This is the easiest way to make an apple pie. A galette is a French term for free-form tart, where the dough is rolled but has no lining or crimping. It gives it that rustic look we love so much about French pastry. It's sweet, flavorful, and much easier than old-fashioned pies!
We're very much into this type of free-form pies or tarts in this blog: sweet ones, like the rustic peach galette, and savory ones, like the tomato galette.
This apple galette recipe is perfect if making a pie from scratch intimidates you. There are fewer steps, and the result is more forgiving, as it's supposed to be rustic.
It's the perfect dessert when fall season starts and different types of apples appear on the market.
Why make this recipe
If making an apple pie seems intimidating because of the homemade pie crust, this is the recipe you need to start with. French rustic apple tart is thinner than regular American pies.
- Easy crust: there's no lining the pie plate or crimping the edges, which means there's no need to blind bake the dough, or worry about the crust shrinking as it bakes. You fold the edges over the apple mixture, leaving the center exposed.
- Filling: it's very simple and needs a few ingredients to be delicious.
- Crowd pleaser: who doesn't love a simple apple pie with some cream and caramel sauce, right? This is a dessert to make often during apple season and for gatherings.
Ingredient list
- Pie crust: in theory, any dough you use for making traditional pies can be used for a galette. I use the Perfect Flaky Pie Crust because it's not too sweet and perfect for a fruity filling with a caramel sauce.
- Apples: I favor Granny Smith, the green ones, but you can use any baking apple, such as Honeycrisp, red delicious, Gala, fuji, etc.
- Cinnamon sugar: white sugar with ground cinnamon. You can also use light brown sugar, but remember that the crust and apples will bake to a darker color.
- Unsalted butter.
- Egg: a fresh egg is mixed with water to make an egg wash.
- Caramel sauce or dulce de leche: I use dulce de leche with a little cream or milk, but caramel sauce works just as well.
- Walnuts: used for the topping after you add the sauce. I like to toast them lightly because the flavor is much better. You can omit them, but they add a lovely crunch.
Galette crust
There are several options here. Homemade dough is always my first choice, but you can make a galette with a purchased pie crust.
- Flaky Pie Crust: this is my favorite recipe for this apple galette and the one I use in this post. It's the one I use for holiday pies such as the chocolate pecan pie. It can be made ahead and is great with any filling.
- Italian Pasta Frolla: this is sweet pie dough. I use it for the popular lemon ricotta pie. It's softer, sweeter, and less flaky than the one above.
- Puff pastry: the type you buy at the grocery store. This is the easiest alternative when it comes to making a galette. Buy one made with butter for the best results.
Rolling the dough
- Make sure it's cold. This is crucial if you want a flaky baked crust. So work as fast as you can. Have the piece of parchment paper and baking sheet ready. If you have trouble rolling it (for whatever reason) and the dough starts to soften and stick to the surface, chill it for about 10 minutes and then continue. You don't want the butter to soften as you roll it.
- Use a piece of parchment paper. It should be bigger than the round of dough you want to make and will help you transfer the crust to the baking sheet. I like to start rolling it on the work surface until halfway rolled and then continue on top of the paper.
- Shape. Don't worry too much about it being a perfect circle. Galettes are rustic and should not be overly complicated to make. That's the beauty of them.
The apple filling
The apples need to be peeled, cored, and sliced.
How to keep them from turning brown while you slice all of them? In a large bowl with cold water and fresh lemon juice (squeeze the juice and drop the lemon half into the water).
Cinnamon sugar
Can we have apples without cinnamon sugar? Maybe we can, but we definitely shouldn't! Together, they are magic.
I like mixing it all together, but you can arrange the apple slices and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar and walnuts on top.
Types of apples:
Depending on the kind of apples you use, you can vary the sweetness of this dessert.
- Granny smith: I use them exclusively (the green ones, my absolute favorites for baking due to their tartness). They bring some acid to the mix that complements the overall sweetness of the cake. And they hold their shape and don't turn mushy in the oven.
- Other popular ones: if you have another favorite that you usually bake with (pink lady, fuji, gala, Honeycrisp apples), by all means, use it. Red apples are sweeter.
- A mix of apples: you can also mix them to create different textures and sweetness levels.
Cutting and arranging the apples
- The apple slices: how thin or thick you cut them is up to you. Thinner ones will bake faster and softer when the pie crust is fully baked, and you'll have to make two or three layers to achieve a substantial filling. With thicker slices (image below), you can make only one layer of apples. They will be soft but still somewhat crunchy.
- Pattern: you can make mounds resembling an apple half or concentric circles with overlapping fruit slices. You can also make several rows of apples instead of circles. Any pattern is fine as long as the layer is similar in thickness.
The egg wash
This consists of a mixture of egg with water (or milk) that is brushed over the folded edges of the dough.
Some extra sugar is then sprinkled over it. It creates that crunchy dough and adds color.
It's a nice touch and creates a great visual finish to the galette, but you can omit it if it's too much of a hassle.
Serving it
This is an apple pie, so several ways exist to serve it.
- A la mode: that is warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Who can argue with that?
- Caramel: at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream and a fat drizzle of caramel sauce or dulce de leche (my homemade recipe or store-bought).
- Plain. I recommend room temperature.
Kitchen notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
- Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Cold pie crust: the galette dough must be cold when you place it in the oven. This will ensure that it doesn't turn soggy.
- Purchased dough: if in a hurry, a store-bought puff pastry pie crust works very well.
- Apples: I favor Granny Smith, the green ones, but you can use any baking apple. Remember that red apples are sweeter, as will the tart after it's baked. You might want to add a squeeze of lemon juice after sprinkling with the cinnamon sugar unless you're looking for a sweeter dessert.
- Glaze: some recipes call for a light brushing of apricot jam on top right after taking the galette out of the oven.
It's a flat, rustic, free-form pie or tart, where the dough is rolled and filled, but no pie pan is used. So there's no lining the pan or crimping the edges. It's baked on parchment paper or a baking sheet.
In theory, galette is the French name, and crostata is the Italian name for a free-form pie, so you can use them interchangeably. But, the Italians also call crostata some lattice pies, especially with jam, like the fig jam lattice pie.
Any baking apple works, such as Granny Smith, Gala, Fuji, and Red Delicious. I like to use the green Granny Smith ones because they hold their shape well and are less sweet, which is great when adding sauces, ice cream, or other toppings to the galette.
It can be, as most doughs used for pies are good for galettes. We're talking about the classic pie crusts, like the flaky pie crust, sweet shortcrust pastry, or the Italian pasta frolla, my favorite for galettes.
You must roll the dough while still cold, assemble the galette quickly, and have the oven preheated. Bake it immediately after assembling it. That way, the fruit will not have time to release juices before the crust bakes. Alternatively, sprinkle the crust with a few tablespoons of ground almonds or cookie crumbs before adding the sliced fruit. It will soak up any liquid the fruit releases.
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Easy Apple Galette (rustic tart)
Ingredients
- 1 recipe for Flaky Pie Crust
- 3-4 Granny Smith apples, the green ones
- 3-4 tablespoons white or brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, or apple pie spice
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts or pecans
- ½ cup caramel sauce or homemade dulce de leche
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 350°F (180°C).
- Peel, core and cut apples into approximately ¼-inch slices.
- Roll out the cold pie dough on a lightly floured surface and have two large pieces of parchment paper and a baking sheet ready.
- Halfway through rolling, transfer the pie crust circle to the paper and continue rolling until ¼ to ⅛ inch thick.
- Put the paper on the baking sheet, place another piece of paper on top (to avoid dryness), and refrigerate it while you prepare the filling.
- Mix apple slices with cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and combine lightly, until the apples are coated but be careful not to break them.
- Leaving about 2-inch border (up to 3 inches top) of dough on the outer edge, put the apple slices over the dough, making mounds or concentric circles until the surface is covered. If the apples released liquid, strain it before using the apples. Don't discard it.
- Sprinkle the apples with the chopped nuts.
- Lift the sides of the dough inward, covering part of the apples and exposing the center.
- Mix the egg with a tablespoon of water and brush the folded edges with a pastry brush. Sprinkle with some extra brown sugar.
- If you have some reserved liquid from the apples, drizzle it now on top of the apples.
- Bake immediately for about 40 minutes, until the apples are soft and the crust is golden and fully baked.
- Let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes and carefully lift it, transferring the paper to the cooling rack to cool down more.
- Serve warm with caramel sauce or dulce de leche and a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream.
- Store leftovers at room temperature for a day or in the refrigerator for a few days, always covered in plastic wrap or a container.
Notes
angiesrecipes says
I am a fan of free form tarts too. Your apple galette looks fantastic and I would love mine with dulce de leche.