Buttermilk Cream Tart with Apple Roses - Martha Stewart Living

I made this dessert on Feb. 14 :) It took me about 3-4 hours in total.
The finishing product tastes great, not too sweet (unlike alot of western desserts).





Here's a close up:






Here's the recipe. It's a bit long but very easy to follow. Enjoy!

Buttermilk Cream Tart with Apple Roses

1 box (14 ounces) puff pastry, thawed (see instruction on the box)
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon sugar
Buttermilk Cream Filling (recipe follows)
Apple Roses (recipe follows)

1. Lay pastry on a lightly flowered work surface. Using a pastry wheel or knife, trim pastry into a 9X12 inch rectangle. Then cut off four 1 inch strips: two from one short end and two from one long side to make the rectangle 7X10 inch. Transfer rectangle to a parchment-paper-line baking sheet.

2. Pierce pastry all over with a fork; brush with egg. Lay pastry strips on edges to create a border. Trim strips to fit, over lapping at corners. Brush egg over strips and underneath ends to seal. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 hour (note: NOT the freezer!).

3. Preheat over to 400F. Sprinkle pastry with sugar. Transfer to over; reduce over temperature to 350F. Bake until shell is just golden and puffed all over, about 15 minutes. Remove sheet from oven. Using an offset spatula, press down on middle of shell (leave border puffy). Return shell to oven; bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Let cool completely. (The tart shell can be stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap, up to 1 day. Note: I made it the day before)

4. Pour cream filling into shell. Spread out to border with offset spatula. Refrigerate until filing is set, about 30 minutes.

5. Arrange roses over filling. Fold leftover peeled-apple slices into ruffles, and fill in gaps. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, until ready to serve, up to 6 hours. (note: I didn’t finish the tart for 2 days, just stored in the frig covered with plastic wrap, it’s good for up to 2-3 days)

Buttermilk Cream Filling – makes enough for one tart (note: I had some of leftovers, don’t know if my tart shell is too small or what. But can decrease the recipe amounts for about 1/3)

2/3 cup heavy cream
1 envelope unflavoured gelatine
1 ¼ cups of low-fat buttermilk (not non-fat)
¼ cup sugar
Pinch of salt

1. Beat 1/3 cup cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form; set aside.

2. Sprinkle gelatine over ¼ cup buttermilk in a medium bowl; let stand 5 minutes.

3. Bring remaining 1/3 cup cream and the sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour into gelatine mixture; stir until gelatine has dissolved. Stir in remaining cup buttermilk and the salt. Pour through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a medium bowl (note: didn’t have cheesecloth, so skipped this, no problem occurred)

4. Using a whisk, fold in whipped cream. Refrigerate mixture 30 minutes.

Apple Roses Makes 9 (note: depends on the size of the apple)

¼ cups fresh lemon juice, plus 1 lemon, halved (2-3 lemon in total)
2 cups sugar
3 golden apples, such as Golden Delicious
2 red apples, such as Gala, McIntosh, or Red Delicious (note: I used Gala, which isn’t really red to begin with, the color didn’t stay very well, so true red apples)

1. Bring 4 cups water, the lemon juice, and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat; cover. Cut a round of parchment paper that has a diameter 1 inch greater than that of pan; set aside.

2. Core apples. Peal golden ones; using 1 lemon half, rub flesh. Squeeze juice from remaining half into hollows of red apples.

3. Using a mandolin or sharp knife, cut all apples crosswise into thin (less than 1/8 inch) slices. Transfer to syrup; shake pan to coat slices. Place parchment directly onto surface of apple mixture. Let syrup cool completely, about 40 minutes.

4. Cut slices into semicircles. Stack 1 red-apple slice on top of 1 golden slice, with cut edges nearest you. Wrap slices together into a cone shape to form a “bud”.

5. Stack two more slices. Placing them slightly above base (to create a staggered appearance), wrap them around bud. Repeat, wrapping until rose is about 2 ½ inches in diameter. Make 9 roses total. Reserve leftover peeled slices for garnish.