These hidden rose apple mascarpone tarts are simple to put together and make the prettiest apple pastry for your dinner party.

We’re more than halfway into fall and I couldn’t be more excited to finally share the recipe for these hidden rose apple mascarpone tarts. The recipe was featured on the feedfeed almost two years ago but I kind of forgot about it until I was flipping through one of my recipe books a few weeks ago.

These utterly beautiful tarts feature one of my favorite apples, hidden rose apples. Every fall I stalk the Specialty Produce’s Instagram page for their arrival. They’re a hot commodity in San Diego with all the restaurants staking a claim before I can lay my eyes on them. Boasting a distinctive flavor of strawberry lemonade, these hidden rose apples make the most beautiful and delicious baked goods.

Even though these tarts look deceptively complicated, it’s quite simple to make. Two things that ultimately break or make these tarts are good puff pastry and having a mandoline. Good store bought puff pastry is my secret. Let’s get real here, with two kids, who has time to labor over homemade puff pastry.

Having a mandoline makes slicing a hundred times faster. You can slice the apples by hand with a very sharp knife but make sure they’re the same thickness. Sliced apples are softened after a quick trip in the microwave to make it easier to fold. Then they’re layered on top of puff pastry and mascarpone and flavored with cinnamon. If you’re feeling adventurous, cardamom is a great substitute. Once the pastry is rolled up, they bake into the oven for about 35-40 minutes to perfection.

Beside holding their shape so well after baking, these hidden rose apples also maintain their color brilliantly that friends have told me they look like real roses. With Christmas approaching, they would make for a lovely dessert gracing your dinner table. If you can’t find hidden rose apples, use baking apples with red or pink skin like Cortland, Empire, Pink Lady, or Honeycrisp and they’ll come out just as lovely.

Here’s a link to a tutorial of how they’re made so you can see how easy they are to put together.
If you like tarts, check out these recipes: Calvados pink pearl apple tart, hidden rose apple tarts, hidden rose apple hazelnut frangipane galette.

Hidden rose apple mascarpone tarts
Ingredients
- 2 small hidden rose apples, cored and thinly sliced
- juice of a lemon
- 1 sheet of all butter puff pastry (10x6 inches)
- ¼ cup turbinado sugar
- ½ tbsp Saigon cinnamon
- ¼ cup mascarpone cheese
- 1 egg lightly beaten for egg wash
- confectioners' sugar for serving
Instructions
- Core and thinly slice the apples with a mandoline.
- Combine the apple slices with lemon juice in a bowl and microwave 2 minutes. Wait for the apple to be cool enough to handle. Pat dry the apple slices of excess moisture and set aside.
- On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry and cut into 6 even strips.
- In a small prep bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon together.
- Spread the mascarpone cheese and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture onto the bottom half of puff pastry strips.
- Arrange the apple slices on top of the pastry strips.
- Fold the pastry puff in half lengthwise and roll them up. Brush them with the egg wash. Place in greased muffin tins.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes at 375 degrees F.
- Let them cool for 10 minutes before serving.
- When ready to serve, dust with confectioners' sugar.
Leave a Reply