Apple Galette with Salted Caramel

Ingredients

Crust

• 1/2 c unsalted butter, cold
• 1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 c buttermilk (or use regular milk mixed with 1/2 tsp vinegar)

Filling

• 1/4 c apple cider
• 4 c cored, peeled, and thinly sliced apples
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Salt, to taste

Topping

• Heavy cream or half & half
• Turbinado or coarse sugar

Salted Caramel Sauce

• 1 c granulated sugar
• 1/4 c water
• 1/2 c heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

Crust

1. Combine all ingredients, except buttermilk, in food processor. Pulse until butter is well combined with the flour mixture. Add buttermilk and pulse until a dough forms. Turn dough out onto a clean surface and shape into an even, flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap, then roll the sides to form an even edge. Refrigerate for 1 hour while preparing the filling.

Filling

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the apple cider to a boil over medium heat, and boil until reduced by half and mixture becomes syrupy, 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the apples and all other filling ingredients, and cook over medium heat until the apples release their liquid and the filling thickens, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely (I often put it in the fridge to speed along this process). Don’t put warm filling on the rolled out pie dough or it could get soggy.

Galette

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. On a clean, lightly floured countertop or surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness in an even-ish circle. Place the circle of dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pour the apple filling mixture onto the center and spread it out to within about an inch of the edges.
2. Fold the edges of the dough over the filling (at least 2-3 inches over), creating a freeform pie shape. This can be very rustic, and certainly does not need to be perfect! Just try to keep it even and not create any holes for filling to come out.
3. Brush the folded-over edges of dough with a little heavy cream or half and half, then sprinkle with sugar. If you feel like the dough has gotten warm during this process, put the whole galette in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to make sure it’s really cold when it goes in the oven. This creates a flaky, crisp crust!
4. Bake for about 45 minutes, until crust is bronzed and filling is bubbling. You may have some filling leak out – that’s ok.  Drizzle with salted caramel sauce and serve with vanilla ice cream and chopped nuts, if desired.

Salted Caramel Sauce

1. In a medium saucepan (I recommend a stainless steel saucepan so you can see what’s happening) stir together the sugar and water, then heat over medium heat. DO NOT STIR. You can swirl it a little from time to time, but don’t stir or whisk it. The mixture will come to a boil and be very bubbly.
2. Continue to cook the sugar until it has turned a dark amber hue, about 8-10 minutes. While it’s cooking, measure out your heavy cream, butter, and salt, and grab a whisk. Things need to happen fast once you reach the right color or else the sugar will burn.
3. As soon as a dark amber hue is reached, remove pan from the heat and whisk in the heavy cream – whisk vigorously. It will crackle loudly and seem like it’s curdling but keep whisking!! After 10-15 seconds or so of whisking, a glorious caramel sauce will emerge in your pan.
4. Whisk in the butter and salt. Serve warm sauce with the apple galette.

Recipe Notes

• Store leftover apple galette in the fridge for up to 3 days, though it’s best the day it’s made.
• Store any leftover sauce in a sealed jar or container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
• Use any leftover salted caramel and apples for this delicious caramel apple pie.