Topfenstrudel - Cheese Strudel

550g Turkish Labneh or Quark or Cream Cheese

2 eggs

80g granulated sugar

30g semolina, uncooked 

4g salt

Zest of 1 lemon

4g vanilla extract

75g raisins (optional)

150g all purpose flour

Pinch of salt

45ml canola oil

80ml water

113g butter, melted

FOR THE FILLING

Combine the Labneh or Quark, eggs, sugar, semolina, salt, zest, vanilla and raisins. Set aside. 

FOR THE DOUGH

Combine all flour, salt, oil and water in the bowl of a stand mixer, with a dough hook and mix for 5-7 minutes. 

Tip out onto the counter and knead a few times. 

Wrap in plastic and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Lightly flour a towel, or pillowcase that is 24x32 inches. 

Parchment line a baking sheet.  Remove all jewelry from your hands and writs, 

Roll the dough with a rolling pin until it is roughly 12x20 inches. Set the rolling pin aside. Go about stretching the dough by using the backs of your hands and pulling. It should get large enough to cover the entire 24x32 inch towel. 

Working from the 24 inch side facing you, cut the edge off the long sides and top 24 inch length using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Loosen the dough from the towel. Discard scraps. 

Brush the dough with some of the melted butter. Add your fillings to the bottom 6 inches of dough, avoiding the edges of dough. 

Fold in two inches from each of the 32 inch long sides, encasing the filling at the 24 inch side/bottom of the strudel.. 

Using the fabric, flop the strudel over. Continue to do this until you have the seam on top. 

With all the confidence you’ve got, pick up the towel and flop the strudel gently onto the baking sheet, seam side down. 

Brush with butter and bake for 15 minutes. Brush with butter and bake for 15 minutes additional. Brush with butter and bake for 15 more minutes, for a total of 45 minutes. 

Allow the strudel to cool, cut and serve while it’s slightly warm. 

Ricarda is my coworker from Munich who hasn’t met a baked good she doesn’t like, unless it has raisins.

I call myself German adjacent having grown up with a German step-mom, we traveled there a few times as a kid, and I have always loved the culture. While my dad is Hungarian and my mom American I’ll happily talk about Germany with Ricarda for hours, and German baked goods even longer.

When I made my first strudel I had to get her opinion on it. Was the Labneh a close enough approximation to Quark? Did it look right? Was I in the ball park? She declared it was authentic enough for her to wanted to learn to make it too! She sent photos to her mom, who was impressed. I was just tickled.

So fast forward to a Cook Together, us making strudel. What a great time. And we ended up with two strudels for our efforts. The one pictured here with cheese, plus an apple cherry strudel that’s just delicious.