to 380F.
Step 9 Once the dough is ready, stretch it. Cover a rectangular counter or table (ideally 30″ x 48″) with a muslin sheet. Generously flour the sheet. Place the dough in the center of the sheet.
Step 10 Using the backs of your hands, pull the dough from the center out while moving around the table. Stretch for length first, then width. Pull slowly and gently until the dough hangs over the sides of the table. The dough should, at this point, be paper thin and transparent. Trim the excess dough from the edges, and use the scraps to patch up any holes larger than a quarter that were made during stretching. Brush with melted butter.
Step 11 Lightly sprinkle the surface of the dough with breadcrumbs. On the edge closest to you, spread the filling, about 2″ thick and 3″ wide.
Step 12 Using the cloth, lift and fold the filled end and roll the strudel into a cylinder, folding the ends in the end to create a seal. Do not roll the strudel too tightly- it will eliminate the flakiness.
Step 13 Place the strudel onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the entire surface with melted butter and cut vents into the strudel at a 45 degree angle, every 2 inches.
Step 14 Bake 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes before cutting to serve.
Step 15 Make the cheese filling:
Step 16 In a bowl, combine the butter and cream cheese and beat until smooth.
Step 17 In a separate bowl, add the sugar and cornstarch and mix well.
Step 18 In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with vanilla until smooth.
Step 19 Add half the dry ingredients to the cheese mixture. Beat until smooth. Add half of the wet ingredients and beat again. Repeat until all the ingredients are used up. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Step 20 Make the jam filling:
Step 21 Stir the preserves and breadcrumbs together at least 2 hours before using in the strudel, and bring to room temperature before spreading (or piping)
Step 22 Notes: This dough cannot be frozen. However, you can assemble the strudel and freeze it at that point and bake it later direct from the freezer. If you bake it from frozen, bake for one hour.
Step 23 Prepared dough can be refrigerated up to five days.
Step 24 Recipe courtesy of Zingerman’s Bakehouse