Apple roses are made out of delicious apple slices, and then baked in the oven in a golden brown puff pastry crust. Learn how to make apple roses with puff pastry, a beautiful and comforting apple dish to get you through the cold days of winter.

What more could a gardener want in the off season other than edible rose art to fill the flower void.
The gardening off season is a time to dream, plan and create. While the garden is sleeping deep under the snow, I often find myself drawn to edible flowers and delectable flower creations in the kitchen.
Beautiful edible roses can be made from a number of fruits and vegetables. This easy recipe however tops the list with delicious apples and cinnamon in a buttery flaky crust.
This apple rose pastry is one of my favourite apple desserts.
Puff pastry roses are such fun to make, and in the end you will be rewarded with a beautiful bouquet of roses, without ever having stepped out into the garden to harvest these delicious blooms.
How Do You Make An Apple Rose?
An apple rose is made by thinly slicing pieces of an unpeeled apple, with either a very sharp knife or a mandolin slicer. The slices must be thin enough to have some flexibility and to be able to be rolled together. In order to shape the apple slices into a rose, the pieces are lined out in a row with each slice partially overlapping the next, and then slowly rolled together into the shape of a flower.
They key to having rollable apple slices is to make paper-thin slices. These are easily created using a mandolin slicer.
Warming the slices up by placing them in a pot of hot water for several minutes also helps the pieces to become softer and more pliable for rolling.
As if by magic, after being rolled together, the apple slices are transformed into the petals of a flower, or in this case a rose.
The fine edging of red peel that was left on the slices helps to contribute to the colour and depth of the flower.
How To Make Apple Roses With Puff Pastry
I used my apple cider syrup in this recipe to enhance the apple flavour of this dish and to add some extra sweetness. The apple cider syrup also helped to keep the apple slices together during the rolling process, and worked very well.
Equipment
- sharp knife or mandolin slicer
- large sized bowl
- regular size muffin tin or muffin cups, or baking container
- apple corer
- pot of hot water
- pizza cutter
Ingredients
- 2 or 3 red apples, with peel left on
- juice of one lemon, to help prevent oxidation and browning of the apple slices
- two cups of water
- cinnamon 1 tsp
- brown sugar 1 tbsp
- white granulated sugar 1 tbsp
- apple cider syrup 2 tbsp, or substitute with jelly of your choice
- 2 rolls of puff pastry- I used store bought
Directions
Prepare The Apple Slices
- Wash and dry your apples.
- Core the apples to allow for easier slicing.
- Add two cups of water to a bowl, and add the juice of one lemon to the bowl of water. This lemon water will help to prevent the apple slices from turning brown.
- Cut apples into thin slices, ensuring that the skin is left on the outer edges of each slice. This will add an attractive red color to the apple roses when they are cooked, and will also help the apple petals to maintain their shape.
- As the apple slices are being made, place the sliced apples into the bowl of lemon juice mixed with water, and cover completely to prevent browning.
- When all the apple pieces have been sliced, transfer them into a pot of boiling hot water for several minutes to soften them up. This will give the pieces some flexibility for rolling.
- Once the pieces have softened, place them back into the lemon water until ready to use.
Prepare The Puff Pastry
- Once the apples are sliced and softened it's time to prepare the puff pastry. This step is very easy, especially if you are using already prepared dough.
- Using a flat surface, roll the puff pastry sheet out onto a lightly floured work surface.
- Cut the pastry into long strips of dough approximately 2 to 3 inches wide, using a pizza cutter.
- Next combine the cinnamon, and white and brown sugars together. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the puff pastry.
Laying The Ingredients On The Puff Pastry
- Before laying down the slices of apple, dab the lemon water from the sides of the pieces so that they are not too moist. You can use a paper towel for this.
- Next take the slices of apple and lay them out in a single layer lengthwise along the strip of dough. Individually lay each apple slice so that they are overlapping, and also make sure that half of the apple slice is hanging over the pastry edge.
- These parts hanging over the edge are the rose petals. This step is key to making a rose shape similar to roses in the garden.
- On the bottom part of the dough there should be an edge of pastry left for folding up over the apples. This folded edge will help to keep the apple petals together as the flower is rolled.
- At the base of the slices, spread the apple cider syrup, or your chosen jelly. This will help to meld the flower base together.
- Roll the bottom edge of the pastry up over the bottom of the row of apple slices.
Rolling The Apple Roses
- Now it's time to roll the apple roses. Carefully roll pastry and apple slices together lengthwise to form the apple roses with the puff pastry base.
- Place in a prepared muffin tin sprayed with vegetable oil. You can also place in a baking dish.
- Bake at 375°F for 30 to 40 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
- Remove the muffin pan or baking dish from the oven and place on a cooling rack until the apple roses have cooled down.
- If you want to eat them while they are still slightly warm, add some vanilla ice cream and enjoy.
Other Variations Of This Recipe
Add cream cheese to the base of the apple slices before folding over the pastry crust.
- This simple cream cheese addition will change the recipe slightly, and yet is just enough to add a whole other flavour to your apple rose pastry.
Another variation is to soak your apple slices in mulled wine, and give the petals a glorious red colour before baking them.
- Slice apples into thin pieces and place in the mulled wine. Boil for two to three minutes, then allow to cool, and soak for several hours before designing your apple roses.
- The longer the soak in the mulled wine, the deeper the color of the roses.
Storing Apple Roses In Puff Pastry
This is a make ahead dessert that can be made and stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for several days if necessary.
I find however that these delicious apple blooms never last that long.
Fresh out the oven with some cold vanilla ice cream on top of the warm apple roses is our favourite way to eat them.
Apple Roses Recipe
Apple Roses With Puff Pastry Recipe
Apple roses are made out of sweet apple slices and baked in a puff pastry crust. What more could a gardener want in the off season other than edible rose art to fill that flower void. Learn how to make apple roses in puff pastry, a beautiful and comforting apple dish to get you through the cold days of winter.
Ingredients
- 2 or 3 red apples, with peel left on
- juice of one lemon, to help prevent oxidation and browning of the apple slices
- cinnamon 1 tsp
- brown sugar 1 tbsp
- white granulated sugar 1 tbsp
- apple cider syrup 2 tbsp, or substitute with a jelly of your choice
- 2 rolls of puff pastry- I used store bought
- two cups of water
Instructions
- Wash and dry your apples.
- Mix the lemon juice and water together in a large bowl
- Cut and core the apples to allow for easier slicing.
- Slice the apples into thin slices, ensuring that the skin is left on the outer edges of each slice. This will add an attractive colour to the apple roses when they are cooked, and will also help the apple petals to maintain their shape.
- As the apple slices are being made, place the thin slices into the bowl of water and lemon juice to prevent them from browning.
- When the apples are all sliced, place them into a pot of hot boiled water to soften them up for the rolling process. They will begin to soften after several minutes in the hot water.
- Remove from the hot water and place back into the lemon water until ready to use.
- Once the apples are sliced and softened it's time to prepare the puff pastry. This step is very easy, especially if you are using already prepared dough.
- Roll the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface in a long strip. Cut the puff pastry into 2 to 3 inch wide long strips.
- Next combine the cinnamon, and white and brown sugars together. Sprinke the sugar mixture over the pastry.
- Before placing the apple slices on the pastry it's a good idea to dab them off on each side as they are removed from the lemon water. I used a paper towel to remove the extra moisture.
- Next take the apple slices and lay them out onto one side of the pastry. Individually lay each apple slice overlapping them slightly, and allowing part of each slice to hang over the pastry edge.
- On the side opposite the slices there should be an edge of pastry left for folding up over the apples. This folded edge will help to keep the apple petals together as the flower is rolled.
- At the base of the slices, spread the apple cider syrup, or jelly of your choice. This will help to meld the flower base together and add some sweetness to the pastry.
- Roll the bottom edge of the pastry up over the bottom of the apple slices.
- Now it's time to roll the apple roses. Carefully roll the pastry and apple slices lengthwise to form the apple roses with the puff pastry base.
- Place in prepared muffin tins sprayed with vegetable oil.
- You can also place into a baking dish if you do not have muffin tins.
- Bake at 375°F for 30 to 40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
- Remove the pan from the oven and place on a rack until the apple roses have cooled down.
Notes
If you want to eat the apple roses with puffed pastry while they are still warm, just add some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to the warm roses and savour the flavour of these delicious flowers.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 94Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 38mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 2gSugar: 13gProtein: 1g
Please note: This nutritional information is an estimation only. Please calculate your exact brands and ingredients for better accuracy
Conclusion
This recipe is just so easy to make, and the pastries are very impressive.
One of the best things about this recipe is creating the apple roses, and making edible art.
There is something very special and artistic about creating apple roses in puff pastry. They are like little mini apple pies with a twist.
Puff pastry apple roses are the perfect treat for any special occasion, like Mother’s day or Valentines.
Make this recipe for a special day, and your efforts will be noticed.
Instead of giving roses, give them delicious apple roses in puff pastry, homemade just for them.
Have you ever made apple roses with puff pastry? Be sure to leave a comment below to share your experience!
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