Peach Walnut Strudel Recipe

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Carrie Vasios

Just the other day I thought, man, I wish that I could roll into my local coffee shop and get a piece of really excellent strudel. It might sound odd, but thinking about sweets and which ones I might be neglecting is essentially my life. Plus, light and flakey layers of dough, sweet fruit filling, a light shower of powdered sugar—who doesn't want more of that in their lives?

Alas, not only do I rarely see strudel at the bakery much less the coffee shop, but I'm too busy or lazy to make traditional strudel dough at home. That's not to say that store-bought puff pastry makes a bad version, especially in the summer when the filling is made from extra sweet fruit.

What I'm trying to say is that this is a shortcut strudel, but a treat nonetheless. The filling is a mix of sliced peaches, sugar, lemon juice, and walnuts. The walnuts give the strudel some body so that when you put your fork through and go in for a bite, you get crisp dough layers, then soft peaches, then meaty walnuts.

When we get a little later in the summer, I'll swap the peaches for plums and add a touch of cinnamon. And if anyone knows where to get excellent strudel in San Francisco, give me a holler.

Note: To get your peaches into the thinnest possible slices, use a sharp knife and slightly firmer peaches. (The sugar will make up for them being less than perfectly ripe).

Recipe Details

Peach Walnut Strudel Recipe

Active 20 mins
Total 50 mins
Serves 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1/2 of a 17.3 ounce package of Puff Pastry, thawed
  • 3 peaches, pitted and sliced into 1/8-inch slices
  • 1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375°F.

  2. In a medium bowl, combine sliced peaches, 1/3 cup sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Stir in walnuts.

  3. Lightly flour a clean work surface and roll puff pastry out to a 16 by 12-inch rectangle. With the short side facing you, cover 1/2 of pastry with peach mixture, leaving a 1-inch border at the end closest to you. Roll the pastry up, jelly roll-style, and crimp to seal edges. Transfer strudel to prepared baking sheet and brush top with melted butter. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon sugar. Cut three slits on top of the pastry to let steam escape.

  4. Bake until pastry is golden, about 35 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes before serving

Special equipment

baking sheet, parchment paper,