Bren from Green Bay, WI (2018 Week 6: Puddings)

Baker

Bren

Location

Green Bay, WI

Baking Challenge

Strudel

Give your dessert a clever name – and tell us about your recipe.

Caramel "Apple of My Eye" Cranberry Walnut Strudel

What was the biggest surprise during your baking journey? Did you use any unconventional approaches? What did you learn along the way? Tell us about it!

The WPT baking challenges have really stretched me as a baker and the stretching was literal this week! My biggest surprise was how I was able to shape the strudel dough successfully! I used the King Arthur Flour dough recipe and I could not believe how elastic the dough was. I expected the dough shaping to be difficult and it really went well. Modern baking recipes really spell things out for us “first-timers” as compared to last year when I was using historic 1900 recipes for my bakes that were vague at best. It once again makes me grateful to be a part of the 21st century.

How did you add a Wisconsin twist to your flavors or decoration?

My twist was my use of Wisconsin grown and dried cranberries. I added a tribute to the apple industry by using tart apples and a combination of caramel and walnuts to create the effect of a caramel apple that is so readily available in the fall. For spices, I used a combination of cinnamon and cardamom and, as always, used Wisconsin butter in my dough and filling.

How did you do?

Rocked it.