There's something therapeutic about rolling pastry dough, creating something beautiful and comforting, and sharing it with people you love.
Pear and Apple Galette with Cinnamon Whipped Cream
Yield: 6-8 servings
Crust
1/3 cup oat flour (see notes)
1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
14 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter (that's 2 Tbsp. shy of 2 sticks)
1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water
Filling
2 large apples (I used Granny Smith)
3 medium pears (I used Bosc)
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3/4 tsp. turbinado sugar or granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Whipped cream
2 cups (1 pint) heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Make the crust: Add flours, salt, and sugar to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a couple of times. Then cut the butter into cubes and add to the food processor bowl. Pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour in about 1/3 cup of ice water while pulsing, adding up to 1/2 cup if necessary. You're looking for a loose dough that's moist enough to hold together but not so wet that it turns sticky. Turn dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Prepare filling: Wash your apples and pears. Cut pears in half and remove the core and that little fiber running from the stem to the core. Slice into 1/4-inch slices. You can nibble on the outermost slices--they don't work as well in the galette arrangement, and you'll have plenty of fruit. Slice your apples into 1/4-inch slices to match. I put my sliced pears and sliced apples into two separate bowls, which helped when it came time to arrange the fruit on the crust, but you don't necessarily have to do it that way.
Squeeze your lemon over your cut apples and pears. In a small bowl (like a cereal bowl), combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, and ginger. Sprinkle this mixture over the apples and pears, and toss them gently but well. Hang onto the cereal bowl; you'll use it later.
Assemble the galette: Remove chilled dough from the fridge, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll until the dough is about 1/8 inch thick, maybe a little thinner. You're aiming for basically round, but this is not an exact science. Mine was more oval-shaped, and about 12 inches in diameter in the shorter direction. Be sure to fully pick up the dough a few times while rolling, to keep it from sticking to your counter.
Line a baking sheet or pizza pan with parchment paper, and transfer your dough onto it. Turn on the oven to 425. Arrange sliced pears and apples in an overlapping pattern, leaving a 1- to 2-inch border around the edge. I alternated the pears and apples so each slice of galette so each slice of galette would have a good balance of both fruits. I wound up with about half a pear and half an apple left, which made a lovely snack while the galette baked.
Fold the edges of the crust in over the edge of the fruit. Again, this is not an exact science and isn't intended to look meticulous. Rustic is the goal! Get your remaining 2 Tbsp. butter and cut it into little cubes. Dot them over the surface of the fruit. Now, remember that cereal bowl from earlier? In it mix your 3/4 Tbsp. turbinado sugar and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, then sprinkle that over the whole galette.
Bake at 425 for 45-50 minutes, rotating the pan about halfway through to ensure even cooking. You want the fruit to be tender and the crust to be nice and toasty.
While the galette is baking, put a medium mixing bowl and your beaters into the freezer to chill, do some quick kitchen cleaning, and munch on any leftover fruit pieces.
Make the whipped cream: Into your chilled bowl pour the heavy whipping cream. Beat for about a minute on high speed, until it's kinda foamy and just starting to thicken. Gradually add the sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Continue beating on high speed until stiff peaks form. Chill until ready to serve.
Serve the galette warm, at room temperature, or chilled. Use a sharp knife to cut it into wedges, and dollop each serving with whipped cream.
Notes
- Instead of buying oat flour, you can easily make it yourself. Just add a heaping 1/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats to a small food processor, and give it a whirl.
- Crust adapted from The Faux Martha, filling and method from The Kitchn, and cinnamon whipped cream from Genius Kitchen.
- As written, I had far more whipped cream than was necessary. You could probably halve the whipped cream measurements and be perfectly fine.
- If you're lucky enough to have leftover galette, it actually warms nicely in the microwave. About 60 seconds for one serving was perfect for me.
