Apfelstrudel
Photo: Burkhard Mücke · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Strudel pastry travelled across the Habsburg empire from the Ottoman baklava tradition, taking hold in Vienna and Budapest in the 17th and 18th centuries. The paper-thin dough is the test of every Konditorei. Vollpension on Schleifmuehlgasse bakes by grandmothers from a recipe family tradition; Demel and Cafe Landtmann both serve the classical version on a silver tray.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 8Hands-on 45 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

  • 300g strong bread flour
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil, plus extra to rest
  • 150ml warm water
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • 1 kg apples (Boskoop or Granny Smith), peeled and grated
  • 120g raisins, soaked in rum
  • 100g toasted white breadcrumbs
  • 80g caster sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 80g melted butter, plus extra to brush

Method

  1. Make the dough: mix flour, egg, oil, salt and water until a smooth elastic ball. Knead 10 minutes, oil lightly, rest 45 minutes covered.
  2. Toss the grated apples with the soaked raisins, sugar, cinnamon. Toast the breadcrumbs in 30g butter until golden.
  3. Lay a clean cotton cloth on a large table, dust with flour. Roll out the dough, then stretch with the backs of your hands from underneath until paper-thin and you can read newsprint through it.
  4. Brush the dough with melted butter, scatter toasted breadcrumbs over two-thirds, then the apple-raisin filling. Use the cloth to roll the strudel into a tight log.
  5. Lift onto a buttered baking sheet, curving the log gently. Brush all over with the rest of the melted butter. Bake at 200 degrees for 40 minutes until deep golden.
  6. Rest 10 minutes, dust with icing sugar, slice on the diagonal. Serve warm with vanilla sauce or whipped cream.

Tip from the editors. Stretching the dough is the hardest step; a small tear is fine, just let the filling cover it. Do not skip the toasted breadcrumbs, they soak the apple juices and protect the base.

Where to eat apfelstrudel

Apfelstrudel in Munich

Café Frischhut (Schmalznudel) ★ 4.5

€€ EUR 5-12BrunchBavarian fried-doughnut breakfastAltstadt Lehel

Café Frischhut off Munich's Viktualienmarkt has fried the Bavarian Schmalznudel doughnut since 1973; this is the morning sweet-counter for breakfast.

OrderSchmalznudel sugar-dusted Bavarian fried doughnut with filter coffee

TipClosed Sundays; queue is shortest at 09:00 weekday mornings; cash usually preferred.

Directions

Rischart ★ 4.0

€ BakeryBavarian pastries, Prinzregententorte, sandwichesAltstadt LehelWalk-in only

Rischart has anchored Munich's Marienplatz with bakery and café since 1932; Prinzregententorte and Münchner Kindl are the house specials, with a long.

Worth the queuePrinzregententorte

Directions

Spatenhaus an der Oper ★ 4.3

€€€ BavarianAltstadt Lehel

Spatenhaus an der Oper, opposite the Bavarian State Opera in Munich's Altstadt, pours Spaten beer and cooks classic Bavarian; the suckling pig.

OrderThe Wiener Schnitzel with cucumber salad; the suckling pig with braised red cabbage if you want one big plate.

TipBook the upstairs room for opera pre-shows; the ground floor is the casual side.

Directions Book

Privat-Bäckerei Wimmer ★ 4.0

€ BakeryBavarian breads, pretzels, LeberkäsweckenSchwabingWalk-in only

Privat-Bäckerei Wimmer has been an original Munich family bakery since 1932 with 50+ city branches; the Schwabing Friedrichstrasse counter sells pretzels.

Worth the queuePretzel with butter (Brezn mit Butter)

Directions

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Apfelstrudel in Vienna

Demel ★ 4.5

€ CaféInnere Stadt

Demel on Kohlmarkt has been a court confectioner since 1786, the Eduard-Sacher-Torte and Anna-Torte from the K. und K. Hofzuckerbaecker still served.

DrinkHot chocolate

TipThe first-floor dining room takes the queue; the ground-floor takeaway moves faster for a Sachertorte to-go.

Directions

Cafe Landtmann ★ 4.4

€ CaféInnere StadtWork-friendlyWifi

Cafe Landtmann on Universitaetsring in Vienna has poured at the Burgtheater corner since 1873, Sigmund Freud's preferred coffeehouse with a long carte.

DrinkGrosser Brauner

TipOpen daily 07:30 to midnight; the front-room bench seats face the Burgtheater across the Ring.

Directions

Vollpension ★ 4.6

€€ CafeWieden

Vollpension on Schleifmuehlgasse in Vienna's Wieden hires Viennese grandmothers and grandfathers to bake the menu of Strudel, Torten and Mehlspeise.

OrderApfelstrudel with vanilla sauce, made that morning by one of the resident grandmothers.

TipThe dining room fills fast on weekends; the Naschmarkt branch at Stand 343 takes the spillover.

Directions Book

Cafe Sperl ★ 4.5

€ CaféMariahilfWork-friendlyWifi

Cafe Sperl on Gumpendorfer Strasse in Vienna's Mariahilf has poured since 1880, the bentwood Thonet chairs, parquet. At Gumpendorfer Strasse 11.

DrinkMelange

TipThe carambole tables at the back are still in play; ask the kitchen for a Sperl Torte with your Melange.

Directions

Cafe Korb ★ 4.2

€€ EUR 14-22BrunchViennese coffee-house brunchInnere Stadt

Cafe Korb on Brandstaette in Vienna's first district runs a weekend coffee-house brunch with the 1960s artist-cluttered room intact, the Strudel and Melange.

OrderThe Apfelstrudel and a Melange, finished with a small Pfiff beer.

TipThe basement bowling alley still runs on Saturday nights; reserve a lane two weeks ahead for the brunch-and-game combo.

Directions

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