Hello Disney chefs and welcome to our second installment of Epcot‘s Food and Wine Festival recipes at home. Today, let’s create a crowd favorite from the Germany marketplace.
Of course, we are talking about the flaky and sweet goodness of their Apple Strudel. There is a reason it’s probably the first food item that comes to guests’ minds when they think of this marketplace. It’s amazing.
In 1996 the Walt Disney World Wine Festival was renamed Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, and it’s also the year the Apple Studel was introduced.
Before we start I should probably warn you this one is tasty but a pain in the behind to make. Anyone who has baked with phyllo dough knows it can be tricky. Not hard, but it takes a little patience.
As always, for the official Disney recipe check out the cookbook “Epcot International Food and Wine – Recipes & Stories celebrating 20 years ” by Pam Brandon & The Disney Chefs. I’m in love with that cookbook and it’s where I found this recipe. As a side note, if Ms. Brandon is reading this, I would gladly take your job if you ever get tired of eating incredible Disney foods for a living. I’m just saying I’m ready to step in for you.
Here’s what you will need:
Ingredients:
- 3 Medium Granny Smith apples
- ¼ cup raisins
- 4 Tbsps. sugar
- ¼ Tsp. ground cinnamon
- 4 Tbsps. plain bread crumbs
- 8 ounces phyllo dough, thawed (about 20 sheets)
- ¾ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup heavy cream, slightly whipped
Let’s get baking!
1. Preheat your oven to 400F. Some people will skip this step, but it really does affect the final outcome of the Strudel.
2. Wash, peel and thinly slice the apples.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the apples, raisins, sugar, and cinnamon. Toss them together, making sure all the apples are coated. Place them aside and let the spices soak into the apples.
4. Using a small sauté pan over medium heat, toast the breadcrumbs until they are golden brown. Disney says this should take about 5 minutes. I call shenanigans on this. It’s way shorter. When I tried to toast them for five minutes I kept burning them. Finally, when my husband heard some not-so-Disney words coming out of the kitchen, he came in and did it for me. It was going to be the breadcrumbs or me. I needed the breadcrumbs for the recipe so I let him do it.
After they are toasted, let them cool in a small bowl.
5. Melt the butter. The official recipe calls for ¾ cup but I needed about double that amount.
6. Take a clean dish towel and lay it out on your table. Unwrap the phyllo pastry.
Spread one sheet of dough flat on the towel. Lightly brush the surface with the melted butter. The easiest way to do this is with a pastry brush. You can find a cheap one at any grocery or dollar store. Make sure you brush the butter on as light as you can so you don’t rip the dough.
If you do happen to rip it, don’t worry. Once you stop cursing and yelling at the pastry Gods, just continue with the next sheet. It will be ok. Place another sheet on top and cover with a light coat of butter again. Do this until you have used all the phyllo sheets.
The official Disney chef recipe says to add about 20 sheets, but my family found that way too much. If I were to make it again, I’d probably add only 15 sheets maximum. Plus, I had to buy two boxes since the ones I found only had 17 sheets in each. It was a waste to open the second box for only 3 sheets.
This is where I also learned not eat raw phyllo pastry. The baked dough is amazing and raw dough is a stomach ache.
7. Along the longest side of the top sheet, spread out a layer of breadcrumbs and then layer the apple mixture on top of it.
As you can see in the pictures, I made mine pretty thin. Next time I would spread the apples over a larger surface to make each slice wider.
8. Roll the strudel using the towel. The easiest way to do this is by pulling up on one side of the towel and pull it over the rest of the towel. Then continue to roll and pull. It’s best to tighten the roll as you go.
9. Place the strudel seam side down on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush the top and sides with more melted butter.
10. Bake for 25 minutes. It will become golden brown. Golden brown and amazing. Let cool for 30-45 minutes.
11. In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream until it becomes whipped cream.
12. Once completely cool, cut the strudel into 6 servings and top with whipped cream.
Or you could be like me and completely cover it with the whipped cream. The calories don’t count when there is fruit involved. It totally balances itself out.
Enjoy, everyone, enjoy!
