Strudel is the German name for razor-thin sheets of pastry that envelope a sweet filling. Apple is probably the best known, but strudels can be filled with any number of combinations of fruit, nuts, raisins or cream. It is typically made as a long roll, brushed with butter, sprinkled with breadcrumbs and then bent into a horseshoe shape. To serve, it is cut into slices.

​Pastries of this type can be found all over Central and Eastern Europe, very similar to treats that are popular in Balkan and Middle Eastern countries, where it is often known by the Greek name, filo - used to make rich, buttery baklava among other delicacies. 

The Germans who settled Colonial America brought this tasty confection with them, where it joined the host of other delectable pastries that make up America's melting pot of goodies. These settlers incorporated the New World's bounty to make their strudels, utilizing fruits such as cranberries, cherries and pears, as well as citrus and spices that made their way to America's port cities of Philadelphia, New York and Wilmington.

The Germans had other pastries of course, such as tortes and Murbeteig (a rich tart pastry), but the difference with strudel is the fact that it is paper-thin. This makes for a delicious, delicate pastry crust, but it also means that it can be difficult to make and work with. Luckily filo (or phyllo) dough is a fine alternative and easily found in the freezer section of most supermarkets. It also makes the assembly of this strudel-like pie extremely quick and easy, nice for a weeknight supper, or a potluck party like I made it for this weekend - our neighborhood Oktoberfest. 

The genesis of this recipe comes from my husband. He had taken a trip to Austria right around the time we started dating and raved about the apple strudel he had there. So I began a search for an apple strudel recipe I could whip up to impress him and came across this delightful spin on the traditional dish. Instead of wrapping the filling inside the pastry, thin sheets of filo dough are used to line a pie plate, creating a thin crust to house juicy apples mixed with brown sugar, spices and a touch of brandy. While not as rich as a typical strudel, it is very tasty - a great way to use autumn's apple harvest! 

Apple Strudel Pie

• 6 sheets filo dough, defrosted
• 1 1/2 tsp butter, melted
• 3 apples (Golden Delicious is preferred type)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp grated lemon peel
•  1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tbsp brandy or cognac
• 2 tbsp apricot jam

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray a 9-in. pie plate with cooking spray. Working quickly (since filo dries out very quickly), center one sheet of filo over the plate, and then working clockwise, place the others inside so that the sheets create a circle much larger than the plate. Brush with melted butter and then roll the dough up, forming a crown around the rim of the pie plate. Brush with more butter and set aside. 
2. Peel core and thinly slice apples. Toss immediately with the lemon juice to prevent browning and then add the sugar, flour, lemon peel, cinnamon, nutmeg and brandy. Toss to coat evenly, then pack into the pie plate and bake in the center of the oven for 50 min, brushing the pastry with butter a few times during cooking.
3. While the pie is still hot, heat the jam in a small saucepan and paint it over the top of the pie with a pastry brush. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sources: The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson; City Tavern Baking & Dessert Cookbook by Walter Staib; Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax.

These buttery, tasty little cakes are very similar to shortbread. With a short list of ingredients - just butter, sugar, salt and eggs, they are plain, simple, perfect for tea as the title suggests. Most cookbooks from the nineteenth century feature at least one recipe for tea cakes, which was often a category in itself, such as Eliza Leslie’s New Receipts for Cooking (1854) which devoted a whole section to “Breakfast and Tea Cakes.”

Needless to say, there were several variations of tea cakes - some called for a flavoring such as nutmeg, cinnamon or rosewater. Others used yeast and/or milk to make the dough rise, resulting in a lighter confection, more like a true cake or light biscuit.

But others were on the basic side like Pierre Blot’s recipe - not too sweet, almost like a scone. A nice change for breakfast or an afternoon tea or coffee break. I think Blot’s version is delicious (as did my taste testers), but any number of flavor enhancements could be added if desired, such as vanilla, lemon or almond extract or the above mentioned cinnamon, nutmeg or rosewater.

Blot’s recipe calls for mixing the ingredients on a pasteboard, but I found it easier to mix them in a bowl and then transfer the dough to the pasteboard or counter. The recipe’s instructions also call for rolling out the dough and cutting it into shapes (like a rolled cookie), but I ended up rolling the dough into a log shape and then slicing into circles, which resulted in petite biscuit-like cakes. Either would be fine.

Here's the original recipe: Tea Cake.—Put half a pound of flour on the pasteboard, and in the middle of it a pinch of salt, half an ounce of sugar, two eggs, four ounces of melted butter, and cold water enough to make a rather stiff paste. Knead well, roll down to about a quarter of an inch in thickness; cut it in pieces with a knife or paste-cutter; moisten the top with water by means of a brush, dust with sugar, and bake in an oven at about 370 degrees Fahr. Serve cold.

And my adapted version:

Tea Cake

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 stick melted butter
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Cold water

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Sift the flour with the salt into a bowl. Add the sugar and then the eggs and melted butter.  Stir together, adding cold water a tablespoon at a time to make a rather stiff paste.
3. Transfer to a pasteboard or clean counter dusted with flour. Knead the dough into a ball and then either roll to about a quarter inch thickness and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter; or roll into a log shape and slice into circles. Brush the top of each with water or egg yolk and then sprinkle with sugar.
4. Bake in a 375 oven for 10-12 min. Serve cold. 

For more on Pierre Blot, see my previous post on Roast Chicken, Au Jus.

Sources: Handbook of Practical Cookery (1868) by Pierre Blot; What to Eat and How to Cook it (1863) by Pierre Blot