Do you have some ready-made puff pastry and a few apples at home? Then let’s go for an ultra simple dessert that looks stunning too: rose-shaped apple tartlets. That’s how I managed to impress my friends at a little dinner at home. It’s pretty, it’s delicious and it’s easy to make, so why hold back? 🙂
Where does this dessert come from?
For the record, it was Alain Passard who created, in 2013, an apple tart shaped like a bouquet of roses (the famous “Bouquet de roses©” tart). In that version, the apple slices are rolled up on themselves and then placed in a puff pastry base.
But the way the apples are cut is different. The chef uses the KitchenAid spiralizer attachment (the one that also lets you make William Lamagnère’s tarte tatin). It’s a fairly expensive attachment but it lets you make lovely things. As an aside, I tried the famous tarte tatin myself last weekend and I hurt myself (badly) :/ The tarte tatin will have to wait a little longer…
What if I don’t have a mandoline?
The simplest thing is to use a mandoline; that way you’ll get very thin apple slices. You’ll then need to plunge them into a bath of water and lemon and put them in the microwave for a few minutes to soften them a little. This way, it will be much easier to roll them.
I’ve already tested this recipe without a mandoline; I used a very sharp little paring knife to cut very thin apple slices. All the same, the result won’t be as neat as with a mandoline. You may need more than 3 minutes in the microwave to soften them. The test is simple: take an apple slice and roll it up on itself; if it breaks, it’s not ready yet. In that case, put the apples back in the microwave for a bit.
Which apples should I choose?
Ideally, I recommend using Pink Lady. Firstly because they hold up well when cooked, and secondly because they sport a lovely red colour. In this recipe, you must not remove the skin from the apples. The pinkish-red colour will therefore show and it’s really very pretty.
If you really can’t find Pink Lady, you can use Golden apples, which also stand up well to cooking, but you won’t get that lovely pink colour.
Which pastry should I use?
For this recipe, you’ll need puff pastry. Of course, the ideal is to use homemade puff pastry (that’s what I used here, I had some left in the freezer). But rest assured, a shop-bought all-butter puff pastry will do the job very well (I recommend Picard’s puff pastries, which are very good quality).
Ingredients & preparation
1 component · Full recipe
Tartlets
Ingredients
- 2 sheets puff pastry (shop-bought or homemade)
- 4 red apples (Pink Lady)
- water
- lemon juice
- apple compote
- sugar
- cinnamon
- vanilla powder
- icing sugar
Preparation
1
Keep the puff pastry in the fridge — it will be difficult to work with if it warms up.
2
Rinse the apples without peeling them. Cut in half, then remove the core and seeds.
3
Slice the apples very thinly using a mandoline — be very careful with your fingers.
4
Place the apple slices in a bowl, cover with water and add the juice of one lemon to prevent them from oxidising.
5
Microwave for approximately 3 minutes to soften the apples and make them easier to work with, then drain. Unroll the puff pastry and cut into horizontal bands approximately 5 cm (2 in) wide.
6
Using a small offset spatula, spread a very small amount of apple compote over the entire length of the band.
7
Arrange the drained apple slices on the top half of the band, overlapping them slightly.
8
Mix the sugar with a little cinnamon and vanilla powder, then sprinkle some of this mixture over the band.
9
Fold the lower half of the pastry up over the apples. Then roll the band around itself to form a rose shape and immediately place it in a buttered muffin tin. If the centre of the rose is not tight enough, tuck a small extra apple slice, rolled up on itself, into the middle. Repeat until all the pastry and apples are used up.
10
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C / 350°F for approximately 40 minutes.
11
Unmould and leave to cool on a wire rack. Before serving, dust with icing sugar.
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