Giant Homemade Toaster Strudel Recipe

Iced pastry with knife on parchment — Credit:
Paola + Murray

Prep Time:

25 mins

Total Time:

4 hrs 50 mins

Servings:

Our homemade toaster strudel is a super-sized take on everyone's childhood favorite breakfast treat. It may look fancy and quite advanced, but it's really just jam spooned between two layers of rolled-out crust. It's also endlessly variable: Any fruit or flavor goes—we love this recipe for homemade peach jam—but your go-to store-bought jam will be perfect, too. Our regular pastry dough is an all-butter affair, but for this recipe, we use a combination of shortening and butter; the shortening lends a tender, denser texture. A simple, sweet yet lemony glaze takes it over the top, and a sprinkle of crushed freeze-dried berries gives a colorful finish.

To make sprinkles: Pulverize the freeze-dried berries in a small food processor, or crush them with a rolling pin in a small resealable bag.

Making Toaster Strudel Ahead

You can make and refrigerate the 2 pieces of dough before rolling them out, for up to 2 days. Be sure to wrap them tightly in plastic wrap.

The baked and glazed toaster strudel can be stored, lightly wrapped with foil, at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Directions

Mix flour, sugar, and salt for pastry; add butter and shortening:

Pulse flour, granulated sugar, and 2 teaspoons salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and shortening; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pea-size pieces remaining. Add 3 tablespoons water and pulse. Add 3 tablespoons more and pulse.
Pulse dough until holds together and shape into rectangles:

Next, work in longer pulses, stopping to scrape sides and bottom of bowl as needed, until dough holds together when pinched (if necessary, add remaining water, 1 teaspoon at a time). Shape into 2 rectangles.
Roll out rectangles; refrigerate:

Roll out one rectangle between 2 sheets of lightly floured parchment to 12 by 10 inches, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer on parchment to a baking sheet. Repeat with second rectangle; stack on top of first. Refrigerate both until firm, at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven; spread jam over one rectangle:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove dough from refrigerator; set aside one sheet. Remove parchment from top of second sheet; spread jam evenly over dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border.
Top with second rectangle and form crust;

Remove parchment from first piece of dough and place over filling. Fold edges in and press to seal with the tines of a fork. Poke top all over with tines of fork.
Brush with egg and chill; bake and cool:

Brush with beaten egg. Freeze 10 minutes or refrigerate 30 minutes. Bake until golden brown and bubbling in center, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool on sheet on wire rack.
Make glaze:

Gradually whisk 1 tablespoon lemon juice into confectioners' sugar to create a glaze with the consistency of honey, add more lemon juice if needed. Add remaining pinch of salt; whisk to combine.
Top with glaze and sprinkle with berries; let stand before serving:

Spoon glaze over tart, spreading almost to edges; sprinkle with freeze-dried berries and let stand until set, at least 1 hour. Slice and serve