Classic apple filling

Peel the apples, remove the cores, and slice them thinly. Heat butter in a frying pan, add the apples, raisins, and sugar, and sauté over high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Let the mixture cool, then add lemon juice, zest, crushed nuts, and vanilla.

Other fruit fillings

Thoroughly drain the fruit or berries (especially if they were frozen!). Add all the other ingredients except the cookie crumbs, mix well, and let the filling rest for at least an hour.

If you’re making a blueberry strudel, once the berries have rested, mash the cottage cheese well so it spreads easily and mix it with the berries.

If the fruit or berries release too much juice, pour it off and add a little more starch. Mix the dough well again right before adding the filling.

Dough

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and knead into a smooth dough by hand or with a low-speed mixer using a dough hook. Shape the dough into a ball, lightly coat it with vegetable oil, wrap it in cling film, and refrigerate it for at least an hour — preferably overnight. This step is important to help the gluten develop properly and give the dough the proper elasticity.

To roll out the dough, dust your work surface with flour and begin rolling it with a rolling pin. Make sure you have a large, empty table to work on, as the dough must be very thin. Keep an eye on the dough as you work — dust it with flour as needed so it doesn’t stick to the table.

When the dough is less than a millimetre thick, lay a clean cloth on the table and stretch it. Dust the dough lightly with flour and gently pull it using the back of your hands — be careful, your fingers might tear the dough. Work from the centre outward.

Once the dough is stretched thin enough (good Austrian cooks say you should be able to read a newspaper through it), trim off the thicker edges to form a rectangle. Brush the dough with melted butter and get ready to add the filling.

Sprinkle cookie crumbs over the bottom third of the dough, then spread the fruit filling on top and begin rolling the strudel. The cloth underneath will help here — gently lift the edge of the fabric to roll the filling (essentially using it like a giant sushi mat). Transfer the rolled strudel to a baking tray lined with baking paper, brush with butter, and bake in a preheated oven at 190–200°C for 20–30 minutes depending on the filling.

Serve hot with a scoop of ice cream.

P.S. If you don’t feel like making the dough from scratch, you can use store-bought phyllo dough instead (we won’t tell—we do it sometimes, too!). Sprinkle the layers with water and brush them with butter to keep them soft.