These exquisite Pastry Wrapped Caramel Apples are an elegant, delectable dessert! They’re a little fiddly to make but worth the effort for a stunning autumn dessert!

A Baked Apple Recipe can be made in so many different ways, but none are as pretty as these inside-out Caramel Apples!!

A pastry wrapped caramel apple on a white plate with a red handled fork

Why You Should Make this Apple Dessert

  • Baked apples are a perfect fall dessert.
  • This twist on baked apples includes a premade puff pastry crust and jarred caramel sauce to make it easy!
  • They make an elegant presentation.

I found a video of these stunning gems:  peeled baking apples were dipped in cinnamon sugar, wrapped in strips of grocery store puff pastry, then filled with caramel sauce from a jar. Simple and beautiful. Of course, these Pastry Wrapped Caramel Apples would be out of this world with homemade puff pastry and homemade caramel sauce, but still pretty spectacular with store-bought versions of each. The French would call these Caramel Apples en Croute or apples wrapped in pastry!

How to Make this Baked Apple Recipe

  • The first time I made this dessert, my apples were probably a smidge bigger than the medium-sized apples called for in the recipe. And after tweaking the recipe to include a bit of chilling time to firm up the puff pastry, my apples were still a bit underdone at the end of the baking time.
  • I’d recommend turning down the oven temp at about the 20-minute mark and extending the baking time if your apples are large or they don’t seem done when you insert a knife into the apple.
  • Once the apples are peeled, use a melon baller or another tool to remove the core from the top without cutting through the bottom of the apple. This space is going to hold caramel sauce, so it cannot leak.
  • Make sure your well is large enough to hold 2 tablespoons of caramel sauce. If there’s not enough space, just use less.
  • Start wrapping the puff pastry strips at the bottom of the apple, working your way up to the top. When the strip reaches the top, you can trim if needed, then add the leaves to cover the end of the strip.
  • I use a dab of water or the egg wash to help seal together the 4 strips of dough needed to wrap each apple.
  • Brush the apples with an egg wash before baking. This mixture of egg and water will add a nice sheen to the baked puff pastry.
  • I also use either a drop of water or of the egg water glaze to seal together the 4 strips needed to wrap each apple.
  • Check apples for tenderness with a sharp knife a couple of times as they transform into a lovely golden brown. It should slide in easily when the apples are cooked and tender.
One pastry wrapped caramel apple on a round white plate

Tips for Working with Puff Pastry

  • PRO-Tip: Puff pastry will puff best when chilled, then baked in a hot oven. 
  • So most likely your puff pastry will warm up as you work with it, so a little time in the fridge before baking is helpful to firm it up again.
  • When the cold puff pastry enters a hot oven, the tiny pockets of water throughout the dough will turn to steam, puff up the layer and make a perfect flaky covering for these caramel apples.
  • PRO-Tip: Make these caramel apples in the fall or winter. It’s tough to work with puff pastry when your kitchen is warm, like it can be in the middle of summer. 
  • This recipe was inspired by the Pepperidge Farm website. I prefer an all-butter puff pastry, but Pepperidge Farm’s version will do in a pinch.

More Apple Recipes You’ll Love:

Pastry Wrapped Caramel Apples on a parchment lined baking sheet

This recipe was first shared in October 2011. Photos and text were updated in 2020.

A pastry wrapped caramel apple on a white plate with a red handled fork

Pastry Wrapped Caramel Apples

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield 4 servings

An elegant baked apple recipe filled with caramel sauce and wrapped in puff pastry.

Ingredients

  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 4 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled
  • ½ cup caramel sauce
  • 10-ounce package of Trader Joe's or Dufour puff pastry
  • Vanilla ice cream

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400º.
  2. Stir the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl.
  3. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork or whisk.
  4. Using a melon baller, scoop the cores out of the apples from the top, making sure to leave the bottoms intact.
  5. Coat the apples with the cinnamon mixture.
  6. Place the pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface. Roll each pastry sheet into a 10 x 9-inch rectangle.
  7. Cut each into 9 1-inch strips. Moisten ends with water and then press 4 pastry strips together to make 1 strip. Repeat to make 4 long strips total. Cut 4-8 leaf shapes from the leftover pastry.
  8. Starting at the bottom, wind 1 pastry strip around 1 apple, slightly overlapping the edges of the pastry. Repeat with the remaining pastry strips and apples.
  9. Top each with 1-2 pastry leaves.
  10. Spoon 2 tablespoons of caramel sauce into each apple. Brush the apples with the egg wash. Place the pastries onto a baking sheet covered with parchment or a Silpat. Chill briefly, 20-25 minutes.
  11. Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Serve the pastries with ice cream.

Notes

Adapted from Pepperidge Farm.

Look for a brand of puff pastry made with butter for the best flavor.

Mine were dark enough, but not fully cooked at 25 minutes. You may want to lower the temp and bake another 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of your apples.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1 apple

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 692Total Fat: 32gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 365mgCarbohydrates: 93gFiber: 6gSugar: 53gProtein: 9g

Thatskinnychickcanbake.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thatskinnychickcanbake.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe. Also, many recipes on thatskinnychickcanbake.com recommend toppings, which may or may not be listed as optional and nutritional information for these added toppings is not listed. Other factors may change the nutritional information such as when the salt amount is listed “to taste,” it is not calculated into the recipe as the amount will vary. Also, different online calculators can provide different results. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.

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