2.17.2011

Fresh from the Oven: Apple Galette

Hello All-

As you may have read in my previous post, hubby and I recently went to see Chef Eric Ripert at the EPCOR Centre here in Calgary.  In preparation for the show, we purchased Chef Ripert`s cookbook, Avec Eric.  In it are stories, photos, and of course, 100+ recipes. 


Letting the caramel cool on the silicone sheet

One that caught my eye was the Apple Galette (page 256).  I am by no means a pastry chef, but I do feel much more comfortable baking puff pastry than grilling meat.  Thankfully, hubby loves to cook, so he is always on meat duty. 


The sugar/cinnamon/vanilla powder pre-baking

I had been waiting for the perfect time to try out this recipe, and when we decided to invite some friends over for dinner, I jumped at the chance to make it.  Little did I know that it would involve being in the kitchen all day long!!


Post baking
The recipe is actually quite simple: make caramel, use caramel to make sugar coating, slice apples, bake apples with sugar coating, and bake again in a puff pastry.  The trouble with this recipe is the length of time that it takes to make it.  Each step much be cooked/baked and then cooled, before you can move on.  Had I read more carefully, I would have made this a day ahead and done the final baking on the day of the dinner party.


Final product- yummy!!
 All in all, it was delicious.  The puff pastry didn`t come out exactly as planned, since I forgot to thaw it to unroll it and then refreeze it.  I think next time I`ll look to see if I can find flat sheets, rather than rolled ones.  I think that would make life much easier.  I also plan to use a different type of apple next time.  The recipe calls for Granny Smiths, and I found that they were a bit too tart for the recipe.  That could be the fault of the season, but I think I`ll go with something sweeter next time.  This was easily remedied with a dollop of vanilla ice cream...homemade whipped cream would likely do the trick as well. 

I highly recommend this recipe to anyone who is looking to wow their guests.  with a bit of tweaking to one`s tastes, it can easily be a show-stopper!!!

Cheers!
Sharon

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Looks delicious!