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Lighter Apple–Quark Strudel Cups
Recipe

Lighter Apple–Quark Strudel Cups

Dessert • Austria

Crisp phyllo cups filled with cinnamon apples and a vanilla-lemon quark layer, baked until golden. A practical, lighter take on apple strudel that still feels like a treat.

Why smarter

Uses quark for creamy richness with less fat than cream-based fillings, keeps added sugar moderate, and relies on fruit and warm spices for flavour. Phyllo gives strudel-style crunch with a lighter pastry-to-filling ratio.

Chef tip

If the apples are very juicy, let them simmer 1–2 minutes longer so the filling doesn’t sog the phyllo cups.

Soft line

A simple dessert that tastes like you tried harder than you did.

Ingredients

# Ingredient Text Amount Unit Ingredient Name Notes
1 Apples (e.g., Braeburn or Elstar), peeled, cored, small dice 500.000 g Apples About 3 medium
2 Lemon juice 1.000 tbsp Lemon juice
3 Granulated sugar 35.000 g Sugar Adjust to apple sweetness
4 Ground cinnamon 1.000 tsp Cinnamon
5 Raisins 30.000 g Raisins Optional
6 Water 3.000 tbsp Water
7 Cornstarch (cornflour) 1.000 tsp Cornstarch Mix with water
8 Low-fat quark 250.000 g Quark Topfen/Quark, ~20% or lower
9 Plain yogurt (low-fat) 80.000 g Yogurt For a lighter, spoonable texture
10 Vanilla extract or vanilla sugar 1.000 tsp Vanilla Or 1 tsp vanilla sugar
11 Lemon zest, finely grated 1.000 tsp Lemon zest
12 Phyllo pastry sheets (Strudelteig/Filo), thawed if frozen 6.000 sheets Phyllo pastry
13 Canola oil, for brushing 2.000 tsp Canola oil
14 Bread crumbs 2.000 tbsp Bread crumbs Helps absorb apple juices
15 Powdered sugar, for dusting 1.000 tsp Powdered sugar Optional

Method

  1. Heat oven to 190°C (top/bottom heat). Lightly oil a 12-hole muffin tin (you’ll use 4 holes).
  2. Make apple filling: Add apples, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, raisins (if using) and 2 tbsp water to a saucepan. Cook on medium heat 6–8 minutes until apples soften but still hold their shape.
  3. Stir cornstarch with the remaining 1 tbsp water, add to the apples and cook 30–60 seconds until lightly thickened. Take off the heat to cool slightly.
  4. Mix quark, yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest in a bowl until smooth.
  5. Cut phyllo sheets into squares roughly 12–14 cm. Stack 3 squares per cup, brushing very lightly with canola oil between layers, then press into 4 muffin holes to form cups.
  6. Sprinkle a little bread crumbs into the base of each phyllo cup.
  7. Spoon in the quark mixture (about half the cup), then top with the warm apple filling.
  8. Bake 12–15 minutes until the phyllo edges are deep golden and crisp.
  9. Cool 5 minutes in the tin, then lift out carefully. Dust with a little powdered sugar if you like and serve warm or room temperature.