Cheese and Cherry Strudel

Creamy, and delicious - a little sweet and a little tart, this cheese and cherry strudel is the perfect dish to serve up at your next Oktober bash, or any dinner party for that matter! 

Hello friends! Happy Thursday!

I'm celebrating all things Oktober fest today on the blog, by pairing up with some of my favourite blogging buddies to bring you an epic round up of some of our favourite German dishes.

So don your lederhosen, grab yourself a weizenbeir and let's get started!

Some of you may not know this but I actually speak German. By speak I mean, learnt it all through high school, and promptly forgot it when I went to uni, but I reckon if I could go back to Germany, I'd do just fine.

I spent 5 weeks in Germany as a wee 15 year old on a school exchange back in 2005 and fell in love with Germany. The food, the people, the language, the history is all just fantastic.

I was living just south of Munich in a tiny town in the middle of winter with my host family, and I remember it being the first time I ever really got to experience a proper winter.

Oh and a German Christmas.

If you ask me, Germany is one of the go to places for Christmas. In most towns, they have the most beautiful Christmas markets with gorgeous ornaments.

You walk through, sipping on Gluhwein (mulled wine) with the smell of fresh pretzel wafting through the air. It's something I'll never forget and can't wait to have another Christmas there, hopefully sometime soon.

While I haven't been back to Germany since I was 16, there still have been some reminders of my time there.

Including a story about cheese and cherry strudel.

Now while you probably know that apple strudel is commonly associated with German cuisine, I decided to go with something a little different today.

Back when I was working as a barista in Melbourne at The Victorian Markets (aka the best fresh food market you'll ever see in Australia), I came across this little German bakery that sold, dead set, the BEST strudel I've ever eaten.

I'm not a massive fan of the apple cinnamon combination, but when I saw they had a cheese and cherry strudel, I know I was sold.

The strudel itself was soft in the middle, with a perfect balance between tart and sweet, wrapped in a crunchy filo pastry. It was to die for.

And I've never forgotten it.

So when Milena from Craft Beering invited me to this round up, I knew that recipe was 'the one'!

I was a little apprehensive first about making a strudel, if you know me, I get a little hesitant about making things with pastry, but it turned out to be a lot easier than I thought.

I wasn't really sure how to start, so used a recipe from taste.com.au to get a base for the recipe.

It starts with a basic cream cheese base, with a little lemon to cut through the sweetness of the cheese and sugar, then the rest is basically adding the cherries and folding them through.

Using filo pastry can be a little tricky, but you just need to have a little patience and some time on your hands to do it properly.

So there you have it! A cheese and cherry strudel recipe fit for any Oktober bash! Oktoberfest officially kicks off in Germany on September 16th! So what are you waiting for?

Cheese and Cherry Strudel

The Home Cook's Kitchen

This cheese and cherry strudel is everything you'll need for a delicious dessert to celebrate all things Oktoberfest!

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine German

Servings 6 people

Calories 434 kcal

Ingredients

 

• 8 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoon lemon rind
• 30.5 oz dark pitted cherries in syrup 2 cans drained
• 8 sheets filo pastry
• 2.5 oz butter melted
• ½ tablespoon icing sugar

Instructions

 

• Defrost filo pastry in fridge
• Preheat oven to 355F/180C.
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Prepare the filling

• Combine cream cheese, juice and zest of lemon, and sugar in a large bowl.
• Beat with an electric hand mixer until smooth and creamy.
• Fold in drained cherries lightly until just combined.

Prepare Strudel

• Lay out filo pastry, and cover with a tea towel, then a damp tea towel - this will keep the filo pastry moist.
• On a clean surface, place 1 sheet of pastry and brush lightly with butter.
• Repeat this step until all 8 sheets of filo have been used.
• Carefully spoon your cream cheese mixture onto the filo pastry, near one of the shorter sides, leaving an 4 inch gap on 3 of the sides.
• Roll in the long sides, then start to roll from the filling end (like you would a burrito).
• Transfer rolled filo onto baking tray.
• Place in oven for 30-35 minutes, or until top of strudel is crispy.
• Remove from oven and cool further 30 minutes.
• Dust with icing sugar and serve.

As promised, here are 11 more Oktober Fest Bash Recipes for you so you can host THE most epic Oktoberfest bash at your place!

Schweinshaxe Bavarian Roasted Pork Knuckle by Milena and Chris at Craft Beering

Bee Sting Cake or 'Bienstich Cake' by Kelsie at The Itsy-Bitsy Kitchen

Pork Snitzel by Dawn at Girl Heart Food

German Potato Soup or 'Kartoffelsuppe' by Karrie at Tasty Ever After

Beer Mustard Pork Loin by Rachelle at Beer Girl Cooks

Porchetta Panini by Nicolleta and Loretto at Sugar Loves Spices

German Beef Rouladen by Jennifer at Seasons and Suppers

Sauerbraten by Jaxx at The Bearded Hiker

German Chocolate Cake Cookies by Kelly at Kelly Lynn's Sweets & Treats

Beef with Beets and Purple Cauliflower by Sandra at Leeks and High Heels

Bavarian Soft Pretzel by Cathy at What Should I Make For