I know these are all over the internet but I have never made them and wanted to see if they were easy to make and a good option for afternoon tea.

I love having friends over for afternoon tea and cake, it is always a relaxed affair where you can gobble cake and drink copious amounts of tea and natter about rubbish. Everyone feels happy when they leave too, full of something sweet and delicious and having had a good old chin wag. It means you can include your friends who are parents too as they don’t need to worry about getting a baby sitter and the children are normally delighted to be allowed cake too.

The best apples to use are pink ladies as they have a gorgeous red tinge to them which is perfect for the rose petals. Also most of the recipes I found use apricot jam, I didn’t have any so used raspberry, and to be honest I prefer this jam choice anyway.

Ingredients: (Makes 8)

2 packets of puff pastry
2 – 3 pink lady apples
half lemon
icing sugar
ground cinnamon
jam (apricot, raspberry, blueberry)
melted butter for lining the muffin tray

Heat the oven to 200 degrees.

Take a microwave proof bowl and add some water and the juice of half a lemon and core your apples and finely slice them. Make sure you keep the skin on as this is half the point of making these. Put the apple slices into the water and cover the bowl and microwave for 4 minutes. Remove the apples from the water and dry in a clean tea towel.

Brush the melted butter in the muffin tin ready for your apple roses.

With your puff pastry roll it out a little larger/ thinner (add a couple of centimetres per side). across the top long length of the rectangle of puff pastry put a layer of jam and a small sprinkling of cinnamon then lay your apples across slightly over lapping. Use the length of 8 slices of apple then cut off any excess pastry on this length. Cut the pastry under the apples so that you have enough to fold 3/4 of the way up the apples.

Take one end and tightly roll all the way along making sure no slices of apple pop out. Place each one into the pre buttered muffin tin and put into the oven. Check after 15 minutes and if the apples are starting to colour cover with tin foil and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Your pastry should looked coloured and easily come out of the muffin tins, if not cook for a further 5 – 10 minutes.

Let them cool on a wire rack and dust with icing sugar before serving.