These little apple roses with puff pastry are elegant but nowhere near as difficult to make as you’d expect. This is one of my favorite apple recipes because it looks so impressive but it’s not too sweet.
These delicate treats resemble beautiful roses. In fact, they’re made from tender apples wrapped in layers of golden, flaky pastry. With just a few basic ingredients and some frozen puff pastry, my apple roses recipe bakes up in a standard muffin pan and creates a dessert that not only tastes delicious but looks like a work of art.
What goes in a puff pastry apple rose?
A puff pastry apple rose consists of a few key components. You probably have most of them in your kitchen.
A puff pastry sheet forms the base, providing light and flaky texture that contrasts beautifully with tender, thinly sliced apples. Sweetness is added with sugar and cinnamon, enhancing the flavor of the apples. When the roses are baked, the thin apple slices take on a tender texture, while the pastry crisps around them. The slices of apple ruffle and fan out as they bake, creating the rose shape. Simple ingredients, beautiful pastries!
Choosing apples for apple roses
The type of apple you select makes a difference to flavor and appearance of your puff pastry apple roses.
For a striking visual effect, choose a red apple like Pink Lady or Honeycrisp. I often use Pink Ladies, but I used a variety called Bravo for the pictured apple roses; it’s large and dark red, with very crisp flesh that doesn’t break down too much when cooked. Red apples add to the rose-like appearance. If you have green apples, your apple roses will still have a beautiful shape if not the rosy color.
Preparing your apple roses with puff pastry
To prepare your apple roses with puff pastry, start by cutting puff pastry sheets into long, thin rectangles. If your pastry seems a little sticky, put it on a lightly floured surface to do this step.
I give the full details in the recipe card below, but my rectangles were roughly 3×10 inches or 8x25cm. This size and rectangular shape is the perfect pastry strip to wrap around the apple slices, and fits just right into muffin pans. Use a very sharp knife to cut the pastry, and cut straight down in a single cut rather than dragging the knife through the pastry. This makes a clean cut and means the layers of pastry will puff and separate more easily in the oven.
Pop the pastry back into the fridge so it stays chilled, and let’s get onto the apples. Use a sharp knife, or use a mandolin if you have one, to thinly slice halved and cored apples. You’re aiming for almost paper-thin slices, but not quite. They need to be just thick enough to have some body, so they don’t disintegrate during cooking. As you cut the slices, pop them into a small bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon juice so they don’t brown too quickly.
Pre-cook the apples to soften
If you have a steam oven, arrange your apple slices on a tray in overlapping rows (10″/25cm long), ready to go on the pastry. Steam the tray of apples for a short time until they’re just pliable enough to be rolled up without breaking. If you don’t have a steam oven, put the apple slices into a bowl and microwave them for 2-3 minutes to soften.
Assemble the puff pastry roses
While you wait for the apples, mix sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle it over the top half of each pastry strip running lengthwise.
When the apples have cooled to room temperature, place apple slices, overlapped, along the top of the pastry strip. Ensure they’re poking up a little further than the edge of the pastry. The bottom half of the pastry will be uncovered; that’s what we want. Make sure to put the rounded, skin side of the apple slices upwards. That’s what will give the red color and rose shape when everything is rolled up and baked.
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Fold the bottom part of the dough up over the apples, so you have a long, skinny double layer of pastry, with the apples and sugar inside it. Roll up each strip of dough, so you’ve got little pinwheels of pastry-apple-pastry. Press the end of the pastry down when you get to the end, to make a neat finish, then put each apple rose, fruit side up, into your greased muffin tin.
Bake your apple roses
Bake your apple roses in a preheated oven until the puff pastry roses are golden brown and the top of the apples has caramelized. This will take around 25-30 minutes in a combi steam oven, or 30-40 minutes in a regular oven.
Variations and substitutions
The beauty of apple roses with puff pastry lies in its versatility. You can experiment with different types of apples to create unique flavors. While a red apple like Pink Lady works wonderfully for its vibrant color and tartness, you can try a sweeter variety like Gala or a more tangy one like Granny Smith. If cinnamon isn’t your thing, switch up the spices, adding a little bit of nutmeg, ginger or cardamom for a different flavor profile.
For something different, skip the cinnamon sugar altogether and use a small smear of apricot or raspberry jam on the pastry instead. It adds a little more sweetness and flavor to the pastries. Just don’t go overboard on the jam as it will bubble and ooze out around the apples if you add too much, and then they won’t be as pretty.
For a more indulgent twist, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side when serving. The cold, creamy texture pairs beautifully with the warm, flaky pastry and tender apples.
Whether you’re making them for special occasions or simply to enjoy with a cup of tea, these puff pastry roses are sure to impress. They’re best eaten fresh, soon after baking. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to a day or two; reheating them briefly will improve the eating quality of any leftover apple roses.
With this easy recipe in your repertoire and some puff pastry dough in your freezer, you’ll be ready to whip up a beautiful and delicious dessert anytime the mood strikes.
Apple Roses with Puff Pastry Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 apples red will give the best colored roses; see notes for recommendations
- 2 sheets puff pastry all-butter frozen sheets, thawed but cold; see notes
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
Combi Steam Oven Method
- Preheat your oven to Steam, 212°F/100°C (100% humidity). Grease 6 cups of a muffin pan really well, and have a shallow, lightweight stainless steel pan ready for the apple slices.
- Cut the pastry into six rectangles (three from each sheet), each measuring roughly 3×10"/8x25cm. Use a very sharp knife and try to cut straight down through the pastry, rather than dragging the knife through it. Cleaner cuts make for puffier layers later on. Return the pastry to the fridge while you prepare the apples.2 sheets puff pastry
- Cut each apple in half through the core. Remove the core, then slice the halves very thinly using a sharp knife or a mandolin. You want the slices to be not quite paper thin, but almost. As you cut, keep the slices together. Get your oven pan, and spread out the slices in rows, overlapping each slice, until you have 6 rows of overlapped apple, each 10"/25cm long. You'll likely have some apple left over, so use the 'best' slices cut from the larger parts of each apple for your rows, and snack on the rest while you work.2 apples
- Put the apples into the preheated oven for 5 minutes. No longer! You're aiming just to par-cook it long enough that it's pliable and able to be rolled up without breaking. Remove the pan from the oven and change your oven settings to Combi Steam, 375°F/190°C, 50% (med) humidity.
- While the apples cool down, mix the cinnamon and granulated sugar in a small bowl. Remove the pastry from the fridge and sprinkle cinnamon sugar over half of each rectangle, running longways.1 tsp cinnamon, 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- Carefully lift each row of cooled apple slices and lay it on top of the cinnamon sugar pastry. The lower half of each pastry rectangle will be uncovered, with the rounded (skin side) edges of the apples lying above the top edge of the pastry. See photos for examples. Fold the other half of the pastry up over the apples, so you have a long, skinny double layer of pastry, with the apples and sugar inside it.
- Roll up each pastry rose, so you've got little pinwheels of pastry-apple-pastry. Press the edge of the pastry down when you get to the end, to make a neat finish, then put each apple rose, fruit side up, into your greased muffin pan.
- Bake the apple roses until the pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. The tops of the apples will start to brown in the last few minutes of cooking, but don't be tempted to pull them too early as the pastry in the centers takes a while to cook through.
- Dust the hot apple roses with powdered sugar and serve barely warm or at room temperature.2 Tbsp powdered sugar
Conventional Oven Method
- Preheat your oven to 400°F/200°C. Grease 6 cups of a muffin pan really well and set aside.
- Cut the pastry into six rectangles (three from each sheet), each measuring roughly 3×10"/8x25cm. Use a very sharp knife and try to cut straight down through the pastry, rather than dragging the knife through it. Cleaner cuts make for puffier layers later on. Return the pastry to the fridge while you prepare the apples.2 sheets puff pastry
- Cut each apple in half through the core. Remove the core, then slice the halves very thinly using a sharp knife or a mandolin. You want the slices to be not quite paper thin, but almost. As you cut, drop each slice into a bowl which has cold water and a squeeze of lemon juice added, to keep the fruit from turning brown.2 apples
- When you're done slicing the apples, drain the lemon water off them and put the bowl into the microwave. Cook on medium-high power for 2-3 minutes, just until the apple slices are a little bendy and pliable. As soon as they're cool enough to handle, arrange the slices in long, overlapping rows so you have 6 rows of apple, each 10"/25cm long. You'll likely have some apple left over, so use the 'best' slices cut from the larger parts of each apple for your rows, and snack on the rest while you work.
- Mix the cinnamon and granulated sugar in a small bowl. Remove the pastry from the fridge and sprinkle cinnamon sugar over half of each rectangle, running longways.1 tsp cinnamon, 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- Carefully lift each row of apple slices and lay it on top of the cinnamon sugar pastry. The lower half of each pastry rectangle will be uncovered, with the rounded (skin side) edges of the apples lying above the top edge of the pastry. See photos for examples. Fold the other half of the pastry up over the apples, so you have a long, skinny double layer of pastry, with the apples and sugar inside it.
- Roll up each pastry rose, so you've got little pinwheels of pastry-apple-pastry. Press the edge of the pastry down when you get to the end, to make a neat finish, then put each apple rose, fruit side up, into your greased muffin pan.
- Bake the apple roses until the pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 30-35 minutes. The tops of the apples will start to brown in the last few minutes of cooking, but don't be tempted to pull them too early as the pastry in the centers takes a while to cook through. If the apple is getting burnt, cover the pan with a loose layer of foil and move it to a lower shelf of the oven.
- Dust the hot apple roses with powdered sugar and serve barely warm or at room temperature.2 Tbsp powdered sugar
Notes
- Puff pastry sheets: I use an all-butter frozen supermarket puff for this recipe. It comes in square sheets measuring approximately 10″/25cm. You’ll need two sheets of this size for the recipe, each cut into thirds.
- Apples: For the photographed apple roses I used an apple variety called Bravo, which is widely available in Australia. I chose it because it cooks beautifully and doesn’t brown as quickly as other varieties once cut. If you’re in other parts of the world, look for a red-skinned apple with good eating qualities. As well as the Bravo apples, I love Pink Ladies for apple roses.
- Cinnamon sugar substitutes: If you don’t want cinnamon apple vibes, you can use a smear of apricot or raspberry jam across the pastry instead. If you go this route, don’t use too much jam. It’ll bubble up and ooze out of the pastry during cooking, which isn’t very pretty.
