Pear Cardamom Strudel

Based on the apple strudel recipe from Smitten Kitchen

I will list the ingredients and process I used to make one small strudel below. But, if you’re going to make this yourself, I highly recommend visiting the Smitten Kitchen recipe page. It has tons of notes, pictures and detailed instructions for two different sizes. Alternately, for an easier route, you can use the Once Upon a Chef method. The author – a trained chef – does not think the process of stretching your own dough is worth it and uses phyllo dough instead.

Ingredients

Rum-soaked cranberries

• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 tablespoons dark rum

Dough

• 1/2 cup plus 1 1/5 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• Small pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons water

Filling

• 1 pound very crisp pears (about 2 large), peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1/4 cup plain, unseasoned dried breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar or vanilla sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Additional sugar for topping

Instructions

1. Prepare the cranberries: The day before, combine the raisins and the rum in a small bowl and cover; set aside for 24 hours.
2. Make the dough: The day of, combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add the oil and water and mix with a spoon or your hand until it comes together in a ball. Turn it out onto a very lightly floured counter and knead for 10 minutes. Set aside for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the pears: Place the pear slices in a medium bowl with the lemon juice, 3 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon and cardamom. Add the raisins and any rum left in the bowl.
4. Prepare the breadcrumbs: In a small skillet over medium-low heat, melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter. Add the breadcrumbs, sugar and salt. stir frequently until the crumbs are brown and toasty smelling – be careful not to let them burn. When they are finished, scrape them into a dish so they stop cooking.
5. Heat your oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Melt the remaining 3 1/2 tablespoons butter in a small dish.
7. Roll out your dough: Cover your work surface with a clean linen towel. Sprinkle the cloth lightly with flour. Place the dough in the middle, sprinkle it very lightly with flour and roll in both directions until it’s as thin as you can get it with the rolling pin. Then, using your hands, carefully and slowly stretch the dough. My method was to place one hand at the center of the dough, then use my other hand to gently pull the dough outward, one side at a time. I also alternated pinching the edges and cursing colorfully whenever I tore holes in the dough. (A word of warning: I found that after I handled the dough for about 20 minutes, it started to dry out and tear more easily.) Continue stretching until the dough is about 12×16 inches, or you’re exhausted from fully questioning all your life choices.
8. Assemble strudel: Brush the entire surface of the dough with about half the melted butter. On the right side of the rectangle, a few inches from the end, spread the breadcrumbs top to bottom in a thick line, leaving a little more than an inch margin at the top and bottom of the strip. Scoop the pears on top of the breadcrumbs, leaving any accumulated juices in the bowl. Gently pull the top and bottom edges of the dough over the pear mixture. Use the towel if needed to roll up the strudel into a log shape. Then, roll the strudel onto a sheet of parchment paper – Apparently it’s supposed to be breadcrumb-side down, but good luck figuring out which side that is! I wound up just rolling the dice/strudel. Place the parchment paper and strudel onto your baking sheet.
9. Brush the strudel all over with about a third of the remaining butter. Bake for 15 minutes, then brush with butter again and return to the oven in a rotated position. After 15 more minutes, brush one more time with the remaining butter, and sprinkle with sugar. Return to the oven for 10-15 more minutes, until the strudel is crisp and golden brown.
10. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or just a drizzle of heavy cream. The leftovers will go soft by the day after it’s made, but can be re-crisped in a 350 degree F oven.