Strudel is one of those words that seems like it should be part of the Bulbous Bouffant sketch (SPATULA!). Also, if it were a verb, Struddlin’ would be even funnier to say. On a somewhat related note, I’m finding a lot of English words funny sounding lately… I suppose that’s what teaching ESL does to you.
Anyway.
The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the Daring Bakers’ stuff at the blogroll. Actually, you should take a look at the whole site.. it’s only a month or so old and it’s really pretty nice. The forums have some parts that are open to non-daring bakers/cooks (yeah, there’s a new group called the daring cooks now, too), and there are some articles on the main page, etc. The daring bakers logos have changed too. We’ve now gone from the original ninjas to super heros. Though I personally think ninjas are cooler than super heros in general (I’m on the right continent for it, too), these are pretty spiffy new logos.
Old logo:
New logo:
This one’s a bit more inclusive of Daring Cooks.
Anyway, I keep getting sidetracked…
Strudel is basically a layered pastry with a filling. The most common type of strudel is an apple strudel. But actually, with the daring bakers, we had freedom to use whatever filling we want, and it could even be savoury instead of sweet.
First I had all these grand ideas, and most of them, whether sweet or savoury, involved some form of cheese. Then I came to my senses and figured I should choose something that isn’t hard to find and ridiculously overpriced (Oh, Korea. I love you, but you need more cheese). And then I just didn’t get anything.. I just drew a big blank. And then I put off doing the challenge, kind of hoping inspriation would find me. And then I wasn’t even inspired by cheese, and the deadline was coming up, and now… sorry, but you’ve got an uncreative filling. Apple strudel. It was just the easiest thing.
I started with the dough. The dough.. ah, I love this dough! It’s so smooth and fun to work with. It’s also easy to make. I don’t really have much to say other than that. Just .. really good!
Here’s a picture of the dough stretched thin:
Now, I don’t know how this is, but last time I was in Korea, 99% of the apples I found were this ginormous apple with white flesh and a tart-ish taste. They were expensivish, but they were also huge and they tasted great. Now I find 99% of the apples I come across are similarly huge, and look pretty much the same on the outside, but are this slightly yellowish colour inside, are sweeter instead of tart, and I’m not a big fan. Maybe it’s seasonal? I can’t seem to tell them apart. I just want tart apples! So I was kind of sad to see that the apples I got for baking were the honey apples instead of the tart ones. Sigh.
Anyway, I figured they’re still good and most people prefer them anyway and also I was too lazy to go and buy more apples. Then I basically made the recipe we were given except without raisins (had forgotten to buy them), without the rum (Ick.. alcohol), and with the addition of some nutmeg and a bit of lemon juice.
Here’s the dough being filled. The dough here (this is the first batch, I made a double recipe of the dough) is not so photogenic. The second one was much prettier, but I don’t have any pictures of its preparation. The stuff you see on the dough are breadcrumbs and the chopped walnuts.
And then I stopped taking pictures. Just forgot to. Anyway, here are photos of the baked strudel:
Plated and ready for friends to eat
A quick photo as it was being packed up to be taken to school to be eaten by coworkers
Critique of my challenge results:
I still love that dough! But the more I try it, the more I realize I just don’t like the filling I made, and a big part of it is the apples.. I just still don’t like those honey apples much. The filling is too sweet, and .. too tasteless overall. I don’t know if it needed more cinnamon, more spices (a touch of cloves, maybe?) or SOMEthing, but I’m kind of disappointed in my baking on this one. Everyone else says it’s good, and I’m not sure if it’s because they like the sweet apples more than I do, if they’re comparing it to Korean bakeries’ stuff (hee.. OK, I’ll play nice), or if they’re just trying to be nice or what, but I’ll probably give a bunch more away to friends, cause they’ll probably enjoy it more anyway. I don’t dislike it, I just think it could be so much better. It’s more about my own expectations. I’m thinking back to the danish bread challenge and longing for that huge garden in Mindo, Ecuador with all those fruits waiting to be picked off the tree just about now (thinking of your restaurant, Barbara!). I seriously would have made a Guayaba filling if I could have! Or maybe I should just not expect fireworks of flavour going off in my mouth every time I try something I bake.
I’d try this one again if I had some sort of inspiration for a better filling, though! I’m sure I’ll get tons of inspiration once everyone’s posted their stuff. Actually, I’m pretty sure I’d make this dough again. *wub*
You can find the recipe on this month’s hosts’ blogs.
