My husband Martin has an incredibly sweet tooth, after he has eaten his dinner, about an hour and a half later, he will ask what’s for dessert! I find that if I can offer a small dessert, then that will usually suffice. He loves apples and I have previously written about the apple crumble that he likes.
This was a new dessert for him and me. I have seen strudels in the supermarket and thought, ‘how hard can it be!’. I had no recipe but used my family experience to create it. My gran used to have loads of apples given to her and whilst I can’t remember her making strudel, I know that she made apple pies and crumbles. I remembered how she cooked the apples and added sultanas etc, so I just adapted it for this recipe. I knew that you could plait the pastry, having done it at school.
I find it amazing how you remember things from your childhood, and how you can naturally adapt them for recipes that you want to make. I wonder if families have any idea of the legacy that they leave in their children and grandchildren? My grandma will certainly never be forgotten in our family, her cooking, sewing and knitting skills will be handed down through the generations to come.
Ingredients
1 sheet puff pastry
3 cooking apples
Handful of sultanas
Pinch of cinnamon
Milk to glaze
Brown sugar

Method
Pre heat oven to 180C
Peel and chop the apples
Place in a small pan, with a dash of water and a dash of sugar. (No idea what a ‘dash’ is, it’s a measurement my gran used to use!)
Cook the apples until soft but still looking like cubes
Remove from heat
Stir in the sultanas and the cinniman
Allow to cool
Line a baking tray and put the pastry on it
Lay the apple mix down the middle, leaving the same space on each side
Brush all the edges with water
Then, leaving a ¼ inch of pastry either side of the apple, cut the rest of the pastry in diagonal strips, each side of the apple. You need to have the same number each side. At the top and bottom, there will be a larger piece of pastry which will need to be folded over
Then, using alternate strips, plait the pastry over the apple mix, using all the strips up
Once finished, brush the strudel with milk and sprinkle with the brown sugar
Cook until pastry in golden brown.
Eat with custard, cream or ice cream, or all three!! Can be eaten hot or cold.