Apple Butter Galette

This season is the best for baking with apples, so even though I shared my Strucolo de Pomi just two weeks ago, I am back today with a similar recipe: Apple Butter Galette. You don’t mind, do you?

The inspiration for this cake was Miss South‘s latest cookbook “Slow Cooked”, published last month (read here my review of her previous book Recipes from Brixton Village). When I received a complimentary copy from the publisher I didn’t even own a slow cooker, but the recipes by Miss South looked so appealing that I decided to buy one.

I discovered that slow cookers are so versatile that you can use them not only to cook, but also to bake and make preservers, like a seasonal Bramley apple butter!

I loved the idea of slow-cooking apples into a “soft, spreadable butter full of cinnamon and spice to preserve it for a long, cold winter” as Miss South describes in the book.

Except my apple butter didn’t last for a whole season, as I used it to make Apple Galettes for a Christmas party I threw last weekend! I used the recipe for an “all butter, really flaky American pie dough” from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook, which is always a reliable source of pastry recipes.

Apple Butter

• 1kg apples
• 50g brown sugar
• 1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 heaped tsp ground allspice
• 1 heaped tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 250ml water or apple juice
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Peel, core and slice the apples. Put them into the slow-cooker crock and toss with the sugar, ground spices and salt. Add the liquid. Put the lid on the slow-cooker and cook for 10 hours on low. According to the recipe you should stir once an hour, but I left it overnight so I skipped this step.

When it is all thickened from the apples breaking down with very little liquid on the surface, it is cooked. If your apples are still watery, simply cook for up to another 4 hours. Allow it all to cool slightly. Remove the cinnamon stick, if using. Blend the butter using a hand blender until it is smooth and thickened. Add the vanilla extract.

Ladle into sterilised jars and store in a darkened place for up to 6 months. Keep in the fridge when opened.

Apple Butter Galette

• 160g plain flour
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 110g unsalted butter, very cold
• 60ml ice-cold water
• 150g apple butter
• 3 apples
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• icing sugar for decoration

In a large wide bowl, stir together flour, sugar and salt. Cut the butter into a small cubes and scatter the pieces over the flour. Break the butter into the flour mixture until the largest pieces are the size of tiny peas. If the butter has warmed up a bit, place the bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Drizzle the water over the mixture and use a spatula to gently stir it together. Knead the dough, working quickly so as to warm it as little as possible. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill it in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan. Dust your kitchen counter with flour, place the dough on it and sprinkle the top with additional flour. Begin to roll it out into a 30cm round. If the dough becomes soft, it will be harder to roll so place it into the freezer for a few minutes to firm up.

Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the apple butter over the bottom of the galette dough, leaving a 5cm border. Scatter the peeled, cored and sliced apples on top.

Fold the border over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit; the center will be open. Whisk egg yolk with water and brush the galette crust with this mixture. Sprinkle sugar over the cake.

Bake until the filling is puffed and the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes, rotating the galette front to back halfway through for even browning.

Cool and serve dusted with icing sugar.