Apple Rose

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 35-45 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

3 Pink Rose apples, cored
3 tbsp apricot jam
1 sheet puff pastry
2 tbsp water

Juice from ½ lemon
6 tsp ground cinnamon (for flavouring)

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas Mark 5.
  2. Chop each apple in half and cut into very thin slices.
  3. Place in a microwaveable bowl and cover completely with water and the juice from ½ lemon. Microwave on a low heat for 3 minutes or until the apples have softened a little in texture.
  4. Spoon 3 tbsp of apricot jam into a separate bowl and mix with 2 tbsp water.
  5. Roll out the sheet of puff pastry into a large rectangle, about 24cm in width and 42cm in length.
  6. Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into six strips of 7cm x 24cm.
  7. Lightly brush the wet apricot jam along the length of each strip. It is important not to cover the pastry too much with the mixture as otherwise it will leak and cause the pastry to stick to the mould when in the oven.
  8. Place the apple slices along the long edge of each strip, about 0.5cm beyond the edge of the pastry and overlapping one another ever so slightly.
  9. Sprinkle each strip with 1 tsp of ground cinnamon.
  10. Fold the bottom half of the pastry over the apple slices, leaving the curved edges of the apples visible as these will form the basis of the rose design.
  11. Place six circular food rings – I prefer to use stainless steel ones – on a baking tray. The rings will help the roses to retain their structure while in the oven.
  12. Roll the pastry up from one end to the other to create the floral shape and carefully lower each rose into its individual ring.
  13. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown.
  14. Remove from the oven and check the underside of the rose to ensure the pastry is flaky and sufficiently crisp.
  15. Leave the roses to cool in their rings before running a sharp knife round the edge of each rose to remove it from the mould.
  16. Dust with icing sugar and dig in!