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Whew…last minute!
I had my Daring Bakers challenge in my to-do list last weekend but plans changed because the fiance came over for the weekend to surprise me. What can you do, eh? Haha.
So last night, after making a dinner of tuna beet salad with homemade mayo (because I ran out!) and already invested on a lot of elbow grease for that mayo, I stretched the dough for the strudel:
And let me tell you now that it was a lot of work and it tested my patience. After a while of gently coaxing the dough to stretch…stretch a little more…go on…I almost went into this Zen-like phase of going around the dough to stretch it. It was very meditative until I tear my first teeny hole. Have I told you before that I’m a perfectionist? After that I got too cautious and I guess that made my dough not as thin as it should be, but I swear I can see the threads of my cotton fabric at the bottom very clearly.
These delicious Rainier cherries from the Granville Island market made it into the strudel:
And so did the raspberries I got there, too. I added a tiny bit of dried cranberries to soak up the extra juice from the raspberries. I’m not going to admit that I was eating while preparing them. Mmm.
I rolled it and slathered it with butter. Perhaps too much butter, I know. But one cannot have enough of it!
After about 37 minutes, I took out the strudel and waited for another half hour before slicing. It kept falling apart while I sliced it, but it did taste good!
It’s not the most photogenic (cooked) dish on earth and I wish I could give you a bite to make it better. Next time I think I’ll use white sugar instead of my trying-to-be-healthy choice of raw sugar to make it less dark. What do you think? Perhaps the raspberries were a bad idea because they become goo. I don’t know…but it sure was yummy.
I’ll post the recipe tomorrow!
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The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers. — Many thanks to Courtney and Linda for the challenge. It was indeed a challenge! :D
Looks good! Nice job on the challenge! I am hungry now, I better go to bed:)
Marias last blog post..Baked Penne Pasta with Italian Sausage
joy Reply:
May 28th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Thanks so much hun! :) This is my curse, I go to Tastespotting before bed and then I get hungry!
WOW – it looks fantastic!! And yes, one can NEVER go wrong with to much butter! I love strudel and I love anything with cherries. I never bake with them because of the pitting. Maybe I better check to see if Williams has one of those dandy pitters and start pitting!
Great job completely this challenge!!
xx
~ D
Chez USs last blog post..The Incredible Edible Hard Boiled Egg: How to hard boil an egg
joy Reply:
May 28th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Thanks girlie! Love love butter. :) I individually sliced through and pitted each cherry. Labor of freakin’ love! I’m sure W-S has those pitters, if not, Sur La Table, would. I usually find the nifty tools there. :)
Nice job and good for you for having the patience to roll out that dough. Not sure if I could have done it. ;-) I do love a good strudel though, so I might just have to give it a go someday.
Kristinas last blog post..Easy Tuesday Dinner; Tofu Stir-Fry
joy Reply:
May 28th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Thank you! Stretching the dough was a pain, I could still remember it. I don’t think I’ll make the dough again from scratch unless I have a spare table that I can go around all sides to stretch.
I did cherries too so I think it looks delicious, especially with the raw sugar. Plus your rolling was pretty awesome! (I had trouble with that part)
Esis last blog post..Daring Bakers: Strudel
joy Reply:
May 28th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Thanks Esi! I’ve never baked with cherries before and I’m pretty happy that it baked well. The raspberries went all over the place. haha.
Definately not too much butter, is there such a thing? Those photos look unreal – you are so talented!
Kittys last blog post..Welcome Reprieve
joy Reply:
May 28th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Heehee…no such thing indeed! Thank you so much!
You’re too hard on yourself! That looks scrumptous! If you need a firm opinion, it’s not too hard to offer me a bite….
:)
Oh wow, you did a fabulous job all around..beautiful photos too!
joy Reply:
May 28th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Thanks Lisa! It was quite an ordeal, and I’m glad to be done. :D
On the contrary, I think it looks perfect. I love the unique filling (cherries and raspberries! Two of my favorite fruits, just next to mango), and I’m totally craving this right now!! Grr!
Manggys last blog post..Tartine’s Brownies
I have never baked with rainier cherries – what a good idea!
Hillarys last blog post..The Best Pancake Recipe Ever
Nope…I think raspberries sound delicious! Fantastic job!
Claires last blog post..Simply Strudel
I think the raspberries sound great. Looks wonderful!
Claires last blog post..Simply Strudel