BEAUTIFUL APPLE ROSE DESSERT
My Apple Roses are a really pretty contemporary dessert that resembling slightly a custard tart, although with an added twist. They are decorated perfectly with slices of sugared red apple and each dessert is made to look like a perfect rose! These Beautiful little desserts are delicious treats. They are easy and fun to make and are great to serve with afternoon tea.
HOW TO MAKE THIS PRETTY DESSERT?
📋 INGREDIENTS IN THE APPLE ROSES
Apples: Always use red apples in this recipe to create the natural colour of a rose. Sweet apple varieties work best in this dessert.
Puff Pastry: I like to use ready-rolled puff pastry when I am making this recipe because it is easy and saves time, but if you have spare time, puff pastry is not too difficult to make from scratch. Scroll down to see the instructions on how to make puff pastry.
Sugar: Use crystal sugar for the glazing because it caramelises better, and fine powder sugar for decorating the apple roses.
Custard: You can make the custard yourself, or you can use a ready-made custard in this recipe.
📖 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Prepare the custard filling for the cakes
I prefer to make the custard at home and use fresh custard in my Apple roses cakes, but store-bought custard works fine with this recipe as long as it is not too runny.
How to make Vanilla custard?
Place 1 cup of milk and vanilla bean paste in a medium saucepan. Cook over high heat and stir continuously until the milk starts to simmer. Remove from the heat.
In a bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of milk, 2 egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch until fully combined into a smooth mixture. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture and continue whisking.
Return the mixture to the saucepan. Place the saucepan on the hob and cook over high heat, while whisking continuously until the mixture becomes thicker.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming on top and let the custard cool completely, then use a stick blender to make the custard with a smooth and silky consistency. If you are in a hurry, you can leave the custard to cool in the fridge.
Step 2: Prepare the puff pastry
I find it easier working with a store-bought rolled sheet of puff pastry because it has the perfect thickness for making the apple roses, and I do not have to roll it myself.
Take the puff pastry out of the fridge a few minutes before using it and do not open it straight away, otherwise, it may crack and get damaged. If that happens, you can fix it by joining the cracked pastry and pressing it on top with your fingers until the pastry gets softer and sticks together. Then roll it with a rolling pin to remove the crease.
Use a mini cake ring or a glass to cut the pastry into round shapes, about 5-6 cm in diameter. You can do that by pressing the cake ring onto the pastry to cut it. I recommend that you work fast because when the puff pastry gets warm, it becomes sticky and very difficult to work with.
If you feel the puff pastry getting sticky to the touch, place it in the fridge for 5 minutes to get harder again, then continue cutting the round shapes.
HOW TO MAKE PUFF PASTRY FROM SCRATCH?
If you choose to make the puff pastry yourself, follow these easy steps below:
Place 227g of unsalted butter in the freezer for 10 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Grate the frozen butter into the flour. Toss the butter into the flour mixture with your hands until well coated.
Drizzle 6 tablespoons of water over the mixture and fold the mixture until it clumps together. Continue adding a tablespoon of water at a time and knead until a loose and crumbling dough forms. The dough should hold when squeezed.
Gently fold the dough a few more times in the bowl until a cohesive mass is formed. Shape into a ½-inch thick square and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a 1/2-inch-thick square. Fold the dough ends inside, like a letter. Turn it to 90 degrees and repeat rolling, folding, rotating and rolling it 3 more times.
Fold the dough back into thirds again, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and then chill for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. You can also freeze the puff pastry dough for up to 2 months.
Step 3: Slice and glaze the apples
Slice the apples into thin even slices, no more than 1cm thick. It is easier to do that with a mandoline, but if you do not own one, use a sharp knife instead. Do not make the apple slices thicker because it will be difficult to fold them.
Cut out the pips and the hard bits in the middle of the apple.
To make the glazing, combine sugar, water, honey and lemon in a heavy-based saucepan. Heat the mixture on the hob and stir until the sugar melts and caramelises slightly.
Glaze the sliced apples in the caramelised mixture for a few minutes until they absorb the flavours and get soft and easy to fold.
Place the glazed apple slices on a piece of baking paper to cool.
Step 4: Assemble the apple roses
Place 3 round pieces of puff pastry to overlap slightly along the inside walls of a muffin mould. Press the overlapped pastry in the bottom of the mould with your fingers to seal any gaps, and make it flat and thinner.
Pipe 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla custard inside the pastry cup.
Arrange 3-4 glazed apple slices on a piece of baking paper to overlap slightly and roll them in the shape of a rose. Trim the bottom of the assembled apples to make it easier to fit inside the puff pastry base.
Assemble as many apple roses as you can make with one puff pastry sheet. I used a pack of 375 g puff pastry flat sheet and managed to make 6 apple roses with it.
When all apple roses are ready and positioned in the cups of the muffin baking tray, sprinkle granulated sugar and cinnamon over them. The sugar will turn into a beautiful caramel when the cakes are baked.
Step 5: Bake the rose cakes
Preheat the oven to 170°C/338°F.
Bake the Apple Roses in the middle of the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Cover with foil if you see the cakes are getting golden brown on top.
🍲 SERVE THIS BEAUTIFUL DESSERT
I like to dust my Apple Roses with powdered (icing) sugar on top because it makes them look pretty but also the icing sugar gives them much-desired sweetness that lacks in the puff pastry. If you are not a fan of icing sugar, you can serve the desserts drizzled with honey or fruit syrup on top. I have a fantastic recipe for Rose Petal Syrup that works wonderfully with this recipe if you want to try it.
Apple rose cakes look very elegant and make a wonderful dessert. You can serve them with ice cream or a light mousse on the side. They are also a beautiful snack that you can have with afternoon tea.
Enjoy! 👨🍳👨🍳👨🍳
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Beautiful Apple Roses Dessert
Equipment
- 1 non-stick or sillicon muffin oven dish
- 1 stick blender
- 1 medium-sized mixing bowl
- 1 saucepan
- 1 mandoline or a sharp knife
- baking paper
Ingredients
For the Vanila Custard:
- 2 cups full-fat milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or liquid essence
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 medium eggs yolks only
For the Honey Glaze:
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 lemon
For the Apple Roses:
- 1 ready-made puff pastry roll (375g)
- 3-4 sweet red apples
- cinnamon and powder sugar for decorating
Instructions
Vanilla Custard:
- Place 1.5 cups of milk and vanilla bean paste in a medium-sized saucepan. Warm it over high heat and stir until the milk starts to simmer. Remove from the hob.
- In a large bowl, whisk the remaining 1/2 cup of milk, the two egg yolks, the sugar and cornstarch to a smooth consistency. Slowly pour the hot milk into the milk and yolk mixture while whisking continuously.
- Transfer the well-combined custard mixture back to the saucepan. Return the saucepan to the hob and cook over high heat, stirring continuously, until the custard becomes thicker. Remove from the hob.
- Leave the custard to cool completely, then whisk it with a stick blender to a smooth texture.
Apple Roses:
- Preheat oven to 170°C/338°F.
- Use a 5-6 cm round cake ring to cut the puff pastry sheet into small circles.
- Brush the muffin moulds with oil, arrange 3 round slices of puff pastry in the muffin mould to overlap slightly in the shape of a flower, and press with the tips of your fingers to flatten and seal the puff pastry pieces and make the dough thinner. Place 1-2 teaspoons of custard inside the pastry flower.
- Wash the apples but do not remove the skin. Cut the apples into 1cm thick slices with a mandoline or sharp knife.
- In a clean saucepan, combine sugar, water, honey and lemon into a saucepan and heat the mixture on the hob at high heat. Glaze the apple slices on both sides for 3-4 minutes until they are soft.
- Place 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla custard inside the puff pastry flower base.
- Arrange the apple slices on a piece of baking paper to overlap, then roll them into a rose-like shape. Trim the bottom to make the apple pieces even and easier to fit inside the pastry cup and place them inside the pastry base. Sprinkle the apple slices with crystal sugar and cinnamon.
- Place the muffin tray with the apple roses in the middle of the hot oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on the roses while baking and cover them with kitchen foil as soon as the pastry turns golden. When the apple roses are ready, take them out of the oven and let them cool for 20 minutes inside the moulds. Decorate the roses with sifted icing sugar on top.
- Serve the mini cakes as a dessert or a snack with a nice cup of tea or coffee.