How to Make Apple Roses – the Dainty, Delectable, Drool-Inducing Dessert

Apple desserts have always been a great love of mine. Apple pie, apple tart, apple strudel, apple crumble, apple Danish… You name it, I’ll eat it (as long as it doesn’t have raisins in it!). So, of course, as I was searching for new dessert recipes, the name “Apple Roses” practically jumped out onto my face from the computer screen. I’m so excited about these little apple bundles – not only will they taste delicious, but they’re really simple to make (yet look like you made a big effort), and they just look so gorgeous and elegant. Remember, we eat with our eyes first!

Video instructions

To make six roses, you will need:

• 2 red apples
• Frozen puff pastry sheet (thawed)
• Bowl of water (just enough to cover the apple slices)
• Juice of half a lemon
• 3 tablespoons apricot preserve/jam
• 2 tablespoons water
• Flour (just enough to sprinkle your work surface)
• Cinnamon
• Powdered sugar (optional, for decoration)

Top Tips:

My knife skills aren’t nearly advanced enough to cut such perfectly uniform thin slices of apple, so if you’re like me (prone to accidents), you can use a mandolin instead – the kitchen utensil, not Captain Corelli’s musical instrument.

Apple and apricot truly is a match made in taste bud heaven, but if you’re not a fan of this particular stone fruit then just substitute it with peach, plum or berry preserve, for example, or even something as simple as honey. You just need that little something to help bring out the sweetness of the apples.

If you find that the tops of your apples are burning in the oven, don’t reduce the cooking time to try prevent it – you need all that time for the pasty to cook through. What you can do instead is just cover them with tin foil for protection after about 30 minutes (or when they start to burn) and place them on a lower rack in the oven.

Recipe and video by Manuela M Youtuber.