Christmas

Muldoshin (German Apple Pastry)

January 16, 2014
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 4-6
Author Notes

As a family, we don't know the correct spelling of this apple pastry; our great-grandma never wrote it on paper, but this is how she pronounced it (it's possible it is a variation of maultachen). This version is my take on great-grandma Eslinger's apple dish; I've added some sugar, and a little more butter. Originally the apple-cream sauce is poured over the dish while it's still in the oven, but I found this to make the bottom crust a bit too gummy. If you'd like to try it, however, pour the sauce over the entire dish 2 minutes before taking it out of the oven, and then turn the oven off and let the dish rest for a few minutes in the warm heat. A glass pan works best here for a flakier bottom crust. Six pastries will fit snuggly in the pan, but if you want even a flakier/crisp bottom crust, you can bake the pastries in two pans, separated a bit. —sarah kieffer | the vanilla bean blog

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 - 1/2 cups water
  • 2 1/2 pounds (5-6 large) apples (I used Galas), sliced 1/4 inch thick
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 good pinches salt
  • 2 tablespoons butter, browned
  • 3/4 cup apple cider
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • sugar, for sprinkling
Directions
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Scatter the butter over the flour and use a pastry blender (or your hands) to cut the butter into the flour to form pea-sized pieces. Add the lightly beaten egg and mix into the flour until incorporated. Add the water, starting with ¼ cup and adding more until the dough makes a soft ball (it will be a little sticky at this point). Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic, and press into a 4 inch disk. Wrap and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour (or up to 2 days).
  2. While the dough is chilling, peel and slice the apples. In a large bowl, combine the sliced apples, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
  3. Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position and place a rimmed baking sheet on the rack. Heat the oven to 450 degrees.
  4. After the dough has chilled, place it on a floured counter top and using a knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll out each piece into a 9-10 inch circle, using flour as needed (the dough will be sticky). Mound apples in the middle of the dough, and spread them out a bit, leaving a 2 inch border all around. Fold the long sides of the dough over the apples, and then fold then ends in. Gently turn the pastry over and lay it in a 9 x13 inch pan (a glass pan works best here for a flakier bottom crust). Repeat with the remaining dough pieces. Brush the tops of the muldoshin with heavy cream, and then generously sprinkle with sugar.
  5. Put the baking dish into the oven on the preheated baking sheet, and cook for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 400, and continue to cook until the muldoshin is golden brown, about 45-50 minutes total.
  6. While the muldoshin is cooking, make the apple cider-cream sauce. In a medium skillet, brown the butter. When the butter is browned, turn off the heat and let the butter cool a bit (if you pour the cider right in, it will sputter up everywhere). Add the apple cider and turn the heat back to medium, cooking until the cider is reduced slightly (to about ½ cup). Slowly pour in the heavy cream, and cook until the cream is heated through and just bubbling. Turn off the heat, and stir in the vanilla.
  7. When the muldoshin has finished cooking, remove it from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Remove the muldoshin from the pan, and place on a serving dish or individual plates. Serve with the apple cider-cream sauce, pouring generously over each piece.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Laurie
    Laurie
  • tortellini
    tortellini
  • sarah kieffer | the vanilla bean blog
    sarah kieffer | the vanilla bean blog
  • Petite fee
    Petite fee
A baker's soliloquy. You can follow along at thevanillabeanblog.com.

11 Reviews

gwimper November 6, 2015
You recipe looks delicious, and I love the phonetic spelling for Apfel (apple) Maultaschen. Apfel Maultaschens are popular in Bayern, but savory maultaschens are Schwäbisch, and I think the have the Eu protection on that name. Now, I am excited to know there is a sweet version from Bayern, that I would not have even looked up until I ran into your recipe. Thank you. Sarah, for sharing a family recipe and Barbara, for sharing your grandmother's modifications.
 
Barbara September 30, 2014
My grandmother was born in Bavaria and she made this as well, using the same pronunciation. My sister and I took notes as she made it as she did not write any recipes down. There are however a number of key differences in your recipe and my grandmothers. The biggest difference is that she used mostly lard with a little butter saying that butter was for the rich. She said the lard was necessary as it gave the pastry a crispiness and flavor that was impossible with butter alone. This was in the day when leaf lard was readily available which, sadly, it is difficult to find today. Other key differences is that she used the juice from the cut up apples (resting in a colander) as opposed to the apple cider to make the cream sauce. The other significant difference is that she used sour cream in the cream sauce and spooned it over the dish immediately out of the oven and secured with a lead for several minutes to firm up and slightly cook the cream sauce into the pastry dough. I am thinking perhaps that has been changed over the years in the United States due to the preferences away from using lard and thus the pastry is not as crispy and can no longer "support" the sauce being "baked in" without getting soggy. However this was certainly a favorite part of the dish for us and I would never want to pour the sauce over the pastries separately. I am grateful we have the original recipe thar my grandmother used. It's a lot of work but it is amazing how they were able to combine a few staple ingredients and make it into something so delicious and unique.
 
Barbara September 30, 2014
Sorry, what was spooned over the pastry was the cream sauce, not sour cream directly. Also I have a typo lid, not lead...a lid was used over each pan to steam/bake the cream sauce into the pastry for a few minutes when out of the oven. It made for a delicious combination of crispy, creamy, sour and sweet.
 
Laurie February 12, 2014
Potato, patato...whatever these are called they sound fantastic - rustic and elegant at the same time. Apple cider cream sauce had definitely been missing from my life. Can't wait to try. Thanks for sharing.
 
Ann S. February 11, 2014
I'm sorry, I don't understand the instructions: "leaving a 2 inch border all around. Fold the long sides of the dough over the apples, and then fold then ends in. Gently turn the pastry over and lay it in a 9 x13 inch pan (a glass pan works best here for a flakier bottom crust). Repeat with the remaining dough pieces." What do you mean the long sides, and then the ends? I thought it was all mounded in the center of a circle, with a 2 in. border around. Also, do you lay each layer on top of the next, or are they their own individual crostata-type apple pies? Perhaps it would be helpful to post some step-by-step pictures. I find it difficult to follow this recipe without having in mind what you are aiming for. Thanks!
 
sarah K. February 11, 2014
Hi Ann - Sorry it seems confusing. There are a few pictures here: http://food52.com/blog/9691-muldoshin-german-apple-pastry
You do roll out a circle, mound the apples, leaving a border. Then fold each side of the circle in (the left and right, if looking down at it), and then fold the top and bottom in, so the apples are fully covered with dough. It's sort of like folding a burrito. The layers are put next to each other in the pan, side by side. I hope that helps!
 
Petite F. March 10, 2014
Awesome the pictures help alot!
 
tortellini February 11, 2014
It definately is Maultaschen, but those are nothing like what you describe here. Maultaschen are boiled pasta sheets filled with meat and spinach amongst other ingredients, a little like big ravioli. They are swabian not bavarian and apples as a filling are unheard of.
Your recipe looks more like a version of "Apfeltaschen" (apple pockets) which are a traditional German pastry. Whatever they are they sound tasty!
 
sarah K. February 11, 2014
Yes, thanks for letting me know! I did see several recipes named 'apple maultaschen' online when I looked up the name. They must not be traditional recipes? And Muldoshin was on our family recipe card for years, so I wanted to keep the name. ;)
 
hewbert February 10, 2014
I believe it's "Maultaschen."
 
sarah K. February 10, 2014
Yes, probably. In the recipe notes I explain: 'As a family, we don't know the correct spelling of this apple pastry; our great-grandma never wrote it on paper, but this is how she pronounced it (it's possible it is a variation of maultachen). This version is my take on great-grandma Eslinger's apple dish...'