Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Sweet Vienna


Sweet Vienna


We just arrived in Vienna after a nearly 18 hour trip from Lima.
Now I'm still a bit Jetlaged but happy to be in my home town again and with lots of plans to see family and friends and to visit concerts, operas, museums... there is such a huge variety of cultural events going on that it's not hard to find something you are interested in but it's hard to choose which one to take.


A baroque fountain at the town center



One of the most characteristic culinary highlights of Vienna is the sweet side of the city.








And the star among the countless fancy cakes,tarts,cookies and Palatschinken (a kind of crepe filled with a series of jams,sweet fresh cheese or creamy chocolate) is without any doubt the Apfelstrudel.
It's baked in nearly every Pastry shop of the city with passion and dedication and every place has its own secret recipe.




In Vienna they say that the dough of the Apple Strudel should be stretched so finely that a love letter may be read through it.
The oldest hand written Strudel recipe dates from 1696 and can be seen at the Viennese City Library.
The dough is not so difficult to prepare but takes a lot of patience and most people nowadays  buy it at the Supermarket and only prepare the filling and bake the Strudel at home.
The best is to use Strudel sheets but Filo sheets will do as well.
This traditional recipe is an adaption from a recipe published by the Austrian Tourist Office.

In case you want to prepare the Strudel and dough yourself, here is what you need:

For the Strudel:
1/4kg (2 cups) very fine flour
1  tablespoon salt
1-2 tabelspoon oil
about 1/8 (1/2 cup) luke-. warm water
Some melted butter to brush the dough
For the filling:
3/4 cups of bread crumbs
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2-2kg (31/2 -4 1/2 lbs.) chopped baking apples (Granny Smith or Gala)
4 teaspoons freshly pressed lemon juice
3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/4 cup yellow raisins (optional)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
 melted butter for brushing the dough
 powdered sugar for decoration

Method:
For the dough:
Mix together flour,salt,oil and enough luke-warm water to make a soft dough.
Knead very well until it becomes silky and smooth but not sticky.
In case you need to add flour, only add a little bit at a time.
Form the dough into a loaf, cover and let rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
For the filling:
Brown the bread crumbs in butter until golden brown, stirring constantly.Let cool.
Peel ,core and finely slice the apples. sprinkle with lemon juice and season with sugar, cinnamon an cloves.
Roll out the dough to about 9 inches to 13 inches on a table covered with a floured cloth.
Place out your hands under the dough and , using your thumbs and the back of your hands gently begin pulling and stretching the dough until wafer-thin (remember the love letter !!)
Trim away thick edges.
Brush the dough with melted butter and spread the bread crumbs over it.
Spread the apple mixture evenly over the dough, eventually adding the raisins and walnuts.
Using the cloth to help lift the dough,rool up the strudel as you would roll up a jelly roll.
Place seam side down on a buttered baking tray, brush generously  with melted butter and bake at 180C (350F) until golden brown.
Let cool down, cut into 1 1/2 inch wide slices with a bread knife  and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
According to our choice the strudel may be served with whipped cream, vanilla cream or vanilla ice cream ( the last option tastes best when served when the strudel is still warm)


Enjoy!
See you by the beginning of October, when back from my vacation :)
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50 comments:

  1. Beautiful pastry! Enjoy your vacation

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  2. Yum, I remember the sweets in Austria...
    Be safe and enjoy your vacation Daniela :D

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much!
      Which one was your favorite sweet, Juliana?

      Delete
  3. Looks delicious! Enjoy your vacation Daniela!

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  4. Vienna is one of my favourite cities to visit. Some of my best memories are the art museum (one of the best, anywhere), seeing Nabucco performed at the State Opera (breathtaking), eating sacher torte twice (at the Hotel Sacher and Demel). Have a wonderful time!

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    Replies
    1. We are definitely at the same wavelengths , Beth.
      For me too, the Kunsthistorische Museum (fine arts) is one of my favorite places, we always go to the opera ( this time it's the Figaro) and Sacher and Demel (that's where the pictures are taken) are a visit de rigueur :)
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. Vienna surely is one of the most charming cities...loved that sweet strudel...perfect and melt in mouth....and all those pastries are seriously making our mouth water...beautiful clicks as always,thanks :-)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Rakesh & Swikruti,
      so nice to hear that you like Vienna and its ever tempting sweet treats.
      The only bad thing about it is that's sometimes hard to resist the ( caloric) temptation :)
      Have a great day!

      Delete
  6. Oh Daniela you have me aching to hop a plane. I am ashamed to say that I've never been to Vienna, but am a huge admirer of your sweets. I am so tempted to give this recipe a try. It looks so delicious.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Karen,
      hope you can make a trip to Vienna once, I'm sure you would enjoy it.
      And please let me know so , if you wish, it would be my pleasure to give you some tips about sight seeing, culture and cuisine .
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  7. Ummm I think you forgot to pack me in your suitcase...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Uups, but for sure for the next trip :)
      Thanks for stopping by, Ari!

      Delete
  8. Oh wow I am drooling! Looks delicious. I went to Vienna one year during Christmas and absolutely fell in love.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How nice to hear that, Natalie!
      Me too, I think that Christmas time is one of the best seasons to be in Vienna.
      Cheers.

      Delete
  9. This is a creative way to eat all these .. i am drooling too.

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    Replies
    1. Hi my friend,
      yes it's a terrible temptation to see all these treats every day. Will try to resist :)

      Delete
  10. sounds like a delicious trip! and this strudel looks divine!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jenn,we really enjoy this trip and for me it's of course like coming home :)
      Any how , will be careful not to succumb to much in "sweet" temptations :)

      Delete
  11. Enjoy your trip. Why live if you cannot indulge every once in awhile and this strudel looks delicious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your good wishes.
      You are so right, life has to be enjoyed - so I'll try some of these sweets once in a while :)

      Delete
  12. I've never been to Vienna before but your pictures have certainly spiked my interest.
    I mean, look at that display of pastries and cakes, it's worth running a full Ironman to try them all! :-)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Mike,
      Your comment made me smile.
      I'm afraid it's me who has to run a full Iron Man after this vacation :)

      Delete
  13. I've never been to Vienna, and would love to go sometime! I love the sorts of pastries Vienna is famous for - it'd be so great to sample them at the source. Great pictures, and have a wonderful vacation.

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    Replies
    1. Hi John,
      hope you can make this trip one day, I'm sure you would enjoy it and apart from the sweets there is so much more to see and to enjoy :)
      Have a great day!

      Delete
  14. I hope you have a great trip!! I've never been there before...someday :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ashley,
      hope you can make this trip one day, I'm sure you would enjoy it.
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  15. Have fun in Vienna and thanks for posting all the deliciousness and beauty, coming your way!!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your good wishes, Kiran!
      Have a nice weekend.

      Delete
  16. I have not been to Vienna although I had been to Rome and the Vatican City....hope I get the opportunity to visit one day...meantime I'll just watch this blog and read about your vacation there:)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jeannie,
      it's my pleasure to take you with me on this trip :)
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  17. Vienna is so beautiful. And I am so jealous of the variety of sweets available: gorgeous pastries, cakes,tarts, and cookies. Yum, Yum!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Julia,
      So glad to hear you enjoyed this virtual trip and the selection of typical Viennese sweets ( so hard to resist :) ).
      Cheers.

      Delete
  18. Daniela, enjoy your stay back home! Wow 18 hour trip from Lima...that's a really long time. I hope you enjoy lots of sweets and family/friends time!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Nami for your kind words and good wishes!
      Have a great day!

      Delete
  19. Very cool pics and a great recipe. My dad was born in Vienna and I have been a couple of times. So much culture. And all those yummy sweets. The Apfelstrudel is the classic and your looks wonderful. Did you go to the Sacher hotel for their cake?

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    1. Hi Evelyn,
      What a nice surprise to know your Dad was born in Vienna- so you are half Viennese, right :))
      Yes I did go to the Sacher of course, home to the original Sacher Torte, I love this cake but try not to succumb to temptation more than once in a while.
      Have a great day!

      Delete
  20. All those desserts looks fantastic, I would not be able to resist.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Nick,
      couldn't agree more with you, it's terribly hard to resist these sweet temptations. Anyhow, we try not to succumb to often :)

      Delete
  21. Los mejores strudel son de Viena bien originales un postre fantástico quiero preparar pronto como lo hacía mi abuela también,abrazos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hola Rosita,
      si de verdad son buenísimos. Se necesita un poco de paciencia para preparar ,
      pero vale la pena :)
      Un abrazo

      Delete
  22. Hi Daniela, good to see you back in your hometown. I'm sure you miss all your friends, relatives and the food too. Thanks for sharing the wonderful pictures, enjoyed looking at those sweet and cakes.

    I love strudel but yet to try making my own. Yours look delectable and awesome. Wish I can have a slice with a cup of coffee. :)) Thanks for sharing your recipe.

    Enjoy your holiday, waiting to see your wonderful pictures.
    Have a wonderful week ahead,regards.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Amelia,
    yes it's great to be back home again and to keep up with family and friends.
    The only thing is that I need to do the double of my usual workout with all these invitations and sweet temptations :)
    But for sure it's worth while.
    Have a wonderful day!

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  24. Hola Daniela, te he escrito con el personal pero creo que no ha salido ,asi que te escribo con este,,,, Te comentaba que nos das envidia por estar por Viena con su encanto y sus operas que me encantan, estuve una vez y volveria con los ojos cerrados otra vez,gracias por esa fotos tan dulceeeee que nos has puesto los dientes largos , y que decir del strundel te dire que nunca lo he hecho me parece tan dificil dejarlo tan delgado casi transparente pero te dire que con esta receta que nos has puesto sera mi asignatura pendiente asi que no tardando la hare y te dire como me queda,gracias y espero que disfrutes de tus merecidas vacacciones un beso

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  25. Gosh..all those gorgeous cakes and desserts...I am drooling.
    Enjoy your vacation!

    ReplyDelete

 
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