Berry & Brie Vegan Strudel

This delicious grown up version of one of my childhood favourites, the toaster strudel, is veganized as a collaboration with Nicolas from Blogtastic Food! Thanks for inviting me to be a part of this collab. A group of us have collaborated to make a collection of delicious vegan desserts! You can find everybody else’s desserts below!

This somewhat fancy vegan strudel is actually really really easy to make. I used a natural puff pastry that is vegan, from the brand Maison, which I found at my local whole foods. I went with this puff pastry because it has simple ingredients and is free of preservatives. The star of the dessert is the vegan brie cheese. You can use any vegan brie, or another neutral tasting vegan cheese. I used my favourite brand of cheese, Nuts For Cheese vegan brie, and it pairs beautifully with the berries and the flaky pastry.

The method is super easy! Just prepare the puff pastry by thawing it overnight, then roll it out. Cut strips into the dough. This will create the criss-cross patter. Add the brie and the berries, fold it up, and bake! This would be an amazing dessert to serve at a dinner party or holiday. Or just bake it up quickly and eat it yourself because hey, you deserve a fancy easy to make dessert without any special occasion ! 😉

Ingredients

• 1 sheet puff pastry (I used a 500g package of maison puff pastry)
• 1/3 cup vegan brie cheese, or 1/2 cup if you want it really cheesy (I used brie by nuts for cheese)
• 1 1/2 cup mixed berries (I did cherries, blueberries, and strawberries, fresh or frozen (fresh works a bit better)
• 3 1/2 tbsp cane sugar, divided
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp almond milk
• 2 tsp maple syrup

Directions

1. Thaw the puff pastry overnight in the fridge the day before you want to use it. When you are ready to use it, place it on your counter for 10-20 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 385 degrees F.
3. Prepare a large work surface and dust it with all-purpose flour. Place the puff pastry onto the surface and roll it out, back and forth, to create a rectangle. Roll the dough out until it is around 30×24 cm, and around 1/4 inch thick. Note that every package of puff pastry is different. Many are portioned out into smaller portions and some are already pre-rolled. Take note of the type of puff pastry you have and adjust accordingly. I used a 500g package and it was not a pre-rolled kind.
4. Transfer the dough onto a parchment lined baking tray. Visualize the dough divided into thirds lengthwise. On each of the 2 outside thirds, cut strips about 2cm wide with a sharp knife all along each edge. Refer to the photos above.
5. Place about 2/3 of the cheese onto the center of the dough. You can spread it or break it apart into chunks.
6. In a medium bowl, add the berries and 2 tbsp of cane sugar and mix to coat the berries. Add all of the berries on top of the cheese. Top with the remaining cheese. Note that using raspberries will make the strudel taste tart.
7. Fold the dough strips into a criss-cross pattern, as seen in the photos above. Use a rolling pin to gently press on the top to seal the folds.
8. Create an “egg-wash” by combining the maple syrup and almond milk in a small bowl. Brush the entire top of the pastry. This will also help to seal the dough. You may not need all of the egg-wash if you feel it is coated well enough.
9. Sprinkle on the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp of cane sugar onto the top of the dough.
10. Bake the strudel for about 35 minutes, or until it is golden. It’s ok if some of the juices are coming out of the strudel. This will happen more if you used frozen instead of fresh berries, but it’s completely fine.
11. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving. If you have leftovers, you can re-heat them or eat it at room temperature.

For personal meal plans or nutrition advice from a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, you can contact me at kathyrhn@gmail.com

Vegan Dessert Collab

Nicolas from Blogtastic Food – Lemon Meringue Pie

Reka from Holy Whisk Blog – Beetroot Brownies

Sarah from Slice of Honey – Shortbread Cookies with Dark Chocolate Drizzle

Julia from Julia Recipes – Coconut Lime Tart

Anthea from Salty Biscotti – No Bake Vegan Chocolate Salami

Marie from Sugar Salt Magic – Vegan Lemon Coconut Frangipane Tart

Winola from The Foodscape – Vegan Banoffee Pies

Allysa from Ally Bakes – Ginger Coconut Pear Cake

Maya from Maya’s Bee Hive – Blackberry Pie with Walnut Crumble Topping

Jasmine from Jazzy B Fit – Biscoff Tiffin

Teresa from Cupcakes and Couscous – Chocolate Caramel Tart