APPLE STRUDEL WITH CARAMEL SAUCE
- For the caramel sauce:
- 75 g white sugar
- 75 g light brown sugar
- 50 g unsalted butter, cubed
- 200 ml cream
- For the strudel:
- 1 square or rectangle of butter puff pastry (I used the one from Woolies, it’s just better)
- 1 tin of apples, thoroughly drained and chopped
- 1 large handful of pecan nuts, roughly chopped
- 1 large handful of seedless raisins
- light brown sugar
- cinnamon
- 1 egg, beaten
- whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for serving
Place white and brown sugar in a deep saucepan and place on a medium-hot plate. Leave the sugar to melt. (Do not stir.)
Once the sugar is melted and a golden caramel colour, remove from the heat and add the butter, whisking until the butter is melted. (It will bubble up ferociously. This is perfectly normal so don’t get a fright, just keep on whisking.) Then add the cream and salt and whisk until incorporated and smooth. Set aside.
Cover the pastry with the apples, then the nuts and raisins. Dust generously with cinnamon and sprinkle over sugar (how much sugar you use depends on how sweet your tooth is, but at least two tablespoons).
Roll it up like a Swiss roll (the pastry should be defrosted but ice cold and you need to work fast).
Brush with the egg and bake on a non-stick baking tray in a preheated 190°C oven for 30 – 35 minutes until the pastry is cooked through and golden.
Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately with salted caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream.
Photo: Bettie Venter
