(Photography: Tim Roberts, Styling: Michele Cranston)
Looking for the perfect recipe for entertaining thats both delicious and impressive? Try making these puff pastry roses two ways – a sweet option with apple and raspberry and a savoury option with zucchini and bacon. It’s guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser.
Ingredients
Method
Make rough puff pastry.
Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan-forced. Grease a 12-hole (1/3-cup capacity) muffin pan.
Line two trays with baking paper. On a lightly floured bench, roll pastry out to a 25cm x 72cm rectangle about 3mm thick. Cut into 12 strips 6cm wide. Arrange six strips on each tray and refrigerate until needed.
For apple and raspberry roses, cut apple in half. Scoop out core and seeds using a melon baller and discard. Thinly slice apple crossways into 2–3mm slices. Transfer to a bowl with lemon juice and cover with cold water. Microwave on HIGH for 2–3 minutes or until apple is soft but still tender. Drain. Pat dry with paper towel and cool.
Remove one tray of pastry strips from the fridge. Brush pastry strips with butter, then spread with jam (about 1 teaspoon each). Working with one strip at a time, arrange apple slices, slightly overlapping and with the skin overhanging, along one long edge of the pastry. Fold the opposite long edge of the pastry over the apple. Starting from one short end, roll up to enclose, then put the pastry rose in a muffin pan hole. Repeat with remaining sweet ingredients.
For zucchini and bacon roses, remove remaining pastry strips from the fridge. Brush with beaten egg. Working with one strip at a time, arrange zucchini slices, slightly overlapping and with the skin overhanging, along one long edge of the pastry. Sprinkle bacon and cheese along the zucchini. Fold the opposite long edge of the pastry over the zucchini, bacon and cheese. Starting from one short end, roll up to enclose, then put the pastry rose in a muffin pan hole. Repeat with remaining savoury ingredients.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and bases are crisp. Stand for 2–3 minutes, then remove from pan. Dust apple roses with icing sugar.
Tip to make ahead
Make and roll the roses, then freeze until needed. Add an extra 5–10 minutes to the cooking time when cooking from frozen.
Want to make it vegetarian?
To make the savoury roses meat free, omit the bacon and add 1 tablespoon of roughly chopped thyme or rosemary.
How to roll them up
When rolling up the filled pastry strips, be careful not to roll them too tightly, otherwise they won’t cook through evenly.
Get a cheaper alternative
If you find butternut pumpkin isn’t good value, substitute with sweet potato.
