Apple poppy seed marzipan strudel

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 250 g flour
• 1 egg(s)
• 100 ml water, lukewarm
• 20 ml oil, neutral
• 1 pinch of salt
• 800 g apples
• some lemon or orange juice
• some cinnamon
• 5 tbsp rum or Calvados
• 180 g poppy seeds
• 60 ml milk
• 40 g butter
• 1 pack of marzipan paste
• 100 g sugar
• 60 g butter
• 100 g breadcrumbs
• 30 g butter, melted, for brushing the studel
• n. B. Roasted almond sticks for sprinkling on the strudel after baking

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 17 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 47 minutes

Strudel recipe with a twist

For the dough, mix all ingredients into a smooth ball, adding a little flour if needed. Set the dough aside to rest in a bowl with oil in a warm place for about 30 minutes, then cover with plastic wrap. In the meantime, peel, core, and chop the apples into small pieces. Place them in a bowl with the juice, cinnamon, and alcohol. Place in the refrigerator to “infuse.” Heat the milk in a saucepan, melt the butter, add the poppy seeds, and continue to simmer while stirring. Then, break up the marzipan mixture, gradually add it, and dissolve it in the poppy milk, stirring constantly. Let the mixture simmer a little longer to thicken. After cooling, it will thicken further as the seeds swell slightly and the marzipan binds. The consistency should then be thick. Roll out the dough into a rectangle on cling film or, in the Austrian style, on a floured tea towel. Then carefully stretch it out (for example, over the back of your hand) to “thin it out” (the strudel dough should be relatively thin, almost transparent towards the end). Don’t lose patience if a hole appears. Simply trim off some of the thick edges and patch it up on the table. For the basic filling: First, melt 60g of butter in a pan, then caramelize the sugar and briefly toast the breadcrumbs. Let it cool briefly and spread it over the center of the dough (this will act as a sponge for the apple juice). Leave a free edge all around so that the strudel can be folded in later. Spread the apples on the breadcrumbs and spoon the poppy seed mixture over them. Then brush the left, right, top, and bottom edges of the dough with the melted butter; this will act as a glue for wrapping. Now fold in the edges and, using the tea towel/foil, roll the strudel up from the bottom away from you. The seam on the back of the strudel, where the dough edges meet, should be at the bottom and not visible. Brush everything well with melted butter to give it a crispy texture and bake at around 180°C (convection oven) for 17 minutes (watch the dough; when it turns golden brown, it’s ready; you might want to check it every now and then to make sure it doesn’t get too hard). Sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds, if desired. Serve with a homemade vanilla sauce made from milk, sugar, cream, vanilla seeds, and beaten egg yolk.