Soak the sultanas in the rum for about 4hr or overnight. Beat together the ricotta cheese, cream and egg yolk in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the sultanas and any remaining liquid, pinenuts, orange and lemon rind, mixed peel, icing sugar and cinnamon. Peel, core and thickly slice the apples.
Step 2
Place 2-3 sheets of Filo pastry on a sheet of greaseproof paper to make a 28x45.5cm (11x18in) rectangle, with the longest edge towards you. Brush lightly with some of the melted butter. Place a few more sheets on top, then brush again with melted butter. Sprinkle the almonds over.
Step 3
Starting 5cm (2in) in from the long edge of the pastry, arrange the apple slices, overlapping, along its length. Sprinkle the caster sugar over, then spread the ricotta filling evenly on top.
Step 4
Fold the short pastry sides over to seal in the filling. Using the paper to help you lift the pastry, carefully roll the strudel up as tightly as you can. Curve it a little into a horseshoe shape.
Step 5
Slide strudel on to a baking sheet and brush lightly with butter. Cook at 190°C (375°F) mark 5 for 40min, until golden brown. Leave to rest for 10min, slide it on to a serving plate and dust with icing sugar.
To serve: Serve warm with Cinnamon Cream (see below).
To prepare ahead: Up to 1 day ahead, complete Step 1 (do not prepare apples). Cover and chill.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
