This time of year is made for pies, tarts, galettes and sticky stodgy cakes. The type of sweet that this cold weather demands and beyond the apple tarts of my childhood with molten filling and sugar dusted buttery pastry topping, a free-from galette is the ideal vehicle for any windfall of Autumnal fruits. In this case a simple Apple Galette will fill you with all the warmth you need on a cold November evening before the dizzying heights of Christmas treats invade our kitchen. Served with whipped cardamom cream and buttery rough puff pastry, a slice of this galette is what I dream of as the dark days of Winter roll in.
For the pastry:
250g plain flour
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp flakey salt (Maldon is great)
170g very cold, unsalted butter (cut into small cubes)
1 egg
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
80ml ice cold water
For the filling:
3 cox apples, peeled, cored and sliced lengthways
3 bramley apples, peeled, cored and sliced lengthways
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Juice of ½ lemon
For the cream:
200ml double cream
1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
½ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp vanilla bean paste