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by: Gerhild Fulson / Oma Gerhild shares easy, authentic German recipes you can trust, rooted in family tradition and featured in her cookbooks.
Published: Sept 16, 2011, Updated: April 21, 2025
German apple strudel (apfelstrudel) is one of my favorite desserts. Flaky pastry, tart apples, and a touch of sweetness.
Just try this German apfelstrudel recipe and you'll be convinced. This really is the easiest way to make an absolutely wonderful and traditional German dessert. The secret to this quick and easy apple strudel? Frozen puff pastry.
But, is apple strudel really German? I answer that below :)
Serve the strudel with a fresh cup of coffee and a big dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Or, serve it Southern Germany style with a warm homemade vanilla sauce.
Perfect for the holiday season and other special occasions, or a simple afternoon snack.
Years ago, a kind older German lady at church took me under her wing when she learned I didn’t know how to make strudel. She said every German girl should ... and came over to teach me.
She asked for a big table and a tablecloth. I soon learned why. We stretched the dough paper-thin across my dining table, topped it with apples, rolled it up, baked it, and devoured it. It was heavenly.
But I never made it that way again. I truly admire the effort behind traditional Viennese strudel, but I found an easier way: frozen puff pastry or phyllo. We find it just as delicious, with far less fuss.
I mentioned my homemade apfelstrudel on Facebook and loved Dorie Bochantin-Neuhaus’s comment, shared here with her permission:
“I learned the old way, with a big table and tablecloth, stretching the dough. But when my German father-in-law, a master baker, saw me do it, he called me nuts. He said bakers now use phyllo dough and showed me how. I’ve never looked back.
I buy frozen phyllo dough and work fast since it dries out quickly. I always have the filling and melted butter ready before opening the package.”
So it turns out, many bakeries now use phyllo too. Meaning, my shortcut strudel is actually more like the ones you'd find in Germany today!
I used to make strudel with frozen phyllo dough and the same filling as in the recipe below. It works and tastes great, but phyllo can be tricky to handle and isn’t always easy to find.
It takes more time and care than I’d like these days. That’s why I switched to my easiest method yet:
Enter... frozen puff pastry.
Always looking for an easier way to make apfelstrudel, I tried store-bought frozen butter puff pastry and it’s even easier to work with than phyllo.
What’s great is that many puff pastry brands are actually vegan, making it a great option for plant-based baking.
In the photos below, I’m using thawed puff pastry with a pear and apple filling, baked on a silicone liner. It worked beautifully ... no sticking at all.
(Find the printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.)
Core, peel, and cut one pound of apples into thin slices. Combine apples with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, a quarter cup sliced almonds and a quarter cup rum-soaked raisins. (Almonds and raisins are optional.) Set aside.
Roll out thawed puff pastry into a large rectangle, about 12x16 inches.
Spread the apple mixture evenly over the bottom half of the long side of the puff pastry. Leave a 1-inch border around the outside edge.
As pictured below, fold in the short sides of the dough, then roll up the strudel like you would a jelly roll.
Place the strudel, seam side down, on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Or, line your baking sheet with a silicon baking mat.
In a small bowl, mix a large egg with one tablespoon of water to make an egg wash. Brush the egg wash over the strudel.
Cut one-quarter-inch-deep slashes diagonally into the dough.
Place the strudel in the preheated oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown.
Let it cool before dusting with some powdered sugar.
Serve with some whipped cream, ice cream, or vanilla sauce. Lecker!
Is apfelstrudel really German? Well... sort of. Back in the 1600s, when the Turks were besieging Vienna, they accidentally left behind a little culinary inspiration: layered pastry, baklava.
The Austrians ran with it, turning it into strudel ... first savory, then sweet. And not long after, it came across the border into Bavaria.
That’s where things got interesting. Germans took to apfelstrudel like it had always been theirs. Some even say it was the Germans who tossed rum-soaked raisins into the mix. (Sounds like something we’d do.)
Now? It’s a Bavarian classic. Most German families have a version passed down through generations. Whether it’s truly Austrian or German ... well, let’s just say the filling is warm, the crust is golden, and everyone’s happy to call it theirs
German apple strudel (apfelstrudel) is one of my favorite desserts. Flaky pastry, tart apples, and a touch of sweetness.
Prep Time:
15 minutes
Bake Time:
35 minutes
Total Time:
50 minutes
Servings:
Makes 8 servings
Unless otherwise noted recipe, images and content © Just like Oma | www.quick-german-recipes.com
Recipe updated: April 21, 2025
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Pop right over to my private Facebook group, the Kaffeeklatschers. You'll find thousands of German foodies, all eager to help and to talk about all things German, especially these yummy foods.
Meet with us around Oma's virtual table, pull up a chair, grab a coffee and a piece of Apfelstrudel, and enjoy the visit.
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