My mother’s apple and pear strudel

I have watched my mother make this strudel since I was little. Its cooking method is unusual. This time it was a joint effort: my brother, ‘the king of the rolling pin’, did the work under my mother’s and my supervision. We had fun too!
For the pastry
250 g Italian '00' flour
2 eggs
30 g melted butter
2 scant tablespoons sugar
Milk, if needed
For the filling
5 apples
2 pears
100 g raisins
100 g walnuts
Butter, as needed
Sugar, as needed
For the top
Sugar, as needed
Butter, as needed
Half a litre of milk
Make a well in the flour, add the eggs, sugar and melted butter and begin kneading. Add a little milk if needed. The dough should be uniform and not too soft.
Wrap in cling film and rest for half an hour.

Peel the apples and pears, slice them and set aside.

Soak the raisins, then squeeze and dry them. Chop the walnuts.

Start rolling out the pastry with a rolling pin, dusting with a little flour if needed.

Roll it progressively larger, turning it often and taking care not to tear it. I usually roll it on a large tea towel to make rolling up easier, but my mother says she has always done it this way. After all, it is her recipe!

The pastry is ready, not too thin. Spread over the apples and pears.

Scatter with the chopped walnuts.

Add the raisins.

Dice some butter and distribute it over the whole surface.

Sprinkle with sugar, without overdoing it.

Gently start rolling it up, keeping it fairly snug.


Seal the ends well.

Transfer to a baking dish, preferably non-stick, and sprinkle with sugar and diced butter.

Pour over half a litre of milk. I would have brushed the surface with milk first, then added the sugar so it stuck better, but I am only watching!

Bake at 180°C for about 1 hour and a half, moistening the surface with milk halfway through.

It is ready when all the milk has been absorbed, becoming almost caramel-like, and the pastry is soft. Cooking in milk gives it a distinctive flavour.