Apple Strudel with Vanilla Cream Anglaise (Disney)

2 lbs. tart apples (gala, winesap or gala) peeled, cored and thinly sliced 1/4 inch thick

¼ cup golden raisins

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons golden rum

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 ½ cups graham crackers

½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts

cinnamon sugar (1/4 cup sugar with 1 tsp. cinnamon)

1 1/3 cups unbleached flour

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, s0ftened

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tsp. sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup to ½ cup water

2 cups half and half

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped

5 large egg yolks

¼ cup sugar

pinch of salt.

optional: 1 tablespoon dark rum or calvados (apple liquor)

In a small heavy saucepan, bring half and half just to a boil with vanilla bean and remove pan from heat. Scrape seeds from beans with a knife into half and half, reserving pod for another use, if desired.

In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and a pinch of salt, and then whisk in hot vanilla half and half in a steady stream. Return mixture to pot and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly until thickened (170 degrees f. on a candy thermometer); do not let boil.

Strain sauce through a fine sieve into a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally. stir in rum or calvados. Chill sauce, covered, until very cold for up to 2 days. Makes 2 1/4 cups.

In a bowl, mix in the sliced apples, cinnamon and sugar, cover and rest in the fridge over night to allow the apple; to soften. strain apples to remove excess liquid.

In a mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar and salt. Add unsalted butter and egg and mix on low speed until combined. Add the water slowly with the lowest speed on the machine. Start with 1/4 cup, add more till dough is not dry, but not too wet.

When the dough has come together, remove the bowl and replace the paddle with the dough hook. Mix on second speed for 5 to 8 minutes until you have a “window structure” in the dough. Test this by turning off the machine and taking some of the dough and pulling between your fingers to make a thin film like structure.

Remove dough from mixing bowl, shape into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Oil the top of the dough lightly and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for 2- 3 hours.

Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400° f (200°c). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper).

It’s best if you have a work area that you walk around all sides, like a 36 inch round table. Cover your work area with a clean tablecloth, dust with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.

Then using your hands, dusted with flour, stretch and pull the dough from the center to the edges, trying to avoid putting holes in the dough. Keep stretching – moving around the table to stretch all sides of the dough. Pull the dough over the edges of table, stretching thinner and thinner until it’s a rectangle about 2 feet wide and 3 feet long. It will be tissue thin by this time. If you have any tears, just pinch them back together. Cut away the thick dough around the edges. The dough is now ready to be filled.

Spread half the melted butter on top of the strudel dough with a feather pastry brush or your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough) leaving an unbuttered border of about 2 1/2 inches on each side. Sprinkle the graham crackers crumbs on top of the butter (they soak up moisture while baking).

Spread a line of apples evenly about 3 inches from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch wide strip. Top with the rum soaked raisins and chopped walnuts. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling, then carefully lift the floured tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel tightly and evenly rolls onto itself.

Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet seam side down, by carefully lifting it, possibly curving into a horseshoe shape to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel.

Brush the remaining melted butter over the top of the strudel, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Allow to rest for one hour, and then bake at 400 degrees f. (190 degrees c.) about 30 minutes or until the strudel is a deep golden brown.

Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature with vanilla cream anglaise or vanilla ice cream. it’s best on the day it’s baked.

Experiment with other fruit fillings – cherries, plums – or try using a savory filling like sautéed mushrooms or ham and swiss cheese.

If making strudel dough by hand seems daunting you can use phyllo dough instead. Using 8 sheets of phyllo, place a sheet of phyllo dough on a work surface with a long edge in front of you and with a pastry brush, brush the phyllo with some of the melted butter. Continue layering with the remaining 7 sheets of phyllo dough, buttering between each sheet. Spoon the apple filling in a strip that is parallel to and about 2 inches from the long edge of the stacked phyllo sheets. Lift the long edge up and over the fruit filling, and then roll up the strudel, pushing in the sides as you go.