Hive Top Chef - Rustic Apple Roll

An Apple a day keeps the doctor away is a very true saying; however once we start adding sugar and pastry, it changes to a delectable teatime or dessert treat, but we all certainly deserve a little spoiling now and then not so!

I've made many Apple treats here on the blockchain so had to try and think of something different; and although I made some mistakes along the way, it still turned out really good!

A beautiful bowl of fruit - Granny Smith and Golden Delicious Apples with some gorgeous Plums which are at their best this time of the year.

Before we start baking for today's Hive Top Chef, I would like to share a couple of golden oldies I made which are stored forever here on the blockchain.

Apple Roses
Strips of flaky pastry gets brushed with melted butter, sprinkled with cinnamon & sugar, thin apple slices placed along the edge of the pastry, then rolled up, given an egg glaze and baked in muffin pans. The end result was stunning; I baked this as a tribute to a very close friend I lost unexpectedly at the time.

Baked Stuffed Apples in a Blanket
Baked apples stuffed with a Medjool date & a Pecan Nut enwrapped in a crispy short crust pastry blanket.

French Apple Cake

A featherlight, flavoursome sponge cake with a touch of cinnamon and small cubes of apples resting inside the sponge; really yummy!

Vegan Date & Apple Strudel
My version was made with a super thin flaky pastry, filled with Apples, Dates and sprinkled with....you've guessed right - cinnamon & sugar.

Spiced Apple Donuts
I tried making this a tad healthy by using an Oat & Honey bread dough and it was filled with steamed Apple & Cinnamon, but deep-fried and rolled in sugar & cinnamon certainly doesn't make this a healthy treat but it was delicious, one of my absolute favourites!

Back to the present so let's get into the kitchen and see what we can rustle up today using Apples.

Remembering a really nice savoury roll made with a cheese scone dough and filled with grated cheesy viennas, onions and chutney; I thought how about trying a sweet version with Apples and Cinnamon Sugar!

I used a Scone like dough flavoured with lemon rind, rolled it out fairly thin, spread tiny cubes of Apples mixed with Cinnamon Sugar all over, and rolled it up like a Swiss Roll.

Big Mistake:
I should have cut the dough narrower and rather had a longer roll as I found the dough and the apple cubes in the centre did not cook properly, so it had to go back into the oven!
The roll was way too fat!
We learn by our mistakes not so;)

Everyone still enjoyed this Rustic Apple Roll served lukewarm.

RUSTIC APPLE ROLL

Citrus Scone Dough

Mix with a whisk:

• 4 cups Self-Raising Flour
• 4 Tbsp Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Rub in:

• 125 gram Butter at room temperature

Beat together & add to dry mix, and mix to a softish scone dough:

• Rind of 1 lemon or lime
• 2 Eggs
• 250 ml Greek Style Yogurt

Filling:

• Approx 8 medium apples, cut into small cubes
• 1/2 cup Cinnamon Sugar

Roll out into an elongated rectangle on a floured surface (not square like mine!)
Arrange Apple & sugar & cinnamon mixture on top, leaving a gap on edges
Roll up carefully to enclose apples
Place on sprayed baking pan, cut slits on top, brush with an egg wash & sprinkle with extra Cinnamon Sugar
Bake approx 50 min at 170°C or till cooked through - test with wooden skewer.