Apple Rose Tartlets

1) Place the drip tray / baking tray in the Panasonic Electric oven and preheat on  at 220°C for both upper and lower tubes.

2) Make the syrup by combining the ingredients in a ceramic bowl and heating in a microwave oven for 30 – 60 seconds until sugar is melted. Set aside.

3) Cut the apples in half, remove the cores and slice each half thinly, crosswise.

4) Place the apples on a ceramic plate and heat in the microwave oven for 1 minute (or more if necessary) until apple slices soften.

5) Drain the apples thoroughly using a strainer. Dab dry any excess moisture with a kitchen towel.

6) Cut the puff pastry into 6 strips of equal width.

7) Warm the apricot conserve in the microwave oven. In a separate bowl, mix the ground almond, sugar and cinnamon.

8) Brush some apricot conserve over a strip of pastry and sprinkle with almond mixture.

9) Lay out apple slices in rows and brush the upper, rounded, half sections with syrup. Lay apple slices, syrup-side facing down (without syrup touching the pastry if possible), along the length of the pastry, overlapping each apple slice at the mid-section, with the rounded ends jutting out of the pastry. The apples should be sitting along half the width of the pastry. Brush a little syrup on the apple slices protruding out of the pastry.

10) Fold the half-section of the pastry that is without apples, to cover the lower section of the apples that is sitting on the pastry. Roll up the pastry carefully and place into a muffin / cupcake mould with the exposed apple slices pointing upwards. Repeat with the remaining apples and pastry.

11) Place the tartlets onto the preheated baking tray and bake for 20 minutes. Turn the oven setting to – with the upper tube off and the lower tube at 220°C and bake for another 25 minutes.

12) Remove the tartlets from their moulds and cool on a cooling rack. Dust with snow powder or icing sugar before serving.