Homemade Cherry Strudel is fun to make and perfect for a special holiday breakfast recipe. This easy cherry strudel recipe is made with Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat and almond flours. We love to make special breakfasts for Christmas like cinnamon rolls, salted caramel sticky buns, or coffee cake. Making something that reminds us of a past trip is even better! This Easy Homemade Cherry Strudel recipe is similar to Croatian Strudel and is definitely one that will now be in our holiday breakfast rotation.
For the strudel dough I use a combination flours to add some texture and flavor to the pastry. I love using Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat flour and almond flour in any basic dough recipe. I still use all purpose flour so the dough isn’t too dry or crumbly but substituting some of the all purpose flour for some of these flours really adds a lot to the overall taste of the pastry.
Besides being completely delicious, this Cherry Strudel recipe brings up sweet memories of our month in Croatia. Our first morning in Dubrovnik our host greeted us with Štrudlu s Višnjama (Croatian cherry strudel). Soon after we found strudel pastries in every corner bakery in Croatia. Croatian Cherry Strudel is a local favorite and is similar to what we have in America but maybe a little less sweet.
While we were living in Croatia we enjoyed strudel pastries for breakfast, snack time, on a boat, in the bus… after a while I began to feel like I was in Green Eggs and Ham, only I’d eat this little Croatian dessert just about anywhere and anytime!
Steps to making Homemade Cherry Strudel
• make the pastry dough
• let the dough rest in the fridge for 8 hours
• make the cherry filling over the stovetop
• let the filling cool
• roll out the pastry dough
• spread the filling over the dough
• gently roll or fold up the dough and pinch the ends to seal
• bake then let cool
• slice and serve
Freezing Cherry Strudel
• You can freeze the filled pastry before baking or freeze the dough. For the dough, wrap dough tightly in plastic then store in an air tight freezer safe bag. To thaw, refrigerate overnight. For freezing the filled pastry, freeze before baking then bake for an extra 10-15 minutes.
How to make Strudel Dough
• Combine flours with salt. I like to use a mixture of flours here for better flavor and texture.
• Add in cubed cold butter and cubed cold cream cheese.
• Use a dough hook on a stand mixer and mix until a ball forms.
• Separate into 3 balls and refrigerate for 8 hours.
Croatian Cherry Strudel
• Traditional Cherry Strudel involved stretching the dough and sometimes a hair dryer… yep you heard that right. They stretch the dough out to create flaky layers. The hair dryer is used to dry out the dough before filling it. My version is much simpler but still involves a homemade dough, because it’s worth it. Here are a few simple shortcuts if you don’t have too much time.
Shortcuts to making Cherry Strudel
• Use store bought puff pastry as the dough, defrost then roll out.
• Use store bought cherry filling or jam.
If you can’t take a trip to Croatia making this strudel will give you a little taste of this heavenly land. Maybe you’ll even make this Croatian recipe a new part of your Christmas morning breakfast. This recipe may even convince you to make the trek abroad!
Homemade Cherry Strudel
Here's an easy way to make cherry strudel from scratch.
Ingredients
for the pastry dough
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
- 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, cold
- 8 ounces cream cheese, cold
for the cherry filling
- 20 ounces frozen cherries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
toppings and assembly
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup raw sliced almonds, optional
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
for the pastry dough
- Combine the flours, sugar and salt.
- Cut the butter and cream cheese into 1 inch cubes.
- Using a stand mixer mix add the butter and cream cheese into the flours and mix until a ball forms.
- Divide into 3 separate balls and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
for the cherry filling
- Combine the cherries and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally but keeping your eye on it.
- Sprinkle the corn starch over the mixture and use a whisk to break up any clumps. Let simmer and thicken for about 15 minutes.
- Stir in salt and almond extract.
- Remove from heat and let cool before spreading onto pastry. This can be made in advance and refrigerated for a few days.
assembling strudel
- Grease a sheet pan and preheat oven to 350.
- Remove one of the balls of dough from the fridge and let stand at room temp for 5 minutes. As it rests, flour a surface and get out a rolling pin.
- Roll out the dough into a 10 x 8 rectangle.
- Add 1/3 of the cherry filling and spread over the top. Sprinkle the top of the filling with about a tablespoon of almond flour.
- Starting at the long edge roll the pasty into a large roll (not as tight as a cinnamon roll). Use a touch of water to pinch the seam and ends together to seal.
- Place the strudel on a greased baking sheet and refrigerate.
- Repeat with remaining 2 pastry balls and jam. Freeze or bake off (only put 2 on a baking sheet at a time).
- Place 1 or 2 of the strudels on a baking sheet together.
- Whisk the egg and use a pastry brush to brush some egg onto the pastry.
- Sprinkle the pastry with almonds then use a sharp knife to make a few diagonal slits in the top of the pastry.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
- Let cool then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
- To serve, cut crosswise into six pieces.
Notes
Strudels may be made then frozen before baking or you may freeze the dough and make the jam in advance.