No sweet is so closely identified with Austria and Vienna as warm apple strudel. When visitors come here, they expect, quite rightly, to be able to enjoy a slice of strudel, of thin, flaky pastry encasing soft, slightly spiced apples with whipped cream or custard. In turn, the Viennese perform for them, making it available on every menu in every Kaffeehaus, Konditorei, and two-bit tourist establishment and even going so far as to stage an hourly strudel-making show at Schloss Schönbrunn for one's viewing pleasure. To some extent, this is an example of the outsiders' vision of a city becoming the city itself (though this is not a Viennese condition but rather a phenomenon associated with international tourism in many European cities). But it would be wrong to attribute the prevalence of apple strudel to this entirely, for it really is a centrepiece in the Viennese dessert case and, whether made from scratch or (more likely) purchased from a bakery, a dinner table regular.
An apple strudel has three component parts. The dough, which consists of flour, oil, salt, and water brought together by hand and carefully hand-stretched on an enormous piece of cloth called a Strudeltuch. The filling, made from tart apples, lemon juice and zest, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon (just a pinch), and raisins. And breadcrumbs, browned in melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. To assemble, layer three sheets of strudel dough atop one another, brushing each one with melted butter as you go. Half the breadcrumbs then go on, creating a barrier for the apple filling combined with the rest of the buttery crumbs. Roll it up (easier said than done), brush with more butter, and bake in a hot oven for half an hour. In Vienna, the Querfeld Family's coffeehouses -- Landtmann, Mozart, and Museum -- are famous for their strudel, as is Kaffee Alt Wien, Cafe Central, and many more. My first choice, however, is always Cafe Korb, whose strudel is so chock full it reads more like a bread pudding than a strudel. Just don't forget that the whipped cream or custard cost extra. A mistake you only make once.
