Apple rose with caramel biscuit, candied fennel seeds, apple caramel and fennel sorbet

Here is a recipe for a wonderful apple rose dessert from our 2022 Christmas menu, a dish that makes for a really nice finale to a meal as it’s both beautiful and tasty. Apple and caramel marry nicely, and the combination with the fennel sorbet and the candied fennel seeds means that the dessert isn’t too sweet. Quite an adult dish actually! To make your life easier we recommend you make the sorbet in advance. As you can see in the picture, we served half an apple rose per person, as the guests had already eaten 3 courses prior to the dessert, in this scenario the recipe serves 10 guests.

Fennel sorbet

• 7 g       Fennel seeds
• 4 g       Star anise
• 450 g   Milk
• 100 g   Sugar
• 45 g     Glucose syrup
• 4,4 g    Agar
• 450 g  Sour cream

Toast the fennel seeds and star anise until the spices start to colour. Cook milk, sugar, glucose syrup and the spice mixture for about 15 minutes. Add agar agar and bring to a boil. Strain and cool down to room temperature. Mix the batter with the sour cream and fill in an ice cream container. Place in the Electrolux Blastchiller (or freeze on the quick-freeze shelf).

Caramel biscuit

• 225 g    Butter
• 200 g   Brown sugar
• 160 g    Caster sugar
• 2           Eggs
• 240 g   Plain flour
• 8 g        Bicarbonat of soda
• 0,5 tsp Salt

Set the oven to 180°C. Whisk the butter, brown sugar and caster sugar until fluffy. Add one egg at a time, mix well between each egg. Fold in the dry ingredients. Roll out the cake between two silicone mats. Bake under a silicone mat for 15 minutes. Punch out shapes and dry the remains into cookie crumbs.

Candied fennel seeds

• 50 ml    Fennel seeds
• 100 ml  Water
• 50 ml    Sugar
• 200 ml Icing Sugar

Simmer the fennel seeds until soft with water and sugar. Strain and mix in icing sugar according to instructions. Allow to cool in powdered sugar before serving and then strain.

Apple roses

• 10          Red apples – ideally a firm, crisp type

Sugar the silicone molds. Shave the apples on a lathe in one long strand. Roll up into a rose and place in silicone molds about the size of a regular muffin. Save apple cores for the apple caramel. Sprinkle the top of the apple rose with sugar. Bake at 160 °C for 35 min.

Apple caramel

• 2           Apple
•              Apple cores
• 100 g   Lemon juice
• 80 g    Sugar

Grate the apples into the lemon juice and sugar. Simmer and skim off any froth so you have a clear liquid. Boil to 110 °C. Let stand until serving.