Viennese Sour Cherry Strudel Food

VIENNESE SOUR CHERRY STRUDEL

Steps:

• Add all the ingredients to the bowl of your kitchen aid and knead with the hook attachment for about 5 to 7 minutes until you have a very soft, very smooth dough. Shape it into a ball and brush it with a generous amount of oil. Put the dough in a bowl and let rest in a warm place for 45 minutes.
• Put the 120 g of crushed graham cracker crumbs in a pan with cinnamon and 3 tbsp of butter and let them toast on medium heat for a couple of minutes. Set aside.
• Mix the cherries with all the other ingredients and add the buttered cookie crumbs.
• Once the dough has rested roll it out on a floured tablecloth or bed sheet until very thin. Yield at a roughly 10- by 12-inch rectangle. Now it's time to stretch the dough.
• Starting from the centre, reach under the dough and begin to gently pull out towards the edge. Since it's soft, the dough should stretch fairly easily. You can use your fingertips to pull or reach into the dough with the top of your hand to then pull it out in larger swatches. Now grab a magazine or a recipe and slide it under the dough. If you can read through it, you've made it! Using kitchen shears or a knife trim off the thick edges around the edges.
• Now brush the dough with your melted butter and sprinkle the 70 g of cookie crumbs on the lower half of the dough. Scoop the cherry filling onto the bottom portion of the dough in a narrow row that's about eight inches above the bottom edge and ends about three inches shy of either side.
• Fold the bottom and the sides of the dough over the filling and lift up the end of dough by using the tablecloth. Bring it over the entire cherry filling to cover and continue rolling. About halfway through, tuck in the sides like a burrito and continue to roll until it's all rolled up. Make sure your seam is at the bottom of the rolled up strudel.
• Now we need to transfer or strudel onto a big baking sheet.
• If your strudel does not fit perfectly just curve the strudel slightly to fit- you can even go full on half moon. Once it's sliced, nobody will know the difference.
• Brush the strudel with butter and bake by starting it at 180 Celsius for 45 to 60 minutes until golden brown!
• Let the cherry strudel cool down before slicing to allow the filling to set a bit.
• Serve it with a generous dusting of powdered sugar. If you want, you can add some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream! Enjoy!

CHEESE AND CHERRY STRUDEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), blend the cream cheese until soft and smooth. Add the farmer's cheese and continue to blend. Add the egg and mix. Add 1/2 cup of the sugar and the vanilla. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip (or just set aside in a bowl).
• Transfer 1 sheet of phyllo to the prepared pan. Using a pastry brush, brush the phyllo with butter. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/3 of the ground walnuts. Repeat with the 2 remaining sheets of phyllo--reserving the some melted butter and nuts for the top, once rolled.
• Turn the sheet pan so that the phyllo is horizontal to your body. Two inches in from the left-hand edge of the phyllo, working from top to bottom and leaving 2 inches bare at the top and bottom, pipe or spoon a 3/4 inch thick line of cream cheese mixture.
• Alongside the cream cheese, pour the cherry pie filling. Turn the sheet pan a quarter turn and, starting at the edge the fillings are near, roll up the pastry to encase the filling. Keep rolling to form a log. Move the log to the center of the sheet pan and tuck the ends under to keep the filling from oozing out. Brush the surface with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining sugar and nuts.
• Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool 10 to 15 minutes on the pan. Using a serrated knife, cut carefully into sections and serve warm.

CROATIAN SOUR CHERRY STRUDEL (ŠTRUDLU S VIšNJAMA)

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup lukewarm water, 1/2 teaspoon vinegar and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Place 2 cups all-purpose flour in a large bowl and cut in 1 tablespoon cold butter in as for pie dough. Add water mixture and stir by hand for about 5 minutes or until dough becomes smooth.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, adding as little extra flour as possible. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.
• Cover a large table with a clean cotton tablecloth (it will become stained from the fat in the dough, so use an old tablecloth). Sprinkle the cloth generously with flour. Place the dough in the center of the cloth and brush it with melted butter. Roll the dough to a 1/8-inch thickness.
• Begin stretching the dough either over the backs of your hands or palm-side up, whichever works best for you. Work quickly, continually lifting the dough and stretching it by pulling your hands apart until it is almost paper thin and drapes over the sides of the table. See our recipe for making Serbian Cheese Strudel to get the idea. Using kitchen shears, trim off the thicker outer edges of the strudel dough.
• Place rack in the middle of oven and heat to 400 F. Brush the stretched dough liberally with melted butter. Place the cherry filling along one long edge in a 3-inch-wide strip, 2 inches from the edges. Sprinkle ground walnuts over the filling.
• Use the tablecloth to roll the strudel away from you, jellyroll fashion, until it is completely rolled. Brush the top of the strudel with melted butter. Cut into sections that will fit your baking sheets and tuck in ends of strudel.
• Place parchment on baking sheets and transfer strudel sections to them, seam-side down. Bake 10 minutes, reduce heat to 375 F and bake 20 to 25 minutes more or until strudel is crisp and golden.
• Remove from oven, cool slightly and then cut on an angle into slices. Dust with confectioners' sugar. You may also cool completely to make the slicing easier and then rewarm in a microwave. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve as is or with a dollop of whipped cream or scoop of ice cream.

CLASSIC CHERRY STRUDEL

Steps:

• For the cherry filling, bring the cherries up to a simmer with the sugar and cinnamon sticks, and simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk the cornstarch in a small bowl with a little cold water and add this to the cherries, stirring until the juices have thickened and the cherries are glossy. Set aside to cool before using.
• For the strudel dough, blend the all-purpose and bread flours with the salt in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the water, oil and vinegar and mix on low speed until the dough comes together and then increase by one speed and knead for 2-3 minutes (the dough will seem sticky). Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and continue to knead the dough until it seems a smooth but elastic texture. Place the dough in a covered bowl and set aside to rest at room temperature for at least an hour.
• To assemble, preheat the oven to 375 F. Lay a clean tablecloth out over your work surface and dust it evenly with flour. Place the strudel dough in the middle of the tablecloth and with your hands or a dusted rolling pin; spread the dough out as far as you can. Now switch to only using your hands (and keep them dusted with flour) and pull and stretch the dough from underneath, using the back of your hands, until it is almost transparent (it's alright if a hole pops up here or there).
• Once stretched as far as it can, brush the entire surface of the dough gently with butter (or spread it with your hand). Sprinkle the dough with breadcrumbs, then spoon the cool cherry filling over one end of the strudel. Trim away the end pieces of dough and, using the tablecloth for leverage, lift and roll up the strudel dough loosely and quickly. Use the tablecloth to lift it onto a parchment-lined baking tray (you can curve it, if it is bigger than the tray) and pinch the edges to ensure the strudel is sealed.
• Brush the top with egg wash and bake for about 45 minutes, until it is a rich golden brown. Allow the strudel to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing, and serve each slice generously dusted with icing sugar.
• This strudel is best served the day it's baked, but can be stored, refrigerated for up to 3 days.

SOUR CHERRY STRUDEL

Steps:

• Cherry filling: In large saucepan, combine cherries, sugar, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat for 30 to 60 minutes. Strain cherries from juice and set aside. Discard excess liquid.
• Cheese filling: Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until well mixed. Set aside.
• Dough: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On waxed paper, spread out a few sheets of phyllo dough and brush with melted butter. Top the dough with a thin coating of the cheese filling and then with the cherry filling. Top with bread crumbs and nuts. Cover with another couple sheets of phyllo dough and repeat topping steps. Repeat to create 3 to 4 layers of dough and topping and then roll up like a strudel and place on a cookie sheet. Brush a thin coat of melted butter on top and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool before serving.