Apple galette with ginger and honey

Today I bring you a recipe that I have always loved, the apple galette. The galette is a cross between a cake and a tart. It never ceases to amaze me how something so simple and so delicious can be so visually appealing. To make the galette a bit more curious we give it a soft and different touch thanks to the flavor of almonds, ginger and honey.

This French-inspired dessert we prepare on this occasion in a Le Creuset Shallow Casserole. It’s perfect because of its shape, its size, the way the iron heats (it bakes the dough wonderfully!) and because you can cut it and serve directly from it.

The recipe explains how to make the dough, but if you’re short on time or already in vacation mode (even when it comes to cooking), it’s a really impressive tart also if you use store-bought puff pastry or shortcrust pastry. Honestly, if you do it that way you’ll have the tart ready to bake in 5 minutes!

Le Creuset Evolution shallow cocotte Shallow Casserole type

Ingredients (for 6-8 people)

• 225gr of plain flour + extra for rolling
• Pinch of salt
• 125gr of cold butter cut into small cubes
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 2 ½ tablespoons cold water
• 4 large crisp apples or 5 small ones (approximately 650gr)
• 140gr ground almonds
• 55gr brown sugar + 1 extra tablespoon for sprinkling
• 65gr ginger stem
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice (and the rest of the juice from one lemon to keep the apples)
• 2½ tablespoons melted butter
• 2-3 tablespoons syrup from the ginger stem - for glazing

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190 °C.
2. To prepare the dough, sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the cubed butter and stir until the mixture has a breadcrumb-like texture. Add the sugar and water and form a ball with the dough using a spatula or your hands. Wrap it in cling film and let it rest for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
3. Peel the apples, cut them into quarters and remove the core. Cut each apple quarter into 3 or 4 slices and set aside. Sprinkle the sliced apples with 2 or 3 teaspoons of lemon juice to prevent them from browning (it’s also very practical to place all the apple pieces in a bowl with water and lemon juice until use).
4. After the resting time, roll out the dough on a floured work surface, forming a circle about 38cm in diameter approximately. Use a rolling pin to get it nicely stretched.
5. With a brush, brush the base of the Le Creuset Shallow Casserole with a little melted butter and place the dough you prepared on the base and up the sides.
6. Mix the ground almonds, brown sugar and chopped ginger. Add the mixture, sprinkling it evenly over the entire surface of the dough. On top, place the apples in a circular pattern, starting from the center and working outwards.
7. Mix the 2 tablespoons of honey with the 3 of lemon juice and use the mixture to brush the top of the apples. Be generous, don’t worry about coating them excessively.
8. Moisten the inside of the dough edges with a little water (you can do this with the brush) and fold them inward. Your galette is formed and almost ready!
9. Paint the top of the folded dough with melted butter and sprinkle a little brown sugar on top.
10. Bake the galette on the middle rack of the oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough looks golden and crisp.
11. Remove the galette from the oven. You can serve it hot or at room temperature with vanilla cream, honey yogurt or ice cream.

Notes

• This galette is delicious with apple, but you can try other fruits, such as apricots, plums, peaches, pears... A combination of them also works well!
• I recommend cutting the fruit in halves and removing any cores or pits. Leave the smaller fruit in that size, and cut larger fruit into more pieces. In any case, it looks more aesthetic if all pieces are a similar size, and that will also ensure all pieces cook evenly.
• Besides making a delicate and delicious filling, the ground almond base will help absorb the fruit juices while it cooks.
• While you are preparing the dough, don’t be tempted to add extra water to speed up the formation, as the only thing you’ll achieve is a sticky, hard-to-work and tough dough.
• Use a rolling pin to ensure a thin, even dough.
• If your oven has uneven temperature, rotate the pan halfway through baking to guarantee an even color across the surface.
• You can serve the galette directly in the casserole and cut it in there; you won't scratch it. But if you want to serve it on another plate or in a tart stand, it is important to let it cool before removing it from the Shallow Casserole.