This rose decoration is from a photo that I saw on internet, not in cupcake size but bigger size! As I wanted to make something for my husband's colleagues, so I tried to make one.... it turns out nicely, yay :)
Now let me share my observation and things to be careful when you make this rose apple tart.
I think the most important thing to be careful is to cook the apple slices, so that they won't break when you make them in rose shape.
Ingredients (11" ring mould)
3.5-4 medium size apples
2tbsp cane sugar
1tbsp honey
3tbsp water
cinnamon or nutmeg (add more or less according to your flavor)
300g Short crust pastry
*6" mould needs about 2-2.5 apples
Instructions
1. Roll out the pastry flat and evenly, place it on a ring mould or any tart mould
Use a fork to pinch some holes on the dough surface
Store in the fridge for the moment
2. Cut the apples into half, trim the top, bottom and the middle part of the apples,
Carefully cut them into thin slice, I tried to slice them into about 0.1-0.2cm in average... but don't worry, once they are cook, they become soft. Try to slice them as thin as you can
3. In a pan, put the 2/3 sliced apples (all small & medium slices should be cooked), sugar, honey and water
Bring it to boil, then keep it at low heat, let it cook for 3-5mins or until they are soft => you can tell by the texture and color
ATTENTION: you'll notice they are in different sizes, try to sort them into different sizes, for example, place the same size on the same plates
Note 1: using a pan is better than a pot because you can spread them out instead of stacking all together, you will find it less chance to break them
Note 2: the thinner slices are easier to cook, so when they are cook, remove them from the pan, I used chopsticks to help, I think better not to use fork to pinch them, you might use a clip...
4. Once you take out all the apple slices from the pan to a plate, you'll notice water remains on the pan, do not throw it away, you can add some honey, stir constantly and let it cook until you start seeing many small bubbles start popping out, turn the heat off immediately => then you make the topping (to glaze the apple tart at the end)!
Cover it and set it aside
Note: If you found the topping is rather sticky, you can add water: drop by drop! otherwise it will become watery again
5. When the apple slices are cooled down or you are able to touch it without burning your fingers, you can start laying the slices on the tart dough
6. We start the rose from the middle and spread it outward
We start with the small size (but not the smallest one, keep them until the end), take one slice and roll it tightly, hold it, take another one to cover the first one tightly
Repeat the same process until you can't hold the rose any more, you can try to place it in the middle of the dough, normally it will stick to one another nicely
7. Each time you add one more slices, make sure you overlap the previous one, at least half of the size of the previous one, so that they look nice
8. When you lay the fresh apple slices, you might find it difficult to stick to the previous slice, but be patient, try to overlap more to the previous one and use a hand to hold it and another hand grab slices and lay them
When you come to the last big slice on the dough, you will notice that there will be only the smallest ones left
You can now place them on the edge and hide them
You might also notice that the slices are all standing up straight especially the outer part around the tart, if that's the case, gently press down the fresh slices towards the edge, it looks more natural like the flower is blooming
This is how it looks before baking
9. Now you can put the tart back to the fridge for 1-2hours to let the dough relax
10. After 1-2hrs, preheat the oven at 180°c, when it's ready, put the tart into the oven and bake for:
Medium size (6") = about 25-30mins
Large size (11") = about 40mins
If you think the tart edges are not in golden color but the apple starts looking burn, you can:
i/ Turn the oven function to "heat only at the bottom". If you don't have this function, you might need aluminium foil to cover the surface, but I am afraid that would stick on the surface. When you remove the foil, you might pull out the slices as well...
ii/ Remove the ring and put it back to the oven until you see the edge turns golden color
11. When the tart is cooled down, remember the topping, glaze the top with a brush - to keep the tart shiny and look nice. Also it adds some sweetness especially to the fresh apple slices at the outer part of the tart
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Q: You might also encounter this problem - You finish laying all the apple slices but you don't have enough apple slices to lay on the rest of the dough. What should you do?
A: Do not panic. Take out 1 fresh apple or more if you think you need more, repeat step 2 cut them into slices. In this case, you won't cook them but try to slice them thin so it won't break easily.
If you can fit the small ones between the layers or at the edge, go ahead and do it, or you can eat them all :)
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Q: You might find 1/2 apple or more left, what to do with them?
A: 1. You can eat them fresh
2. If they are not cook, make detox water - put them in a jar with cinnamon stick (ONLY, not powder) OR with other fruits such as lemon slices... fill the jar with 1L water and let it sit for few hours before serving!
Enjoy!
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