Mulled Wine Strudel

After all the time-consuming, fancy festive meals we all need a quick recipe with the taste of winter, and this Mulled Wine Strudel is a perfect choice as a weekend bake.

TIP: For this recipe, you can save some time by using the leftover Christmas gingerbread cookies, or the previously made walnut filling that you made for a Bejgli.

This recipe has been featured in the British Baking Heaven Magazine.

Ingredients

Strudel

1 pack pre-rolled puff pastry
300 g plums, pitted, chopped
100 g blueberries
4 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 egg for eggwash
Icing sugar and fresh blueberries for serving

Walnut filling

150 g walnut ground
100 g icing sugar
60 g gingerbread cookies, ground
1 tbsp apricot jam
100 ml milk
2 large pinch cinnamon
1 tsp fresh lemon zest

Mulled wine reduction

750 ml red wine
8 tbsp sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
6-8 whole cloves
2 star anises
Half of an orange
Half tsp ginger

Instructions

Walnut filling

Let’s grind the walnut and gingerbread cookies in a food processor.
Mix the milk and sugar and bring it to the boiling point.
Add the walnut, gingerbread, cinnamon, lemon zest, apricot jam. Remove the pot from the heat and stir the mixture to get a smooth texture.
It needs to be cold when you start filling in. If it’s too thick, you can add a few tbsps of milk.

Strudel

Roll out the puff pastry, divide it by the short edge onto 3 equal thirds and
Using a sharp knife, cut off two corners of the dough on the short side of the rectangular dough and then two small triangles on the other end.
Spread the walnut filling down the centre of the strip.
Top it with the plum pieces and blueberries, sprinkle the brown sugar, cinnamon, and cloves on top.
Using a sharp knife, pastry wheel, or pizza cutter, cut 10 slanting strips along both sides. Fold strips over dough, alternating each side to resemble a twist or a braid. Fold the bottom end up to seal the filling inside.
Give the strudel a good egg wash.
Bake it on a 200°C (fan) for 20-25 minutes or until the strudel is golden brown.
Let the strudel cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Mulled wine reduction

In a large saucepan mix the wine, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, star anises, ginger, and orange. Heat it up on medium heat.
When the mulled wine starts simmering, boil it for 5 minutes, then strain it into another pot.
Keep boiling the mulled wine until it reduces to a runny honey consistency.
Pour the reduction into a pouring jug and put it aside until serving time.

Serving