So I was fortunate enough to procure some hidden rose apples, and I just had to use them in a couple recipes while I had the chance! Hidden rose apples are usually available in a relatively short span between November and December, so I always feel a need to make a couple of recipes with them whiel they are still in season! The actual flavor of the apple is very similar to that of a fuji apple, being pleasantly sweet with a little bit of tartness to it. The main appeal here is the color; what makes hidden rose apples so unique is that they have a pink interior to them. Yes, interior, not exterior. The flesh is naturally this vibrant pink hue and I just love using these apples while I have the chance! So what better way to embrace them than to do an apple dessert that I am best known for? Krempita is a Montenegrin dessert, consisting of layers of phyllo pastry and pastry cream. I love the contrast of flaky phyllo dough, a soft cream, and either roasted or caramelized fruit. As an homage to my apple brandy krempita, this recipe is quite similar, but the main differences being that I included a hidden rose apple fluid gel and dehydrated hidden rose apple chips, just to highlight the gorgeous color all the more!

In terms of the techniques for this krempita versus the original, there are mainly two differences(you can read about the notes I had on the other components in the original recipe). The inclusion of the hidden rose apple chips, and the inclusion of the pink apple fluid gel. The fluid gel is not super difficult to execute, with the main thing to focus on being the consistency – using a blender, preferably a stick blender, is very important, since that is the best way to achieve a smooth, pipeable texture in the gel itself! I used a little lemon juice in the gel for two reasons – to tone down the sweetness in the gel, and to bring out a more vibrant pink color from the apples by lowering their PH level. The science behind it aside, so long as you have a stick blender, the fluid gel comes together really quickly. The chips, on the other hand, are what might be the single most time-consuming component in this recipe. I have used this technique before on various other fruits, but the gist of it is that you lightly heat up thin slices of apple in a syrup, then bake those slices, low and slow, until all of the liquid is cooked off, resulting in semi to fully-translucent fruit chips that you can garnish on top of any dessert. It is a really cool and fun technique that I wanted to employ for this fruit-based dessert, just as another way to highlight the natural color of the hidden rose apple!

Makes 3 portions:
For the hidden rose apple chips:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 hidden rose apple

In a pot, bring sugar and water to a simmer. Using a mandolin on the thinnest setting, shave the hidden rose apple into thin wafers. Let the apple slices sit in the syrup for 10 minutes, off heat. Strain the apple slices out of the syrup, reserving the syrup for the pink apple fluid gel. Carefully arrange the apple slices onto a parchment and cooking spray-lined sheet tray. Place down another layer of cooking sprayed parchment, sprayed side down, onto the apple slices, and then another sheet tray on top of that. Bake at 200 degrees F for 10 minutes. Then remove the top layer of parchment and the top sheet tray, and continue baking for another hour. Store in an airtight container until time to plate.

For the pink apple fluid gel:
reserved simple syrup, in two parts
1 hidden rose apple, peeled, cored, and finely diced
1 tsp agar
1 tbsp lemon juice
a pinch of salt

Cook one part of the simple syrup with the remaining ingredients until the agar is dissolved into the liquid. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Refrigerate the puree until it firms up, and then transfer to a blender with the remaining syrup. Puree again until it forms a spreadable consistency and then transfer to a piping bag.

For the apple brandy brown butter:
1 stick unsalted butter
2 tbsp apple brandy

In a nonstick pan, heat up the butter until it reaches an amber brown color. Take off heat and allow the butter to cool down for 3 minutes before adding in the brandy. The butter may fizz and bubble at this point, but just let it do its thing until it stops. Reserve the pan so that you can flambe your apples in there(this will impart a lot of toasted flavor onto the apples)!

For the phyllo:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, with more for rolling
2 tbsp apple brandy
3 tbsp cold water
a pinch of salt
apple brandy brown butter

In a bowl, mix together the flour, apple brandy, cold water, and salt to form your dough. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece out on a floured surface to a 6-inch disk. Rest the dough for 5 minutes. Brush three of the disks generously with the still-melted brown butter. Stack the disks together so that the top disk is the one that you did not brush butter with yet. Roll out the dough as thin as possible and transfer to a parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet. Cut out 1-inch disks from the dough, brushing the tops of the disks with more brown butter. Place on top of the dough another silpat or parchment sheet and another baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Cool down the disks before using.

For the the mascarpone custard:
1/2 cup milk
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp apple brandy brown butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
3oz mascarpone cheese

In a pot, heat up the milk on medium-low heat. In a bowl, whip together the eggs, cornstarch, sugar, salt, and brown butter. Mix half of the milk into the eggs while whisking. Then pour the egg mixture back into the pot with the milk and continue to whisk on medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture begins to cling to the sides of your whisk. Pass through a strainer and mix into the strained custard your vanilla and mascarpone to finish. Transfer into a piping bag and keep refrigerated for plating.

For the apple brandy-miso caramel:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp apple brandy
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp miso paste
2 tbsp apple brandy brown butter

In a pan, heat up the sugar until it turns golden brown. Pour in the apple brandy and milk first, then the other ingredients. Stir on high heat until the sugar fully dissolves into the liquid. Then turn to low heat. Keep the caramel warm for plating. If it gets too thick(you want it to be oozy like lava), add in water, milk, or apple juice, 1 tbsp at a time, to adjust the consistency!

For the flambeed apple:
1/2 a hidden rose apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 6 wedges
Pan that was used to make the apple brandy brown butter
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp apple brandy

Sear the apples in the pan on medium heat, seasoning the apples with salt. Once the wedges are seared on both sides, add in the brandy and carefully tilt the pan, allowing the flames to touch the liquid to flambe the apples. The flame will slowly die out, and the apples will be done. Transfer to a cutting board and cut each wedge into thirds to serve.

To plate:
Start with a round of the caramel on the bottom of the plate. Pipe dollops of the custard on 6 disks of phyllo and stack them together(you should have 7 disks of phyllo surrounding 6 dollops of custard) to form your krempita. Place the krempita on the side to form a tube and plate that next to the round of caramel. Around the caramel, place 3 segments of flambeed apple, and 2 pipings of the fluid gel. Garnish with the hidden rose apple chips to finish.