Top seller when I owned my bakery was this Cheese Strudel!
Flaky puff pastry filled with sweetened cream cheese sold out every Sunday!
I like to serve this cheese strudel warm out of the oven with cranberry compote, but any berry compote would work great!
Of course you can serve it just as is with a cup of coffee in the morning!
A simple recipe with minimal ingredients and a package of puff pastry is all you need!
Notes for Success:
Now that we are vegan we have to treat our ingredients slightly different
And if you are aware of the vegan cream cheese nightmare you know what I mean!
First of all vegan cream cheese is basically non existent where I live, so that adds more chaos to the equation!
Not to mention I have only had success with Tofutti brand cream cheese in my baked recipes *not sponsored
I have not had success with any other brand in BAKED recipes; for some reason the other more expensive brands I’ve tried have broken down into an oily mess when baked.
CLICK HERE FOR MY COPY CAT TOFUTTI CREAM CHEESE RECIPE
Cornstarch is a very difficult ingredient to measure consistently with a volume/spoons measure
So while I list both measures below I cannot stress enough how the grams measure with a scale is going to give you the best results.
Many times people have complained that their cheesecake is like rubber and they don’t know why!
This is from a heavy measure of cornstarch when using volume measuring spoon vs the 100% accurate scale measure in grams.
Last, I am using dried out cake crumbs this is an old bakery trick to absorb any excess moisture from a soft filling like this one
Simply toast some excess cake crumbs from a previous project in the oven (you only need about ½ cup)
Alternatively you can use bread crumbs!
CLICK HERE FOR THE YOUTUBE VIDEO FOR HOW TO MAKE THIS CHEESE STRUDEL
Cheese Strudel
Pepperidge farm Puff Pastry is accidentally vegan. 1 package contains 2 sheets, for this Cheese Strudel you will only need 1 sheet
Ingredients
- 1/2 Package Vegan Puff Pastry
For the Cheese Filling:
- 12 ounces Tofutti Cream Cheese 336g
- ½ cup Confectioners Sugar 60g
- 3 Tbs Cornstarch 24g
- 2 Tbs Vegan Butter melted 28g
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract 5ml
- ½ cup toasted cake crumbs *see notes
- 1 Tablespoon Your fav vegan “egg” wash
- 2 teaspoons Granulated Sugar
For the Berry Compote *optional
- 1½ cup fresh or frozen berries
- 4 Tablespoons granulated sugar 50g
- 4 Tablespoons water 60ml
Instructions
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Thaw the puff pastry overnight in the refrigerator
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Prepare the cheese filling by combining the vegan cream cheese with the sifted confectioners sugar & cornstarch gently with a spatula in a medium sized mixing bowl
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Add the melted vegan butter & the vanilla extract and fold together smooth
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Prepare a standard sized loaf pan with plastic wrap to line it & spoon the cheese filling into that.
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Freeze for about an hour or up to 2 but not longer since you do not want a solid block, just frozen enough to handle & it is not soupy. *see video
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Preheat the oven to 400°F~ if you have a convection oven setting it is a good idea to use that. *Air Fryer also works great with this recipe!
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Roll the puff pastry on a piece of parchment paper on a half sheet pan slightly to make it about ½” longer & wider then cut 6 strips in a diagonal on each side flap of the dough (the creases from where it was frozen is a perfect indicator of how to measure the center & sides)
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Next spoon the ½ cup of the toasted cake crumbs in the center of the dough
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Place the semi frozen cheese filling on top of that & then fold up the sides of the cut dough strips in a criss-cross fashion * see video
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Brush the entire top of the dough with the egg wash & sprinkle with granulated sugar & bake immediately in the preheated 400F oven for approximately 40 minutes
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Watch closely to make sure the dough does not burn on the top. You can cover loosely with a piece of foil to prevent over browning
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The cheese filling may look slightly jiggly, but it will set as it cools.
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Cool before cutting & serve with optional berry compote
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To make the berry compote combine the sugar, berries & water together in a small sauce pot & cook over high heat stirring occasionally until it boils & the berries begin to pop
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Remove from heat, the compote will thicken as it cools
Video
Notes
Storage Cheese Strudel can be kept at room temperature for up to 2 days wrapped well in a very cool spot. Refrigerate for longer storage, up to 5 days~ reheat to serve
