Salted Caramel Apple Galette

Don’t let the end-of-winter doldrums get you down! This Salted Caramel Apple Galette is a sure-fire way to put a smile on your face and please anyone you invite to partake in this treat. 

Staring at the homemade salted caramel sauce in my refrigerator one day recently, I suddenly realized that it would be perfect with the apples in my fruit bin.

Putting apples and salted caramel together is easy in theory, but how to hold them together in practice? A cake didn’t seem quite right; the apples would be second string players to the layer of batter baked around the fruit. A pie involves too many apples, overwhelming the caramel sauce. Plus, with pie there is always the issue of how to make the pie dough fit nicely in the pan. A tart could work well and I could have gone that way. But then, eureka! I hit upon the perfect vessel for my ingredients – a galette. 

If you are not familiar with galettes, the concept and execution are simple. A galette is the French version of a free form pie with less filling. (The Italian equivalent is a crostata.) You can use any type of pie dough and the filling can be either sweet or savory. Simply put the filling in the middle of a round of rolled-out dough leaving a “clear” border, fold the edges inward to the center, and bake. 

In this case, I used Dorie Greenspan’s “Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough” and adapted a filling recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. The result was a delicious combination of fruit, nuts, and slightly salty sweet sauce. If you’re into a la mode, feel free to add ice cream. Honestly though, this Salted Caramel Apple Galette stands on its own.

If you’re not into making dough, use a good quality refrigerated pie dough from the store. I’m firmly in the “short cuts without shame” camp. Homemade dough is better, but store-bought pie dough works fine in a pinch.

Homemade salted caramel sauce is a cinch to make with this recipe that does not require a candy thermometer. Although you need only a few tablespoons of the sauce, the leftover sauce keeps well in the refrigerator for weeks, if you can make it last that long. 

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Salted Caramel Apple Galette

Combine apples, almonds and salted caramel sauce nestled into a free form, pleated disc of pie dough. The result is a simple and fabulous dessert. 

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Author Laura

Ingredients

Pie Dough

• 1 recipe of pie dough, chilled

Filling

• 3 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg I use freshly grated, but store-bought ground nutmeg is fine
• 3 tablespoons cookie or graham cracker crumbs I used gingersnaps.
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Egg wash

• 1 egg, lightly beaten with 2 teaspoons of water

Topping

• 2 tablespoons salted caramel sauce, slightly heated

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Sprinkle the apple slices with the lemon juice in a medium sized bowl. Mix the sugars and spices together in a separate, small bowl. Add that mixture to the apples and toss until well combined. Set aside.

   

3. Roll the pie dough out on a large piece of parchment into a circle about 12-inches in diameter.

4. Scatter the cookie crumbs over the pie dough, leaving a border of about 2-inches around the edge of the circle. Arrange the apple slices on top of the cookie crumbs. I like to make a fan design, but you can also do it more randomly, as long as the slices are spread evenly. If there is any juice from the apple mixture, sprinkle it over the slices.

   

5. Add the slivered almonds and fold the border over the apples, pleating the dough as you go along. The center of the galette remains open. Brush the outer border of the dough with the egg wash, then bake until the dough is lightly browned and the apple filling bubbles.

   

6. Immediately after removing the galette from the oven, drizzle the salted caramel sauce over it, mostly on the open area in the middle. 

Recipe Notes

I used Dorie Greenspan's "Good for Almost Everything" Pie Dough. It has just a hint of sweetness and is simple to make in a food processor.  

The addition of the cookie crumbs is a tip from Dorie Greenspan. It helps soak up the apple juices as the galette cooks. Using gingersnaps gave the galette just a hint of a gingery taste. (I'm a ginger fiend.) If you prefer not to add a separate taste, use plain cookies or graham crackers.