Apple Gallete

I've run out of new recipes to bake. Oh.. ok, let me rephrase : I've run out of easy, hassel free but nevertheless yummy recipes to bake. I was doing my usual browsing of recipes and came across the category on apples. I've seen these frozen puff pastry in some of the bakery shops before and was tempted to buy on many occasions but of course, I never once did.  And so, when I came across this Apple Galette Recipe which to me was pretty easy to try out and it was asking for frozen puff pastry. Fantastic. The part of cutting the puff pastry into numerous cut sounded rather intimidating but I was lucky to get this frozen pastry already cut in a square size. So all that was needed of me was to either place several layers of the already cut puff pastry on top of each other, or I could just slice the pastry into half and place them on top of each other. I tried both ways. The entire house smells really good of  freshly baked buttery and cinnamon aroma. When I first bit into the flaky puff pastry, it felt wonderful in my mouth.  I adore the frangipane, the puff smells good, and the slight sourish taste of apple cum cinnamon makes the entire pastry so tasty and yummy.  This Apple Gallete was definitely a hit with hubby.

 

Frangipane (Almond Cream):
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
3 tablespoons (42 grams) unsalted butter
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (42 grams) almond meal (flour)
1 tablespoon (12 grams) all purpose flour

Crust:
1 pound (454 grams) frozen puff pastry, defrosted

Filling:
2 pounds (900 grams) Granny Smith Apples
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated white sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

Garnish:
Confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar
Softly whipped cream (optional)

Method :

Frangipane: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the almond meal and flour and beat until it forms a smooth paste. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate.


Puff Pastry: Once the puff pastry has been defrosted, as per manufacturer's instructions: Unfold one sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface and cut the sheet into thirds with a sharp knife. Then cut each third in half. Repeat with the second layer of puff pastry. Place the pastries (you will have 12 altogether) on a parchment lined baking sheet. Then, with an offset spatula or large knife, spread a thin layer of frangipane (about 1 heaping tablespoon) on each pastry, leaving about a 1/4 inch (1 cm) border. Cover and refrigerate the pastries for about 15 minutes.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven

Peel and slice the apples into 1/4 inch slices. Place in a large bowl and toss with the sugar and ground cinnamon. Remove the puff pastry from the refrigerator and lay the sugar coated apple slices on top of the frangipane, overlapping the slices.

Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes or until the apples are slightly browned and tender and the puff pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.

Preheat the oven broiler and move the rack to the top shelf of the oven. Lightly dust the tops of the apples with confectioners sugar (powdered or icing) and place under the broiler until the tips of the apples start to caramelize. Watch closely and move the pan as needed. Serve warm or cold with softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (I did away with this entirely because I don't have the oven broiler function).

My cooking tips : I stacked 2 or 3 layers of puff pastry on top of each other and in between, I spread a layer of frangipane. I did that because I wanna try to have a taller and 'puffy' puff.