Too Cute to Ignore!
To be honest, over the last couple of days I have been trying out ideas for apple dumplings in my head – trying to come up with something new. Somehow, I don’t really like the idea of baking a whole apple in crust as in the classic apple dumpling. It just seems odd to me. But then, baking slices of apples in a little crust of some design is sort of well, boring – it’s really just a little pie. So what? I say……….
There must be something new I can do, But what? I was at a loss this morning but I had my defrosted puff pastry at the ready, so I had to “go”.
Honestly, feeling like this was not at all imaginative, I decided to try out a new 4″ springform pan I’d gotten a few months back. What came out of the oven? Nothing new and exciting but definitely CUTE, very tasty – great fun for a dinner party and I’d definitely make them again.
SINGLE APPLE “DUMPLINGS” IN PUFF PASTRY
one sheet puff pastry
one large granny smith apple cut into small dice, or two medium
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
cinnamon/nutmeg sugar*
melted butter
one three inch piece of lemon zest cut off carefully with a serrated peele
one recipe salted caramel if desired
4″ springform pan
Preheat oven to 400F.
Butter the springform pan and set aside.
Roll out one sheet of puff pastry until the thickness of a classic pie dough. Lay into the pan and work into the edges very gently.
In a medium bowl,sprinkle the apples with about a tsp of lemon juice and toss. Then toss the apples with 1 tblsp cinnamon/nutmeg sugar and 1 tblsp light brown sugar.
Fill the pan with the apple mixture and dot with butter. Trim the dough to about an extra 2″ around the edge of the pan.
*CINNAMON/NUTMEG SUGAR – I always keep this around –
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmegtoss
to mix well
before trimming
Work it up into a swirl, bringing it together in a secure top as shown.
Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with additional cinnamon/nutmeg sugar. Tie with a long strip of lemon zest.
Bake for 20 -30 minutes or until pastry is well browned (I always push this as far as possible – just to before burning – I like my crusts “well done”.
Sans and Avec the Salted Caramel:
Next up: the mini-apple/cinnamon rolls:
MINI APPLE/CINNAMON ROLLS:
leftover pastry from the one sheet above
leftover apples in syrup from above
butter for brushing cinnamon/nutmeg sugar
egg wash
Gather up the remains of the one sheet of puff pastry. Roll out into a rectangle – I got about a 5″ x 8″ rectangle.
Brush with butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon/nutmeg sugar. Arrange remaining apple pieces onto the pastry.
Beginning with the long edge toward you, roll up into a cylinder. Cut into six pieces. Using a mini muffin tin, brush butter into 6 molds. Sprinkle with cinnamon/nutmeg sugar. Place each “roll” into one of the prepared molds. Brush with egg wash, sprinkle again with cinnamon/nutmeg sugar. Spoon any remaining juices from the bottom of the bowl of apple mixture over the rolls.
Bake for 15 minutes or until well browned.
Not bad for off the cuff – but, I’m still going to come up with a Dumpling!
Enjoy your day – let’s get the rain over with asap! (I LOVED opening the windows this morning!)