Apple rose with apple caramel, oatmeal crumble, caramel cake, and vanilla sauce

Apple season is here, and what could be better than a wonderful apple dessert? In this version, we have a beautiful apple rose with a caramel cake, oat crumble, and a wonderfully smooth vanilla sauce made to perfection. Serves 10 guests.

Apple Rose

• 6 Granny Smith apples
• 200 ml granulated sugar

Spiralize the apples according to the instructions, sprinkle with sugar, and roll into tight roses (two apples per rose). Tie with kitchen twine and bake at 180°C for about 30 minutes. Let cool, then cut the roses in half.

Apple caramel

• 30 g Butter
• 30 g Granulated Sugar
• 500 g Red apples
• 40 g Calvados
• 1 Vanilla pod
• Leftover Granny Smith apple

Dice the red apples. Caramelize the butter and sugar, add the Calvados, and flambé. Add the apples, cinnamon, and vanilla, and let simmer until the apples have broken down. Remove the vanilla bean and blend until smooth. Finely chop the remaining apple from the pickled apples (see below),
fold it into the apple caramel, and fill a piping bag with the caramel.

Oat crumble

• 60 g Toasted oat flour
• 50 g Granulated sugar
• 45 g Butter
• 1 g Salt

Mix all the ingredients into a crumbly dough. Spread it out on a silicone mat and bake at 155°C for about 20 minutes until the crumbly dough is golden brown. Let it cool, then break it into crumbs.

Caramel Cake

• 250 g Granulated Sugar
• 100 ml Water
• 1 Vanilla pod
• 500 g Milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 60 g Granulated Sugar
• 2 g Cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 60 g all-purpose flour
• 125 g Butter
• 4 Egg whites
• 40 g Granulated Sugar

Caramelize the sugar, carefully add 100 ml of water, and coat the bottom and sides of the silicone molds with the caramel. Bring the milk and vanilla to a boil, let it steep for 10 minutes, and then strain it. Beat the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients, followed by the milk, butter, and lemon zest. Beat the egg whites and sugar into a meringue, then gently fold into the batter. Pour the batter into the molds and bake in a water bath at 160°C for 35–45 minutes. Let cool before turning the cakes out of the molds.

Vanilla Custard

• 300 g Milk
• 200 g whipping cream
• 60 g Granulated Sugar
• 2 vanilla beans
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 50 g Egg yolk
• 10 g cornstarch

Bring the milk, cream, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla to a boil. Let it steep for 10 minutes, then strain. Whisk together the egg yolk and cornstarch, pour in the warm milk mixture while whisking, and heat to 85°C until the sauce thickens. Strain and keep warm until ready to serve.

Pickled Apples

• 2 Granny Smith apples
• 50 g Granulated sugar
• 100 g Lemon Juice
• 300 g Water

Mix sugar, lemon juice, and water in a vacuum-sealed bag. Thinly slice the apples, cut them into rounds, and make a slit in each slice. Vacuum-seal the bag and let the apples marinate for at least 15 minutes. Drain and fold the slices according to the instructions.

Garnish

• Wood sorrel
• Lemon thyme