Wiener Apfelstrudel with Caramelized Apples, Rum-Soaked Raisins, Toasted Walnuts and Vanilla Sauce

Make the strudel dough: combine flour and salt. Add warm water, oil, and vinegar. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and very elastic.

Ingredients

• 200g all-purpose flour
• 120ml warm water, 2 tbsp neutral oil, 1 tsp white wine vinegar, pinch salt
• 1 kg tart apples (Granny Smith), 80g sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, lemon zest
• 100g raisins soaked in 3 tbsp dark rum
• 80g toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
• 60g butter plus 80g fine fresh breadcrumbs
• 80g unsalted butter, melted — for brushing
• Powdered sugar for dusting
• 500ml whole milk, 1 vanilla bean, 5 egg yolks, 100g sugar, 1 tbsp cornstarch — for vanilla sauce

Instructions

1. Make the strudel dough: combine flour and salt. Add warm water, oil, and vinegar. Knead 10 minutes until smooth and very elastic. Wrap in oiled plastic and rest 30 minutes minimum.
2. Prepare the apple filling: peel, core, slice apples 3mm thin. Toss with sugar, cinnamon, cloves, lemon zest. Add rum-soaked raisins and toasted walnuts. Mix immediately before assembling.
3. Toast the breadcrumbs: melt butter in a wide pan, add breadcrumbs, stir for 5-7 minutes until deep golden. Breadcrumbs form a moisture barrier between the dough and filling.
4. Stretch the dough: cover a large table with a floured cloth. Roll dough into a rough rectangle, then use the backs of your hands to stretch it until translucent — thin enough to read through. Trim thick edges. Brush with melted butter.
5. Assemble: scatter toasted breadcrumbs over two-thirds of the dough. Pile apple filling in a log along the near edge. Roll the strudel away from you using the cloth. Transfer seam-side down to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush all surfaces with melted butter.
6. Bake at 190C (375F) for 35-40 minutes, brushing with melted butter at the halfway point, until deeply golden and hollow-sounding when tapped. Cool 15 minutes before slicing.
7. Make the vanilla sauce: whisk egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until pale. Heat milk with vanilla until just below boiling. Temper the hot milk into the yolk mixture, return to the pan, and cook over medium heat stirring constantly until it coats the back of a spoon. Strain through a fine sieve.
8. Serve: dust sliced strudel generously with powdered sugar. Pool warm vanilla sauce on each plate. The Wiener Apfelstrudel is the defining pastry of the Habsburg Empire — Viennese pastry chefs say the dough must be thin enough to read a love letter through.