Honestly, I love, love, love this Strawberry-Apple Galette! If you do not love it back, I do not want you in my blog for three days! Yes, you will be punished for not sharing the awesomeness… I am just kidding. But seriously, try it out, you will not regret it!
Unlike the Eggplant Casserole night (and fortunately for me), I stayed away from mischief in my kitchen this time. Except I had to bake the Galette at 11PM. That’s when my two punks went to bed, leaving my kitchen all in my own discretion.
I had leftover apples from the fall season and I also had some pretty nasty-tasting strawberries in the refrigerator. No, not from the fall season :) So, why on earth were they nasty? Well, my husband bought the strawberries for the boys. They really like their fruits at times, but not the ones that are off-season and tasteless. You should have known better, daddy :) He politely asked me to use these “wanna be” strawberries in one of my pies. I did not want to waste the berries, so I accepted the challenge and here is the result:
The crust is soft and flaky. The filling has the right amount of sweet and the orange zest makes it simply YUMMY! Can you ask for more?
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients for the crust:
- 1 1/2 all purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 oz (8 Tbsp) chilled unsalted butter
- 1-2 Tbsp orange zest
- 3 Tbsp cold milk
- 1 egg white to brush the Gallete
Ingredients for the filling:
- 2 small golden delicious apples
- 2 cups strawberries
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp large grain light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
Directions for the crust:
Zest the orange until you have 2 Tbsp of orange zest. Cut chilled, unsalted butter in small pieces. Set both aside until needed in couple of minutes.
In a medium bowl mix dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt.
Add the previously cut butter on top of dry ingredients. Using your hands gently start rubbing butter in to the flour mixture until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
I genuinely hope you know the looks of the coarse meal. Just in case you do not, check out the second picture below :) This is the sole reason why you need to use chilled butter. This is the only way (technically there is another way) to have that flaky crust of Galette.
The second and the easiest technique to make the coarse-looking mixture, is to use your food processor. If you have it this process is going to be a breeze. You need to use the “pulse mode” the whole time. I personally do not have a processor. Thus, pictures will make it easier for those of you who also do not have the food processor.
Add the orange zest into the butter/flour mixture, gently add the ice cold milk and using a fork blend everything together until moist clumps form. DO NOT knead the dough. If you are still using your food processor, after adding milk pulse until moist clumps form.
Gather the clumps into a ball and flatten into a nice disk. Wrap with a plastic cover and refrigerate for an hour.
Directions for the filling:
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
While the dough is resting in the refrigerator you can start cutting the fruits and preparing the filling. Peel, halve, core and cut the apples into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Wash the strawberries, cut the stems and vertically cut each one in four pieces.
In a medium bowl mix together sugar, lemon juice, almond extract, starch. Mix in the fruits and gently toss everything together. Cornstarch will prevent the liquid of the strawberries from leaking and ruining the Galette. Set fruits aside until the dough is ready!
Dust a large sheet of parchment paper with flour and roll out the dough on the paper to an 11-inch round. Transfer the dough on the parchment paper to a heavy large baking sheet.
Spoon the strawberry-apple mixture over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold the dough border over the filling to form an 8-inch round, leaving the apples exposed in the center. Pleat loosely and pinch the dough to seal any cracks. You have to seal the cracks to prevent juices from leaking.
Brush the crust with the egg wash and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.
Bake Galette until the crust is golden for about 40 minutes. When the time is up, take the Galette out of the oven. Let it cool for 10 minutes before moving it on the wire rack. Slide a metal spatula underneath the dessert and carefully transfer it on the wire rack without the paper. This was easy, wasn’t it? :)
Serve warm or cold! Some people like Galette with Vanilla ice cream. We enjoy it with a cup of hot tea! Bon appetit!
