This summer I have been lucky enough to have been invited to two very lovely tea parties. I’m talking about the real deal here with smoked salmon sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, lots of lovely cakes and scones, a choice of beautiful teas and a couple of cheeky glasses of champagne. Afternoon tea is a lovely tradition, not one I have the opportunity to indulge in too often, but a lovely way to get together with friends and loved ones for a proper catch up and to enjoy some delicious food.
The first tea party was hosted by a very dear friend Barbara as an opportunity to get together with some of her girlfriends. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon and she really pushed the boat out for us. I was particularly impressed by some little apple pies that she made which looked like beautiful, icing sugar dusted roses. She confessed they were pretty straightforward to make, so when my mum hosted a tea party too, I decided to make some for us all to share.
This post is photo heavy, and not such great photos at that, but if you decide you’d like to make these, it’s a useful “how to”.
Ingredients (to make 12 mini or 6 large pies)
- 1 pack of all butter puff pastry (ready rolled is easier)
- 2 large red apples
- water
- 2 teaspoons of apricot jam
- a little lemon juice
- a teaspoonful of honey or a heaped teaspoon of sugar
- icing sugar
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C and you will need some cupcake cases to support the pies while they are baking
Start by cutting the apples in half and removing the cores. Slice fairly thinly and put all the slices into a bowl with 3 tablespoons of water, the sugar or honey and about a tablespoon of lemon juice. Mixx, cover the bowl and microwave on high for 3 minutes. You can also do this in a saucepan if you don’t want to use the microwave, simply boil the apples gently in the water, lemon and honey for about 3 minutes.
Whichever method you use, drain the apples and leave them to cool down slightly.
Next, roll out your pastry (if it is not prerolled) into a large rectangle and cut into 6 strips (lengthways). Dust your work surface with a little icing sugar to prevent the pastry from sticking.
Melt the jam with a teaspoon of water (microwave or saucepan).
Working with one strip of pastry at a time, brush the pastry with the melted apricot jam and lay overlapping slices of apple along the edge. Allow a little of the top of the apple slice to come over the top of the pastry strip.
Fold the bottom half of the pastry strip upwards and press down gently.
For large pies, roll up the whole slice (like a snail shell!), for smaller pies, cut the appe and pastry slices in two and roll up into two smaller rolls.
Put them into a cupcake case to support them and bake for about 45 minutes until the pastry is golden.
Allow to cool and dust with icing sugar before admiring your bouquet of apples roses!
Chica Andaluza 
Ooo. I am in love! HAVE TO make these for a tea ASAP! Aren’t they just too beautiful Tanya and I love they are easy to make.
Have a beautiful day and maybe one day if Pete makes another trip to the UK, you and I can enjoy a high tea together.
🙂 Mandy xo
You know me – all about making it simple! Afternoon tea somewhere in the UK with you would be amazing….one day Mandy, one day!
Completely new for me …….I love these cupcakes!
Thanks a lot for this “present”!
Prego! Glad you liked them J
Ooooh they look so pretty, will give them a try. Xxx
I’ll always be happy to be an official taste tester!
Hi Tanya, these look so pretty and Danny says he is going to make them for Clare’s 40th in September. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. xxx
She’d love them – and you can prepare them ahead!
Beautiful Chic! Almost look to pretty to eat but I’m sure I’d manage to snarf down about six of them 😄😍😄😍
I agree – nothing is quite too beautiful to eat. It’s all in the tasting!!
Wow – they look amazing 😉
Ah, thanks but they were a bit cheaty/easy!
Sometimes less is more. They look beautiful and I bet they taste good too 🙂
They did taste good. I also preferred the smaller version as the pastry cooked through to the middle without burning.
They would look stunning as food/decorations at a large catered event, where the food was spread out on a big table, with the little roses in between 😉
Making these has got me thinking about making a savoury version – perhaps thin slices of lightly fried aubergine with a cheese that’s not too melty. Or anchovies with something, or chard, jamon and tomato….will have to do some experimenting. You’re right, they could look pretty impressive on a large scale!
You could launch a whole new type of tapas! All those ingredients sound fantastic to me 🙂
Ramos de tapas de rosas!
I think you might have hit on a very successful new business idea 😉
Oh you are so clever! These are adorable. Totally making these the next time the “girls” come over for tea and knitting.
They would be perfect for tea and knitting!!
Wouldn’t they just! 😉
So pretty, and very unusual. No-one would guess how easy they are to make as they look so impressive.
Thank you for sharing.
Damn, I’m giving away secrets. My mum thought I was so clever 😉
She is right!
Aw…thanks J
Wow incredible, amazing recipe to make a cake filled with extraordinary creations, the result is like a beautiful flower. Probably not to eat but to be decorated in the living room 🙂 hehe
An edible decoration!
Really?????
I think so butI was less creative process food , I berharaf after reading this article I could process the fruit that does not have a single dri
I love a pre-rolled puff pastry – I would make these and for a little savoury item Nigel Slater’s Stilton puff from his 12 tastes of Christmas http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p012m7sg
Ooh Lynn I LOVE that recipe. I don’t think I’ll wait until Christmas to make it…I have some gorgonzola in the fridge that would do well for this!
I will use any cheese available if the urge takes me!
I made these for a High Tea bridal shower! they looked awesome.. I just used my regular sweet dough or Brioche and used my mini muffin tart!
They would be perfect for a Bridal Shower – I bet the bride to be was delighted!
very smart Miss! and I can see myself wolfing a load of those down with a cuppa or as you say a cheeky glass of fizz 🙂
Oh let’s go for the fizz!
Wow, these look amazing and something I’ve wanted to try for a while now 🙂
Well worth doing for the “oohs” and “aahs” you get!
I can’t see myself doing this but it does look pretty….which is probably why I can’t see myself doing this:)
Made me chuckel!
Pretty.
🙂
nice article, I like it
Thank you Raden!
Reblogged this on Chef Ceaser.
Talking of using ready made pastry etc. I am giving these a go this evening: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/01/cookie_dough_and_candy_/ using chocolate chip cookie dough and Reese’s peanut butter cups – yum
Ooh they look fun. Where do you buy the cookie dough? Have never seen it here!
Any good supermarket should have it nowadays, I bought that particular cookie dough at Waitrose. It is usually near the butter, pastry, croissant dough etc. They taste good but I think they could have done with a bit more time in the oven, they are a bit squidgy!
Will hve to look out for it!
I’ve seen these and I think they are so pretty. Great post. I need to try this!
Once I’d had them at my friend’s house, I saw them popping up everywhere!
It seems to be a trend. But that’s ok as they are so pretty! It’s a great presentation.
And here I was, thinking that I was up for learning about a new type of rose in a gardening post! These look simply delicious. I can just imagine them on a high tea tray in a very upmarket establishment Ms Chica.
Next year I will try to grow some !!
Can’t wait. Bypass the cooking phase and pick those lovely crisp, crunchy, sweet gorgeous things straight from the shrub! I will be in line to buy one of them from our local nursery when you patent the technology 😉
Did you ever see the really old April Fool’s gag done by the BBC about the spaghetti harvest? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVo_wkxH9dU
Yeah I did! That was hilarious and no doubt caught a lot of people out 😉
J
These are just gorgeous! I’ve never seen such a thing. Love it. I might make them for my grand daughters first birthday party!!! Do you have to serve them immediately?
No, you can make them ahead. If you cool the cooked pastries then store in an airtight tin they’ll stay crispy until the next day. Just don’t sprinkle the icing sugar on until a couple of hours before serving!
I’d seen something like this somewhere.. I’m so excited you’ve made them. Now I have to try these too. I think they’re just so so pretty! Just my sort of desert. Do the slices soften a bit as they bake?
You soften the slices of apple first by paching or microwaving them for a couple of minutes. They continue to cook in the oven and brown a little at the edges. You do need to do the first poach/microwave stage otherwise you wouldn’t be able to roll the pastry up. Works well and they look so pretty!
Ahhh.. it’s always good to ready through the instruction bit of a recipe before trying it oneself;) Thanks! xx
Oh I’m guilty of that too 😉
Those look amazing and now I have yet another idea to make for the Tapas Nights we host. I don’t usually make a dessert, but these would be perfect.
Oh yes – make the mini version and they would be tapas desserts!
These are adorable! I think I’ll find an excuse to make some – but I promise to give credit to you!! Mmmm… I think my garden club ladies would swoon.
No credit required – I pinched the idea too! That’s the joy of blogging J
Absolutely LOVE this idea Tanya – so clever, pretty and simple too! I’ll be trying this out in the next week or so. 🙂
Glad you liked it – simple but very effective!
I made them tonight for dessert Tanya and they really are fabulous – an absolute hit with the family! Thanks so much for sharing, will be making them again… and again… 🙂
Oh I’m thrilled you made them and most of all, that you enjoyed them!!
Mrs. Chica amazing . She is a true chef woman…
Thank you J
Magnificent and delightful. The photos really help me feel I could attempt to create them. Going to share with some tea lovers.
Oh I’m so pleased! They’re not the greatest photos in the world but I showed them in the hope that it would make other feel just as you say…that you could attempt them!
Broken down in steps makes it possible. Nice!
These are just beautiful! I don’t have any apricot jam on hand, could you recommend another flavor that would be good to use instead? I may have that one! 🙂
Thank-you!
I think any flavour will do – it’s only a small amount you need, just to get the layers to stick together. Do sift out any fruity lumps though to make it smooth and easy to apply!
Thanks so much! I am a long time member of the Farmy Fellowship as you are too, I see. I visit your blog now and then. Lovely recipes! 🙂
Hello Fellow Farmy Fellowship-er! Glad you enjoy the recipes J
This seems terribly clever, and doesn’t it look pretty? 🙂 It just so happens I have a big bag full of apples scrumped from the next door neighbour. I stewed some today but I won’t have time to do anything more till after the wedding. Just… maybe!
Oh stewed apples are so good – especially if they’ve been scrumped!!
Did you make this your self? you are very creative. by the way Where do you come from?
I did make these myself! I lived mainly in London, my family is part English and part Italian, my partner is Spanish and now I live between Spain and England J
Wow – they look amazing 😉
Reply
I’m doing my own proper catch up reading your posts that I’ve missed recently. Wish I could have had the opportunity to make some of the apple roses before we moved from our orchard. They are really lovely and I’m sure delicious.
maybe i have to try to make the apple rose. and then ask for my friends to taste mine. if it tasty maybe i try to sell some apple rose cakes 🙂 hahaha
Good plan!
interesting menu…
good idea :*)
I am in love, thank you for sharing this recipe. I am really like all about apple, i’ll try it later.
thanks for sharing,… it’s beautiful cooking,…
I so wanted to taste the food as good as roses, but what I bear with food like that? :’D
I so wanted to taste the food as good as roses, but what I bear with food like that? :’D haha
Ah PIe Apple.. what a wonderfull recipe..