Classic apple strudel comprises an oblong strudel pastry casing with a spiced apple filling inside. The warming core is made from grated cooking tart apples, sugar, cinnamon, and bread crumbs.
Strudel is considered the national dish of Austria but James Martin’s version is known as a French Jalousie – sweetened with apple and honey.
Sharing the recipe on his website, the James Martin’s Saturday Morning presenter said: “This sweet French patisserie pastry is easy to make, using shop-bought puff pastry.”
He added: “A little like a strudel, this is one dessert that everyone will love!”.
The best thing about this recipe is that the honey becomes the star of the dish; so use your favourite nectar for maximum flavour.
Apple and honey Jalouise
Ingredients
One 300g pack of ready-rolled puff pastry
One large Bramley apple
50ml honey
For the frangipane
125g butter, softened
125g caster sugar
125g ground almonds
50g plain flour
Two eggs
Two tablespoons honey
One egg yolk
Demerara sugar to sprinkle
Method
Start by peeling and chopping the Bramley apple, then poach it in a saucepan with boiling water for 10 minutes.
When cooked, leave to cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a blender and blitz with 50ml of your chosen honey.
Now, preheat the oven to 160C and grease a baking tray with butter or cooking oil. Roll out the pastry sheet onto a lightly floured surface and make two rectangles with one slightly larger than the other.
Prick one of the pastry rectangles with a fork to ‘dock’ it all over.
Make the frangipani by combining the butter and sugar in a blender or mixer until white a fluffy. Add the almonds, eggs, flour and honey and blend again until completely smooth.
Fill the bottom pastry rectangle with the frangipane and apple mixture, then brush the edges all over with the beaten egg yolk.
Fold the top rectangle in half lengthways and cut two-thirds of the way through to make slats. Top the bottom rectangle with the top one and seal the edges,
Eggwash the top pastry sheet and sprinkle all over with sugar.
Bake for 30 minutes until golden and serve with a drizzle of honey and a good dollop of clotted cream.
