April 23rd is one of my favourite days of the year, as we celebrate Sant Jordi in Catalonia. You could also call it Books and Roses Day as it is tradition to give a rose and a book to your loved ones, so in all towns, the streets are full of stalls with the most amazing roses and books, especially in Barcelona. This year, being in Germany, I was really sad to miss this day, so I decided to fill my day with books (no surprise here) and roses. Husband surprised me with this gorgeous bouquet and then I baked some apple roses to have a proper celebration.
This recipe is really easy to make and the result is amazing. Not only they look gorgeous, they taste as good as they look!
1) Preheat oven to 190º. Cut the apples in half and take out the core. Then slice them as thinly as possible. In a bowl, put some water and add the lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon. Add the apple slices and put them on bain-marie until they are tender (you can also microwave them for 45-50 seconds, it'll be quicker).
2) Roll out the puff pastry and cut it in 6 cm wide strips.
3) In a small bowl, mix the jam with a couple of tablespoons of water and spread it over the strips. Then place the apple slices lengthwise in a straight line, overlapping slightly. And fold up the bottom part.
4) Roll the dough tightly to form the rose shape. Press the edge to seal. Grease a muffin/cupcake tin and put the apple roses in it. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the pastry is golden.
5) Serve with some icing sugar sprinkled on top and enjoy! The roses can easily be rewarmed on the oven for about 8-10 minutes.
I was really pleased to see how well they turned out and they were delicious! Husband, who is not a big fan of desserts with apple, loved them. That's what I call a success!
