Easter apple rose tarts

Preheat the oven to 200 ̊C, gas mark 6; lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin. Pour 500ml water into a large saucepan and add the lemon juice. Halve the apples and scoop out the core with a teaspoon. Cut into 2mm thick slices, adding them to the pan as you go. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 5 minutes. Drain well; spread the apple slices out on kitchen paper to cool.

Beat the butter and sugar in bowl with a wooden spoon until combined, then mix in the almonds and cinnamon along with a pinch of salt. Unroll the pastry sheet and place on a lightly floured work surface. Cut in half and roll one piece to a 30cm square, then cut into 6 strips, each about 5cm wide. Repeat with the other pastry half.

Spread the almond mixture along the centre of the strips. Put the apple slices along the top edge of the strips, overlapping them and with the curved edges sitting over the top of the pastry. If you have extra slices, add a second layer of apples beneath the first. Fold the bottom 1cm of the pastry up over the filling. Loosely roll up and put in the tin holes.

Bake for 5 minutes, then loosely cover the top of the tin with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes until the pastry is cooked through. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then dust with icing sugar and serve warm, with some vanilla custard, if liked.

Cook’s tip: Cool any leftover tarts completely and store in an airtight container for 2-3 days. They can be gently reheated in a low oven before serving.