Shortcrust Pastry: Rose Cake for Valentine’s Day

Preparation:

1. Wash and dry apples. Fill a larger saucepan with water and add salt. Wash the lemon and orange, cut into slices and add to the water with the cinnamon sticks and cloves. Let everything cook for 15 minutes. Drain the rum raisins in a colander
2. In the meantime, prick out the core of each apple. Cut 1 apple into very thin slices. Cut the remaining 4 apples into 3-4mm thick slices. Remove the citrus water from the hob, place thin apple slices in a saucepan and sieve the citrus water over them. Let it steep for 10 minutes. Take out the slices and dry them on a paper towel.
3. Place the thicker slices in the citrus water, bring to the boil once, turn off the heat and let it steep for 20 minutes. Then, like the thin slices, remove them and dry them on paper towels.
4. Mix the flour with baking powder and sift on the work surface. To press a hollow in the middle. Put salt + sugar in there like the egg. Spread the cold butter in large pieces on the edge of the flour.
5. Use a fork to stick the egg with sugar. If there is nothing liquid left, work the butter / margarine under the egg mixture with a fork. Work in the last remaining flour with the help of a pastry card. At the very end, knead the shortcrust pastry into a ball with the help of your hands, wrap it in cling film and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.

Annotation:

1. A shortcrust pastry should always be processed as cold as possible so that it becomes crispy and crumbly after baking.

Completion:

1. Roll out the cooled dough on a lightly floured work surface approx. 30x30cm. My heart shape is 26cm in diameter. Place the heart in the middle and cut it out. Then cover the form with baking paper, lightly grease the edges and line the base with the dough cut out in the shape of a heart.
2. Cut strips 3cm wide from the rest of the remains and cover the edges with them. Establish a connection to the heart base and press it on. Prick the base several times with a fork (so that it bakes evenly and does not curl). Brush with the jelly and spread the ground hazelnuts and the granulated sugar on top. Finally spread the applesauce on the base.
3. Preheat the OVEN to 180 ° hot air (or 200 ° top / bottom heat). Baking takes place on the middle rack with hot air (and on the bottom one with top / bottom heat). The baking time is 30 minutes in both cases.
4. Now form roses out of the apple slices and cover the entire base with them. Starting with a thin strip of apple that forms the heart of the rose. Then roll up as many slices over the core until the rose is the desired size. Put in the applesauce. Continue until the bottom is completely covered with apple roses.
5. Put a rum raisin in the middle of each rose. Use a spatula to evenly press the edge of the dough above the roses down to the height of the roses. Put the form in the oven and bake the cake.
6. After baking, take the cake out of the oven, sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of sugar (depending on your taste) on the apple roses. Loosen and remove the baking paper. Place the cake on a wire rack with a cake saver and let it cool completely. Before serving, dust the edge of the cake with icing sugar. Serving with whipped vanilla or cinnamon cream would be perfect.

Note:

1. I used a Braeburn apple here. The bowl is perfect for making rose petals from it. Keeps its shape very well even after baking. However, it should be noted here that this apple is not particularly sweet, so it also needs the specified sugar.