That day was all about apples. We prepared two different treats: an apfelstrudel and an individual apple dessert. It was a fun, hands-on session that taught me a lot about pastry techniques and timing.
We began by making the strudel dough. Since it needed time to rest, we prepared it at the start so it could relax before we worked with it.
While the dough rested, we assembled the filling and started on the apple desserts.
The apple desserts consisted of a shortcrust-like base, a small dollop of cream, and a topping made from apples combined with apricot jelly. We baked the base with the cream first, then added the apple-apricot mixture and placed the desserts in the freezer so they could set firmly.
With the desserts chilling, we moved on to the strudel. Two large workbenches were pushed together and covered with a cloth dusted generously with flour. The dough itself was also floured so it would not stick. We rolled the dough out partially, then used a stretching technique to make it extremely thin. The goal is to stretch the dough until it becomes almost translucent; in our case we managed to cover almost both workbenches with the stretched sheet, which was impressive to see.
Once the dough reached the desired thinness, we spread the apple filling along one edge. Using the cloth to help, we folded a section of dough over the filling and began rolling the strudel tightly, wrapping the apple filling inside successive, very thin layers of dough. After rolling to the right thickness, we trimmed the excess dough and transferred the strudel to the oven. I enjoyed the process, even though it requires precision and patience—especially the delicate stretching. I learned a great deal from the experience.
While the strudel baked, we finished the apple desserts. After removing them from the freezer, they had set nicely, which made them easy to glaze. We dipped each dessert in a clear jelly to give it an attractive sheen, then finished them with a caramelized apple slice on top. The results were both visually appealing and delicious.
The timing of this session was ideal because I am developing a dessert centered on the theme “old and new”: either modernizing a classic or giving a contemporary dish a traditional twist. For this assignment, I decided to reinterpret the classic apple pie with a modern approach to texture and presentation. I already have a clear idea for the filling, but I was still looking for the right base. After tasting the base used for these individual apple desserts, I realized it matches my concept perfectly. I’ll continue refining the idea and testing combinations as part of the course assignment. More details about this experiment will follow—it’s a work in progress.