andrejthechef
AustriaDessertDessertVegetarian

Apple Strudel with Cream

Flaky, apple-filled Austrian pastry served with whipped cream, the dessert at the center of a tense, drawn-out café scene in Inglourious Basterds.

prep
50 min
cook
40 min
total
1 h 30 min
serves
8
level
hard
Apple Strudel with Cream, from Inglourious Basterds (2009)

In Inglourious Basterds (2009), this exact strudel anchors one of the film's longest and most tension-filled scenes, a slow café conversation between a Nazi officer and a woman concealing her true identity, where the simple act of ordering and eating dessert becomes almost unbearably suspenseful.

Real strudel dough is stretched, not rolled, over the backs of your hands until it's thin enough to read through, and the hour of rest beforehand is what actually makes that stretch possible without the dough tearing apart.

Part of our 40 famous movie foods list.

method

  1. Knead the flour, water, oil, vinegar and salt into a soft, smooth dough. Oil it lightly, cover, and rest for 1 hour; the rest is what makes it stretchable.

  2. Fry the breadcrumbs in 60g of the butter until golden. Toss the apples with sugar, cinnamon, raisins, zest and lemon juice.

  3. Flour a large tablecloth. Roll the dough out, then stretch it over the backs of your hands, working around, until translucent and roughly 60 by 80cm. Tear off the thick edges.

  4. Brush with melted butter, scatter the crumbs over two-thirds, and lay the apples along one long edge.

  5. Lift the cloth to roll the strudel over itself, tucking the ends. Roll it onto a parchment-lined tray seam down and brush with butter.

  6. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 35 to 40 minutes, brushing once more with butter midway, until deep golden.

  7. Dust with icing sugar, and serve warm, with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream.

chef's tips

  • The hour of rest is the real secret to the stretch; unrested dough tears easily, while rested dough practically pulls itself thin without much effort.
  • Unsweetened whipped cream is the traditional pairing for a reason; the strudel itself is plenty sweet, and plain cream balances it rather than piling on more sugar.
  • In Inglourious Basterds (2009), this exact dessert anchors one of the film's longest, most tension-filled scenes, a slow café conversation between a Nazi officer and a woman hiding her true identity, where the pastry's arrival becomes almost unbearably suspenseful rather than pleasant.
  • Small holes in the stretched dough don't matter at all; the rolling process hides almost every imperfection once the strudel is shaped.