Apple Rose Tartlets (Makes 12)

Ingredients:

For the pie crust:

·       225g (8 oz) plain flour

·       3 tsp caster sugar

·       110g (4 oz) unsalted butter (plus a little extra for greasing the tin if using non-stick)

·       60ml (2 fl oz) chilled water

 For the filling:

·       2 large apples

·       3 tbsp lemon juice

·       4 tbsp apple puree + 1 tbsp apricot jam for glazing

·       1 tbsp cinnamon

Method:

1.     Pre-heat your oven to 180 C / 350 F and start by making the dough.

2.     In a medium bowl, combine flour and sugar. Stir to combine. Add in the butter and break it up with your fingers so it looks like breadcrumbs and there are no pieces of butter larger than the size of a pea.

3.     Add in a little water (about 20ml) and stir to combine. The mixture should just come together into a ball – if it seems dry, keep adding the water until it becomes dough.

4.     Form the dough into a disc, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.

5.     On a well floured surface, roll out the dough to 1cm thick. Use a biscuit cutter, a cup or a bowl and cut out rounds of dough. Fit each round into the cup of a cupcake tin and place back in the fridge to chill while you work on the apple filling.

6.     To cut the apples and remove the core, place the apple upright and make straight cuts. Repeat on the remaining sides, you should have 2 large pieces, 2 small pieces and the core.

7.     Using a sharp knife, cut the apples very thinly into half moons. Toss the apples with the lemon juice and cinnamon and then microwave the apples for about 1 minute, until soft enough to roll.

8.     Remove the apples from the microwave and while they cool, place about ½ tsp of applesauce inside each pastry cup.   

9.     To form the apple roses, place about 10 slices of apples on a flat surface, laying them out horizontally with the skin side facing you. Place each slice so it overlaps the previous slice by half. Begin tightly rolling the apples from one end to the other. Once you've got the basic rose shape, pick up the apples and add any additional apple "petals" around the outside, depending on how large you want the rose to be.

10.  Put an apple rose in each cup of the muffin tin and bake for 25-30 minutes until crust is golden and apples are cooked through.

11.  Once cooked and cooled, brush with some warm apricot jam.