Ingredients
8 sheets Antoniou Fillo Pastry
For the apple filling
5 Granny Smith apples
2 tablespoons unsalted cold butter
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup caster sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon all spice
Juice of ½ a lemon
1 tablespoon corn flour
½ cup chopped walnuts
For the baklava
2 cups walnuts, ground
½ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon all spice
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
100g unsalted butter, melted
Icing sugar to decorate
Recipe Tips
260 grams of whole walnuts will equate to approximately 2 cups of ground walnuts.
If the Fillo Pastry starts to brown too fast when cooking, transfer the tray to the lower rack in the oven
Method
Before you begin this Filo Pastry recipe, take your packet of Filo Pastry out of the fridge, still in its plastic bag and allow it to come up to room temperature. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Preparing the apple filling
Peel then cut the apples into approximately 1 ½ cm pieces. Place a pan over medium high heat. Add the butter and allow it to melt, then add the apples, sugars, cinnamon and all spice. Allow to cook for approximately 10 minutes stirring the apples gently throughout the cooking process. The apples should still have some bite to them. Pour in the lemon juice and add the corn flour 1 teaspoon at a time. You may not need to use the full amount of cornflour if the mixture has already thickened, it will depend on the amount of juice the apples have released. Stir through the chopped walnuts and set aside.
Assembling the strudel
In a bowl, combine the walnuts with the sugar, cinnamon and all spice. Stir well.
Lay out two sheets of Fillo Pastry on a flat workspace slightly overlapping each other by a centimetre or two, with the shorter ends of the single Fillo sheets facing you. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle one third of the walnut mix all over the Filo Pastry evenly. Place another two sheets on top and sprinkle with one third of the walnut mixture. Repeat once more. Lay two more sheets of Pastry on top, having used 8 sheets in total.
Spoon the breadcrumbs along one of the shorter sides of the large rectangle of Fillo Pastry where the apple will be spread. Spoon the cooled apples on top of the breadcrumbs, leaving a border of Pastry around the apple, enough to fold the sides of the Pastry in to seal the mixture. Fold the Pastry over the end with the apples, then fold the sides in to seal the apples. Roll the remainder of the Fillo tightly to form a neat roll, buttering the Fillo as you roll.
With the seam side of the Pastry at the bottom, transfer the strudel to a lined baking tray. Brush the strudel generously with butter. Using a sharp knife, score the strudel slices on the top part of the Pastry only. This will ensure a neat cut when serving. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle with icing sugar and enjoy hot or at room temperature.
Recipe & photography by Mary Politis from Mary’s Kouzina.
Watch how to make a Baklava Apple strudel