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?
📖 Recipe
Cheese and Cherry Strudel
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.
Nutrition
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
Christina says
Oh man, it's my dream to visit Germany during Christmas. I love watching Rick Steve's Christmas specials in December, they normally always take place in Germany. Your recipe looks fricking divine by the way! I haven't had strudel in a looooong time so I'm overdue and your recipe looks mouth-watering!
karrie @ Tasty Ever After says
How wonderful that you actually lived in Germany for awhile! I would love to go stay over there for about a month and live like a local. Especially around Christmas! I'm up for any kind of strudel but your recipe at the top of my list. Cheese and cherries? Yes and YES PLEASE! I would make this for breakfast on a weekend morning too 🙂 Happy Oktoberfest!!
Georgie says
i will say it 100 times, nothing beats a German winter/christmas! that i've experience yet! omg this would be perf for a breakfast as well, or brunch date with the girls, perhaps some prosecco!
Georgie says
Germany is one of the most beautiful countries! where we were living was a snowy haven! it was amazing!
Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks says
I really want to spend Christmas in Germany now! This strudel would not be safe around me!
Deepika|TheLoveOfCakes says
I didn't know what a strudel is before seeing this recipe of yours!! And I love it already, before even getting to taste one :P. I might as well make one for myself using this recipe of yours!! Cherries and cheese and the tart from the lemon! Amazing filling 🙂
Georgie says
thanks Deepika! i could eat the filling on its own it was THAT good!
Katherine | Love In My Oven says
This is so delicious....I LOOOOOVE strudel! Just saying the word strudel makes me sound German, right? Haha! How cool that you can speak German - such a neat language. I'll bring you if I ever go visit. Great recipe!!
Georgie says
ha ha strudel is delish, and the word is fun! like the german word for potato - kartoffel! makes me giggle every time! do go to germany, it's fantastic!
Sandra says
this looks sooo yummy, i will have to try the recipe!
Georgie says
it really is delicious 🙂
Milena | Craft Beering says
Georgie, you made a beautiful strudel! I cannot wait to try it, kind of over the apple/cinnamon combo myself. This looks incredible and cherry and cheese is absolutely a combo that can partner with the Oktoberfest beers. Love!
Thank you for graciously joining us for the #oktoberfestbash girl! Will be featuring your strudel a bunch! Agreed about Christmas and the Germans, they sure know how to celebrate it!
Georgie says
Thanks for organising it Milena! It's so nice to come together with a community and share love and support! It was a fantastic idea 🙂
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen says
Oh I really want to go to Germany in December now! I think Christmas in Phoenix is just going to be depressing :). This strudel is killing me--anything wrapped in phyllo is automatically delicious but with cherries and cream cheese I don't think it could even get better!
Georgie says
Germany is AMAZING! one of my favourite countries! thanks Kelsie, it was really fun to make, a little tricky but fun!
Nicoletta @sugarlovespices says
I have a sweet tooth and I am definitely in love with your cheese and cherry strudel! It is easy to make and it just looks mouthwatering! Thank you for joining us in this great Oktoberfest bash!
Georgie says
I also have a massive sweet tooth, i just try to avoid making sweets so I don't eat them all ???? it was so fun doing this round up!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
Oh my gosh yes! Absolutely love cherry strudel and yours is perfect! Great for Oktoberfest enjoyment 🙂
Georgie says
Thank you Jennifer 🙂
Kelly @ Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats says
I am loving this strudel! Looks like an easy and yummy dessert to celebrate Oktoberfest. PS- I am super jealous that you speak German! That is so awesome!! Xoxo
Georgie says
thanks Kelly! I speak German very badly ha ha! have a great weekend!
Cathy says
It's so funny that you mentioned that Germany is the place for Christmas. Every Christmas we never miss dining out at our favorite German restaurant in NYC...it's the very essence of the season. This strudel is to die for...flaky crust and oh those cherries! Pinned!
Georgie says
That sounds amazing, I can't remember a lot about German food, but I'll never forget the markets and mulled wine! every winter (cold winter) I make it around Christmas time!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
I could honestly take a huge dent out of this strudel all by myself, lol!! It looks so good, especially with that buttery, crispy filo exterior. Would love to have some right now for breakfast 🙂 Pinned! Have a great weekend!
Georgie says
oh me too Dawn, it was gone in just a day! Thanks for the love! have a lovely weekend too!