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I love strudel, I love pumpkin, I love chila and I love walnuts, so how about combining everything in the same dessert and being happy?
The recipe that I bring to you today is a wonderful Pumpkin Strudel with Walnuts and Chila and it is definitely one of the most delicious desserts I’ve ever made!
The original Strudel, or Apfelstrudel, is made with apple and is by itself a memorable sweet. A sublime combination between filo pastry, apple, raisins, sugar and cinnamon that feels like a warm hug on a cold day.
The first Strudel recipe dates from 1696 and it was found in Austria. Originally Strudel was made with a super thin, almost transparent dough that resembled the dough used in Turkish Baklavas, a recipe that was introduced in the Austrian Empire around the 15th century, leading historians to conclude that baklava was like the basic recipe for what later became a strudel.
Over time, the recipe has been adapted and reinvented, from the most varied fillings, with red fruits, peaches, pears, etc., to the dough that began to be substituted in many recipes by the puff pastry, for being more practical and easy to access. Although there are many versions, the principle is always the same, a crispy dough generously filled with a cream of fruit and nuts.
The recipe I bring to share with you is also a version of Apfelstrudel that combines 3 of the most traditional flavors of the season, which match wonderfully with each other!
EASY | CRISPY | SWEET | COZY | ELEGANT | FESTIVE
I love baking pumpkin sweets! This vegetable is incredibly versatile and yes, it make incredible desserts.
Not all pumpkins are good for desserts, there are many varieties with almost no flavor or a less rich flavor. The ones that I love to use in sweet recipes are butternut squash and hokkaido. In this recipe I used the butternut squash because it has a soft flavor.
To match with the pumpkin, nothing better than walnuts, right? And to make everything even more amazing, the chila jam was added to the party, and guess what, it is made from a pumpkin too! Chila is a sweet jam (a Portuguese traditional jam) filling made from the fiber of the fig-leaf squash.
To make this recipe you only need to make the strudel filling and buy a rectangular puff pastry.
And yes, you will love it! Rich and perfect textures and flavors to warm your body and soul on cold winter days!
300gr of butternut squash
½ cup of unsweetened soy milk
1 coffee spoon of cinnamon
2 tbsp of yellow sugar
Zest of ½ lemon
1 tbsp of corn starch
½ cup of chopped walnuts
1/3 cup of chila jam
2 tsp of Port wine
1 rectangular puff pastry sheet
300gr of butternut squash
½ cup of unsweetened soy milk
1 coffee spoon of cinnamon
2 tbsp of yellow sugar
Zest of ½ lemon
1 tbsp of corn starch
½ cup of chopped walnuts
1/3 cup of chila jam
2 tsp of Port wine
1 rectangular puff pastry sheet
1- Start by removing the pumpkin peel and then cut the pumpkin into cubes.
2- Place the pumpkin in a little pan over the heat with the soy milk, the cinnamon, the sugar and the lemon zest, and once it boils, reduce the heat and let it cook for about 10 minutes, or until the pumpkin is very tender.
3- Remove from the heat and with a hand blender, grind the whole pumpkin until you get a smooth cream.
4- Return to the heat and pour the corn starch, previously diluted in a little amount of water (about 2 to 3 tbsp of water, enough for the starch to be completely diluted), always whisking until it starts to thicken.
5- Remove the pan from the heat and add the chila jam and the Port wine, stirring well to incorporate all the ingredients. Add the chopped walnuts and stir well to combine the walnuts with the cream.
6- Let the cream cool completely to become firmer.
7- Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
8- Open the sheet of puff pastry on a sheet of parchment paper, place it on the oven tray and cut on one side and the other, strips about 2 cm thick, without reaching the center of the pastry. The center of the pastry is where you will place the filling, and it should have about 10cm. You can choose not to make the braids, and just close the puff pastry over the filling forming a simple roll.
9- Then place the filling on the center of the pastry with the help of a spoon, avoiding reaching the edges of the pastry.
10- Close the pastry over the filling, pulling one strip at a time upwards, always crossing one over the other. Close the ends very tightly, to prevent the filling from escaping. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THERE IS NO HOLE IN THE ENDS OR SIDES, to prevent the filling from escaping through these holes during cooking.
11- Brush the entire surface with a little rice syrup diluted in water (in a 1: 1 ratio).
12- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the dough is open and golden.
13- To serve, sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top and it’s ready!
1- Start by removing the pumpkin peel and then cut the pumpkin into cubes.
2- Place the pumpkin in a little pan over the heat with the soy milk, the cinnamon, the sugar and the lemon zest, and once it boils, reduce the heat and let it cook for about 10 minutes, or until the pumpkin is very tender.
3- Remove from the heat and with a hand blender, grind the whole pumpkin until you get a smooth cream.
4- Return to the heat and pour the corn starch, previously diluted in a little amount of water (about 2 to 3 tbsp of water, enough for the starch to be completely diluted), always whisking until it starts to thicken.
5- Remove the pan from the heat and add the chila jam and the Port wine, stirring well to incorporate all the ingredients. Add the chopped walnuts and stir well to combine the walnuts with the cream.
6- Let the cream cool completely to become firmer.
7- Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
8- Open the sheet of puff pastry on a sheet of parchment paper, place it on the oven tray and cut on one side and the other, strips about 2 cm thick, without reaching the center of the pastry. The center of the pastry is where you will place the filling, and it should have about 10cm. You can choose not to make the braids, and just close the puff pastry over the filling forming a simple roll.
9- Then place the filling on the center of the pastry with the help of a spoon, avoiding reaching the edges of the pastry.
10- Close the pastry over the filling, pulling one strip at a time upwards, always crossing one over the other. Close the ends very tightly, to prevent the filling from escaping. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THERE IS NO HOLE IN THE ENDS OR SIDES, to prevent the filling from escaping through these holes during cooking.
11- Brush the entire surface with a little rice syrup diluted in water (in a 1: 1 ratio).
12- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the dough is open and golden.
13- To serve, sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top and it’s ready!
*Be careful when choosing the Port wine because not all are suitable for vegans (I used Dalva Porto LBV 2008).
* There are several ways to close the puff pastry for the strudel. If you have never done it before go to see some tutorials on Youtube. The process is quite simple, but it can intimidate those who have never done it, and with a video everything is easier.
* You can replace the walnuts with any nut of your choice, or even make a mix of several.
*Be careful when choosing the Port wine because not all are suitable for vegans (I used Dalva Porto LBV 2008).
* There are several ways to close the puff pastry for the strudel. If you have never done it before go to see some tutorials on Youtube. The process is quite simple, but it can intimidate those who have never done it, and with a video everything is easier.
* You can replace the walnuts with any nut of your choice, or even make a mix of several.
Tag @things_about_a_vegan_girl on instagram and hashtag it #thingsaboutavegangirl so we can see all the masterpiece you made!!!
Tag @things_about_a_vegan_girl on instagram and hashtag it #thingsaboutavegangirl so we can see all the masterpiece you made!!!