Peach Strudel
I can’t believe that we’re already nearing the end of August, which means summer is almost over and the bounty of fresh fruit that has been at our disposal for the last four months is going to start dwindling. I’m taking advantage of every last bushel that I can before everyone’s attention shifts to apples, pears and pumpkin. A few years ago my Chief Culinary Consultant and I went to Hofbrauhaus here in Pittsburgh not long after its grand opening. We stuffed ourselves full of beer, soft pretzel appetizers, schnitzel sandwiches the size of my head and, I’m pretty sure, more beer. Which is why I shocked myself when I readily accepted a dessert menu even though I could barely breathe. (It must have been the beer talking.) New restaurant, must have dessert – right?! We very smartly decided to share something and settled on the apple strudel. To say it was amazing would be an understatement. Flaky layers of pastry wrapped warm, soft and slightly spiced apples, served with vanilla and raspberry sauces. When I was thinking about how I could use up some of my peaches, my Chief Culinary Consultant reminded me of that epic dessert, and I set out to make a peach version. And make it, I did.
I truly anticipated a strudel would take me all day and be a giant headache. It couldn’t have been more the opposite. I was astounded to find that I could make and bake a beautiful, flaky strudel in about an hour. I sliced up some peaches and threw them together with some sugar, spices and thickener, a la pie filling. To make the strudel, all you need to do is stack up some phyllo dough that you brush with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Add the filling, roll it up, and pop it in the oven.
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In less than an hour, you’ll have a gorgeous, delicious strudel that will totally impress. I don’t know about you, but I can’t resist anything that involves buttery, flaky layers. Throw in some peaches and you have a perfect late-summer dessert.
One year ago: Honey Fig Scones
Two years ago: Lemon Bars
Three years ago: Blueberry-Buttermilk Scones
Four years ago: Croissants
Peach Strudel
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 20 ounces fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/8-inch slices
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the Strudel Assembly:
- 5 sheets phyllo dough, thawed (use 14x18-inch phyllo for 1 large strudel; use 9x14-inch phyllo for 2 small strudels)
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- Stir together the peaches, brown sugar, flour, pecans, vanilla extract and cinnamon; set aside.
- Place a silicone mat or a piece of parchment on your work surface. Place a sheet of phyllo on the mat or parchment, with the long side facing you. Brush the sheet of phyllo with melted butter and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Repeat with the remaining four sheets of phyllo, stacking them on top of one another.
- Place the filling in a 3-inch-wide strip about 2½ inches from the bottom and 2 inches from each side of the phyllo (if you are using the smaller size phyllo, use half of the filling and repeat the steps with additional phyllo). Fold the short sides of phyllo over the filling. Then fold the bottom of the phyllo over the filling and very gently roll the strudel loosely.
- Place the strudel, steam-side down, on the baking sheet. Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Cut four 1-inch-long vents in the top of the strudel. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack and allow to cool until warm, about 30 minutes.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I f I add apples to peach strudel do i cook apples and peaches first or just apples or non cook before oven?
450F for 20 mins seems very high. Is this temperature correct?
I don’t get how to place peaches or fold the dough. Long side faces me that’s as far as I get. Do I put the 3″ peaches from side to side or top to bottom the how do I fold is it one layer of dough per filling it with peaches?
Hi Michele, The peaches should go side to side. Hopefully the photos in the post can help with a visual. You will stack 5 sheets of phyllo, brushing each with melted butter and sprinkling with sugar, then you put the peaches on top and close it up as directed. I hope that helps!
Can I use canned peach instead? How should I go about it
Any advice for using canned sliced peaches? I was thinking I could send them for a whirl in the salad spinner then blot dry a little more after that, and then follow your recipe. Because with my schedule I don’t want to waste fresh peaches because I can’t find time to make the strudel 🥹
The peach strudel is amazing! I came across your recipe having phyllo dough and peaches I needed to use. I made the recipe as written, it was easy and turned out great! Thanks!
Tried it made to we’ll see how they taste I used 9 sheets of phyllo each
Do you think I could leave the skin on the peaches? I feel like the skin is the best part.
Hi Meghan, I think that would be okay!
Can I freeze this?
Hi Erica, I’ve never tried freezing it; I’m not sure how flaky it would be when thawed.
My mom used to make them and freeze them and pop them in the oven when people would ” drop by” they came out wonderfully.
Tasted wonderful!!! I didn’t bother buttering every sheet for the sake of time – not a problem, still great! It was two giant local peaches to the other ingredients.
I made this last night with some Georgia Peaches that were sweet as can be! Turned out amazing with a scoop of butter pecan and some while cream. I used about 20 oz of peaches and 1 Pepperidge Farm phyllo sheet (no need to layer the individual sheets). I baked the log for about 40 minutes at 400 F. I used 1 tsp imitation vanilla and I think, if anything, it came out a bit stronger that I’d have liked. Other than that, it was super tasty and easy!
It was delicious. Next time I will turn down the heat and cook longer because my peaches weren’t all the way soft but the crust was browned.