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! 👨‍🍳👨‍🍳👨‍🍳