500g fine baklava sheets
500g ground walnuts
500g and a bit more of crystal sugar
200g raisins roughly chopped
2 vanilla scented sugar
a pinch of ground cinnamon
about 35 tablespoons SOLIA SMILE oil
about 5 + 5 tablespoons water
powdered sugar for coating
You need to make five strudels, each of which should be made of three sheets. Place the sheets in such a way that the short side is nearest to you. Douse the first sheet with about 2 tbsp of oil, then evenly spread 2 tbsp of sugar all over the sheet, place the second sheet on top of the first one, douse with 2 tbsp oil, also dust with 2 tbsp sugar, douse the third sheet with 2 tbsp oil, then dust with 3 or more tablespoons of sugar, cinnamon and vanilla scented sugar on the entire sheet. Spread one fifth of walnuts and one fifth of raisins on two thirds of the sheet.
Order: sheet (oil, sugar) – sheet (oil, sugar) – sheet (oil, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla-scented sugar, and walnuts and raisins on two thirds of the sheet)
Brush with oil 1 cm of the ends of the sheet and then slowly roll the strudel starting from the shorter side, making sure that the center of the strudel is a proper roll, not a wide overlap. This is very important because you want its cross-section to look nice and neat. Tightly roll the strudel. After you roll it several times press it firmly with your palms from one end to the other and then from the top down to flatten it slightly. It is very important to roll it firmly as well as to flatten the strudel once it is rolled. Line a baking tray with paper and place five rolls in the baking tray. Brush each roll with oil and sprinkle with some water. Bake for about 30 minutes at 180’C. Once strudel is baked, douse it with some water while it is still hot, then cover with the second tray and leave it like that for about half an hour for the steam to soften it. Do not let it stand too long with the cover on as it will become soggy from the dripping steam. Remove the top tray and now cover the strudel pie with a damp kitchen towel, making sure it does not adhere heavily to the pie. Leave the pie like that for one more hour. Do not expect the pie to soften much. Now leave it uncovered to cool off. Once cool, cut the strudel pie into 3.5 cm wide pieces. This will require some effort, as the pie is still hard. Now coat each piece graciously in powdered sugar on all sides and immediately put them in a container. Close the container tightly and let stand for at least one week before serving it. During this time keep the pie in a covered container at a room temperature. Great for holiday seasons!
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