Apple rose cake

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 125 g butter
• 75 g sugar
• 1 egg(s)
• 200 g flour
• 50 g almonds, ground
• 1 pinch of salt
• 500 ml milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 1 vanilla pod(s)
• 4 tbsp cornstarch
• 6 red apples with soft skin
• 1 lemon(s)
• n. B. water
• Fat and flour for the mold

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 3 hours 15 minutes

First, make the shortcrust pastry, as it needs to be chilled before baking. Cut the cold butter into pieces and place it in a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, egg, flour, ground almonds, and a pinch of salt, and mix everything together using the dough hook of a mixer. Then knead the dough with your hands until smooth and wrap in cling film. Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, make the vanilla cream. Take about 50 ml of the milk and mix it with the cornstarch until smooth. Separate the eggs and whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl. Heat the remaining milk and sugar in a saucepan, slowly adding the egg yolks. Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla pod and add them to the milk. You can also add the pod to the pan to intensify the vanilla flavor. When the milk boils, reduce the heat, remove the vanilla pod, and add the cornstarch mixture. Whisk until the cream reaches a smooth consistency. Set aside until ready to fill the cake. Preheat the oven to 175°C (top/bottom heat). Grease and flour a tart or springform pan. Roll out the shortcrust pastry until it’s slightly larger than the pan. Lift the pastry into the pan and press down on the edges. Remove any excess pastry to reinforce the sides. Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork and weigh it down with baking balls to prevent bubbles from forming. You don’t need to use baking balls, but you should be careful that the edges don’t collapse and become too short. Then blind bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. Then fill with the vanilla cream. Now comes the most challenging part: making the apple roses. I didn’t use all of the apples, so I recommend preparing only 3-4 apples to save yourself unnecessary effort. Perhaps my roses weren’t densely packed enough, which resulted in so many leftovers, but that didn’t affect the appearance or taste. Quarter the apples and slice or slice thinly (1-2 mm). The thinner the slices, the easier it will be to form the rose. For the outer petals, cut a few slightly thicker slices (approx. 3 mm). The skin must remain on to maintain the colorful rose effect. Collect the leaves in a bowl, sprinkle with lemon juice and a little sugar. Then blanch the slices briefly in boiling water to make them more pliable. It’s best to spread them out on a large board or similar surface afterwards so they cool quickly and you always have the right size at a glance. To form the roses, start with very thin slices and roll them up. After you have a small bud, I found it helpful to place it in one hand and drape the other leaves, gradually getting thicker, around them. If the rose becomes unstable due to its size, don’t panic. You can place it, even if it’s still small, into the pudding and add more leaves around it, as the pudding provides a good grip. You can make as many roses as will fit on the cake, or, if you prefer, leave gaps between them. Of course, you’ll need fewer apples for that. Bake the cake in the oven at 175°C (top/bottom heat) for another 30 minutes, until the roses turn dark red. Before you impress your guests with this cake, it’s best to chill it and take a photo.