Simple strudel

The other night I had an urge to cook something for dessert which is quite unusual as I don't feel compelled to bake sweet things very often. After looking at a few cookbooks, I decided to make an apple strudel from Vegan Yum Yum.

There was one minor flaw with this plan, only one apple was left in the house which was not going to be enough for the strudel so I pulled some frozen blueberries out of the freezer and made a mix of both. My son was disappointed about the inclusion of blueberries as his preference for fresh fruit has always been limited to apples. The only way he will eat other fruits is when they are included in something sweet like a dessert or cake.

This was such an easy dessert to throw together and only took about 10-15 minutes of preparation time (gotta love those puff pastry sheets). I was highly impressed with how it turned out for such minimal effort. The pastry was nice and flaky and the filling had a perfect balance of sweet and spicy flavours. A dollop of cashew cream would have been a lovely accompaniment which I will keep in mind for next time!

Apple and blueberry strudel (Adapted from Vegan Yum Yum)

3 tablespoons raw sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons plain flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 large apple, peeled and sliced thinly
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 Borg's puff pastry sheet, thawed
2 tablespoons dairy-free margarine, melted
Extra sugar and cinnamon, for topping

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Mix together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt. Drizzle the lemon juice over the apple slices and blueberries and then coat the fruit with the dry mixture.

Spread the fruit mixture in a line down the centre of your pastry sheet. Fold over the dough and tuck in the ends. Place the strudel on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Brush the strudel generously with the melted margarine and top with sugar and cinnamon. Make several slashes in the strudel with a knife.

Cook for about 30 minutes or until golden and crispy. Allow to cool a little before serving, or eat straight away and try not to burn your tongue!