Crisp Apfelstrudel (+ Doorbells & Sleighbells & Schnitzel with Noodles)

It's obvious to anyone who’s read more than a few of my blog entries that one of my favorite things is dessert. My taste buds have evolved over time, and as I’ve gotten older I’ve developed more of a “savory tooth”, but I still love cakes and cookies and other sweets, especially discovering those from other cultures. My husband plus one bakery owner in Athens, Greece can attest to this…

One dessert I had never tried until we visited Vienna a few years back is apfelstrudel. As in Budapest, we ate quite a bit of pie / cake / sweets during our visit. My favorite was the Sachertorte (see my attempt to make one here), but the apfelstrudel ran a close second. If you’re one of those people who eats the pie but leaves the crust, I think you would really like this dessert. There’s the perfect ratio of pastry-to-filling and since the only butter in the recipe is brushed onto the outside crust, it’s not too rich.

It wasn’t reminiscing about our trip to Vienna that made me decide to make an apfelstrudel. The idea actually popped into my head during my daughter’s bathtime the other night. She’s fine when she’s in the tub but doesn’t really appreciate the shock of the cool air when we take her out. So, to calm her down, I sing “My Favorite Things” and “Do-Re-Mi” from the movie musical The Sound of Music. Any fans out there probably recognized that the title of this posting was taken from a verse of “My Favorite Things”. Well, as I was singing it the other night, I thought to myself, “Hmmm, some apple strudel and schnitzel and noodles sounds really good actually…”

I recently decided that each Sunday, time permitting, I would cook a big meal from scratch. During the week, the nights are always rushed and there never seems to be enough time to tackle any remotely complicated dishes. This past weekend I decided to make an Austro-German-inspired meal. We had Wiener Schnitzel, spätzle, a salad based on one we had in Freiburg and, of course, apfelstrudel.

Recipes taken from:

Wiener Schnitzel: Martha Stewart’s Cooking School

Spätzle: Joy of Cooking (1997 version)

Salad: from memory (lettuce, shredded carrots & cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, pumpkin & sunflower seeds + homemade salad dressing: 1/8 cup milk, 1/8 cup light cream, 1 teaspoon cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoons sugar)

Apfelstrudel: Joy of Cooking (1997 version)

Upside-down apple cake

Here's a quick and easy recipe for those of you looking to dirty as few pans as possible. I found this recipe in last week's St. Louis Post Dispatch's food section. I had some apples in the crisper and part of a liter of buttermilk that was a few days away from expiring, so falling upon this recipe was perfect timing.

This cake was a hit and tasted as good as it looks. With its warm, caramelized apples, it reminded me a bit of a Tarte Tatin with a cake underside instead of crust.

Here's the recipe provided in the newspaper. If you don't have a food processor, I'm sure a hand-held pastry blender would probably work just as well, while giving you a workout at the same time!

Upside-Down Apple Cake

Adapted from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 9 December 2009

Yield: 6 large servings

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, divided

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup honey (locally harvested if possible)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Stir in brown sugar. When melted, spread evenly across the bottom of the skillet. Arrange apple slices in overlapping circles over the butter-sugar mixture.

2. In a food processor, pulse together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Cut remaining 5 tablespoons butter into chunks; add to processor. Pulse until butter is cut into small pieces and well distributed. Drizzle in honey. With motor running, slowly add buttermilk through the feed tube, processing until dough forms.

3. Using a spoon, drop batter evenly over apples. Spread dough into an even layer, stopping just short of the edges of the pan.

4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake portion comes out clean.

5. Place the skillet on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake. Use pot holders to handle the skillet, which will still be hot. Place a plate on top of the skillet, and invert. Lift skillet straight up, releasing cake.