Christmas Strudel

By
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 07/13/21
Very Christmas strudel recipe

The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 60 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Yield: 1 strudel
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
1063 Calories
52g Fat
148g Carbs
9g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 1063
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 52g 66%
Saturated Fat 20g 101%
Cholesterol 20mg 7%
Sodium 762mg 33%
Total Carbohydrate 148g 54%
Dietary Fiber 10g 36%
Total Sugars 50g
Protein 9g
Vitamin C 84mg 420%
Calcium 88mg 7%
Iron 3mg 18%
Potassium 547mg 12%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Strudel is welcome on any table at any time of year, be it with a cup of tea or as a delicious dessert with lashings of custard poured over it. So, why not bring it out for the Christmas festivities, dress it up like the tree, all fancy for the holidays?

The filling is based on the traditional recipe, but with a lovely warm Christmas feel to thanks to mincemeat, warm spices, sharp apple, almonds, and marzipan—it's practically Christmas in pastry!

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons mincemeat

  • 2 ounces (55 grams) natural uncolored marzipan, crumbled

  • 3 tablespoons almonds, blanched, roughly chopped

  • 3 teaspoons mixed spice

  • 1/4 cup (55 grams) caster sugar

  • 4 Granny Smith apples

  • 2 lemons, zested and juiced

  • 2 tablespoons fresh white breadcrumbs

  • 4 sheets phyllo dough

  • 4 tablespoons (55 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

  • 1 cup powdered sugar, for dusting

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients and preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.

    Ingredients for Christmas strudel
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  2. Place the mincemeat into a roomy baking bowl, add the marzipan chunks,almonds, mixed spice, and sugar. Stir well.

    Mix ingredients
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  3. Peel, core, and chop the apples into small pieces.

    Core apples
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  4. Add the apples to the bowl with the zest and lemon juice and stir again.

    Add apples to bowl
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  5. Blitz the breadcrumbs in a food processor until finely chopped and add to the bowl. Stir again.

    Blitz breadcrumbs
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  6. Using a little of the melted butter, grease a baking tray.

  7. Take one sheet of phyllo, lay it onto a sheet of baking parchment and brush all over with a little of the melted butter. Lay on another sheet of phyllo and continue the buttering until all the phyllo is used, making four layers.

    Phyllo dough
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  8. Spoon the filling onto the phyllo in a central line down the length of the phyllo, leaving a 2.5 cm/1-inch border at both ends.

    Spoon filling into phyllo
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  9. Fold the short sides onto the filling, then fold one of the long sides and roll up like a Swiss roll, using the parchment to help you.

    Fold sides
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  10. Brush the top with butter and bake until golden and cooked, around 20 to 30 minutes. The pastry should be golden and crisp.

    Brush with butter
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  11. Serve hot or cold, heavily dusted with icing sugar. 

    Serve hot or cold
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

Tips

  • The strudel will keep for a day or two in an airtight box, but not much longer.
  • If the strudel starts to feel a little stale, pop it into a hot oven and warm it through and serve as a pudding.