Saturday, March 14, 2009

Crispy Apple Galette

Do you remember my pink apple sauce? We have been eating many apples since fall, and this apple galette has been one of the favorites. The crust is crispy and delicate, and slightly caramelized apple pieces are soft and sweet. The original recipe for this galette came from Cooks Illustrated. I have simplified the recipe for making the crust, and also introduced another layer between the crust and apple - the pink apple sauce. 

Once the dough for crust -using your favorite recipe- is made, it needs to rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour. If using small apples, I need 5 - 6 apples for this recipe, and it takes a while just to peel and cut them into thin slices (1/8" thick). I roll out the dough (1/8" thick) and pinch the edges, let it rest again and preheat the oven at 400 F while I am peeling and cutting the apples.
When all the apple slices are ready, take the rolled out dough and lightly smear the pink apple sauce. I took this idea from Dorie Greenspan's apple tart. Her apple tart recipe asked for quite amount of apple sauce, and the tart lacked crispiness. Applying thin coat of pink sauce  in this galette, however, added much more apple flavor to this galette without sacrificing the texture.
Lay out thin slices of apples and then sprinkle sugar on top of the apple to help them caramelize. Dot with tiny butter pieces and bake in the 400F oven for ~ 50 minutes or the crust is golden brown and edges of apples are nicely caramelized and brown. 
When the galette is in the oven, you can make a glaze, which gives the galette nice shine. While the recipe asks for watered-down apricot preserve, my pureed peach jam worked out beautifully.

I wonder if this recipe would work with peach too. I shall try once summer arrives with ripe peaches.

2 comments:

smoo said...

This tart is as delicious as it is pretty. And Yeon makes the most delicious crust.

Yeon said...

Shannon - thank you as always for appreciating the food I make. I love cooking/baking for you. :)
I can give you the recipe for the crust. I didn't feel like posting Cook's illustrate crust recipe here since my mod is kept at minimum, but I think giving my modified version to you in person will be okay.