Today was completely devoted to apples. We prepared two different treats: an apfelstrudel and an individual apple dessert. Both were fun to make and offered different techniques and textures.
We began by preparing the strudel dough. The dough needed time to rest, so it was made first and set aside while other components were prepared.
As the dough rested, we mixed the filling and started on the apple desserts. The desserts consisted of a short dough base, a small dollop of cream, and a topping of apples glazed in apricot jelly. The bases with cream were baked first, then the glazed apples were added and the desserts were placed in the freezer so the layers could set together.
With the desserts chilling, we moved on to the strudel. Two large workbenches were joined and covered with a cloth that had been dusted with flour. The dough itself was also floured to prevent sticking. First we rolled the dough out partially, then used a stretching technique to thin it further. The goal is to achieve an almost translucent sheet of pastry; we stretched it far enough that it nearly covered both workbenches. Watching the dough grow thinner and wider was satisfying.
Once the dough was as thin as possible, we spread the apple filling along its length. Using the cloth, we carefully folded a section of dough over the filling and then continued to roll, encasing the filling in many delicate layers of pastry. You roll until the strudel reaches the desired thickness, trim any excess dough, and transfer the roll to the oven. Making strudel requires precision and patience—stretching the dough thin is surprisingly tricky—but it’s a valuable skill and I learned a lot during the process.
While the strudel baked, we finished the apple desserts. After removing them from the freezer, they had set nicely and were ready to be glazed. We dipped each dessert in a clear jelly to give it a glossy finish, then topped them with a slice of caramelized apple. The finished desserts not only looked appealing but tasted delicious as well.
This timing worked well for my ongoing dessert project, which explores the theme of old versus new—either by modernizing a classic recipe or by giving a contemporary idea a classic twist. I decided to reinterpret classic apple pie with a modern approach. I already have a clear idea for the filling, but was still searching for the right base. After tasting the base used for today’s apple dessert, I realized it is exactly the foundation I want to use for my concept. I’ll continue developing this experiment as part of a course assignment and will share more details later. To be continued.