The SOTD theme for this week reminded me of sweet fall rolls AKA mini Apfelstrudel. This is a delicious, easy and popular twist on both the Dutch apple turnover and the Austrian apple strudel. (Well, and Vietnamese fried spring rolls.) I couldn’t find the usual recipe in English though, so here's a translation, in case anyone would like to make them too. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 16 mini apple strudels
- 1kg apples before dicing (2.2 lbs, about 6 apples)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2-4 tbsp raisins
- 100 gr sugar (3.52 oz)
- 1-2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 pack filo (phyllo) dough with 16 smaller sheets or 8 big ones (refrigerator temperature)
- 50 gr (1.77 oz) melted butter or a can of neutral olive oil spray
Optional
- Chopped nuts, like hazelnuts or walnuts in the filling. I prefer almond shavings on top.
- 1-2 tsp wheat flour (for those who prefer thicker pie filling)
- Some powdered sugar for dusting
- Rum raisins instead of normal raisins (or no raisins at all)
- Swap the sugar for some granulated sweetener to make it diabetic-friendly
For vanilla cream, mix to taste
- Vanilla bourbon or aroma
- crème fraîche (or sour cream, heavy cream, Mascarpone, or full-fat greek yogurt)
- Sugar/sweetener
Other items
- Brush and pan for butter (unless you're simply spraying oil)
- Baking sheet
- Oven (or Air Fryer)
How to make the rolls
1. Mix the chopped apples, lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. (Optional: add the flour and nuts.)
2. Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F degrees.
3. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take the sheets of filo pastry out of the packaging. (Halve each sheet of dough if they're big.) Brush the edges with melted butter or quickly spray the oil. Place about 2 tablespoons of the apple filling on the upper edge of each piece of dough and press into a strand. Leave a 2 cm / 1 inch margin on the left and right. Fold in the edges on the left and right and roll up the piece of dough, starting with the apple filling. Space them out on the tray and form a total of 16 mini apple strudels.
4. Brush the top of the strudel with the remaining butter or spray with oil. (Optional: sprinkle with shaved almonds.) Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes.
5. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with the vanilla cream. (The vanilla cream can be omitted, swapped for a standard vanilla sauce or you could simply opt to serve the rolls with vanilla ice cream instead.) Also great with autumn tea if that's available, which tastes like baked apples and vanilla.
Happy fall!
Ingredients for 16 mini apple strudels
- 1kg apples before dicing (2.2 lbs, about 6 apples)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2-4 tbsp raisins
- 100 gr sugar (3.52 oz)
- 1-2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 pack filo (phyllo) dough with 16 smaller sheets or 8 big ones (refrigerator temperature)
- 50 gr (1.77 oz) melted butter or a can of neutral olive oil spray
Optional
- Chopped nuts, like hazelnuts or walnuts in the filling. I prefer almond shavings on top.
- 1-2 tsp wheat flour (for those who prefer thicker pie filling)
- Some powdered sugar for dusting
- Rum raisins instead of normal raisins (or no raisins at all)
- Swap the sugar for some granulated sweetener to make it diabetic-friendly
For vanilla cream, mix to taste
- Vanilla bourbon or aroma
- crème fraîche (or sour cream, heavy cream, Mascarpone, or full-fat greek yogurt)
- Sugar/sweetener
Other items
- Brush and pan for butter (unless you're simply spraying oil)
- Baking sheet
- Oven (or Air Fryer)
How to make the rolls
1. Mix the chopped apples, lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. (Optional: add the flour and nuts.)
2. Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F degrees.
3. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take the sheets of filo pastry out of the packaging. (Halve each sheet of dough if they're big.) Brush the edges with melted butter or quickly spray the oil. Place about 2 tablespoons of the apple filling on the upper edge of each piece of dough and press into a strand. Leave a 2 cm / 1 inch margin on the left and right. Fold in the edges on the left and right and roll up the piece of dough, starting with the apple filling. Space them out on the tray and form a total of 16 mini apple strudels.
4. Brush the top of the strudel with the remaining butter or spray with oil. (Optional: sprinkle with shaved almonds.) Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes.
5. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with the vanilla cream. (The vanilla cream can be omitted, swapped for a standard vanilla sauce or you could simply opt to serve the rolls with vanilla ice cream instead.) Also great with autumn tea if that's available, which tastes like baked apples and vanilla.
Happy fall!
