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This scrumptious Rustic Apple Galette is a gorgeous, impressive dessert. Plus it’s so much easier than making an apple pie!

With just one crust and cinnamon-spiced apples, this easy Apple Tart Recipe is simple enough for a weeknight dessert, yet tasty and beautiful enough for special company. One of our dinner guests mentioned that it was unusual to find a “crust as delicious as the filling.” He was smitten as much as we were!

Overhead Rustic Apple Galette on a white plate.
Table of Contents hide
1 Why You Must Make
2 Ingredient Notes
3 A French Apple Tart
4 How to Make
5 Expert Tips
6 Frequently Asked Questions
7 More Recipes You’ll Love:
8 Apple Galette

Why You Must Make

We love celebrating the holidays with 5 other couples we’ve gotten to know through a volunteer organization. I offered to host this year’s gathering and promised to have most of it catered to take the pressure off. But I knew I’d have to add a few dishes of my own.

  • This rustic apple tart was a delicious way to end the meal. And much easier to make than a double crust apple pie.
  • Once you make your first galette, you’ll want to try so many other versions.
  • It makes a beautiful presentation. Just take an extra few minutes to arrange your apple slices and everyone will want to know how you made this beautiful apple tart!
Apple Galette Ingredients with labels on a metal sheetpan.

Ingredient Notes

  • Kitchen Staples – Flour, Sugar, Salt, Cinnamon, Ice Water
  • Butter – Cold makes a flakier crust, cut into small pieces
  • Cream Cheese – Cold; Adds more richness and flexibility to the crust.
  • Lemon Juice – Use freshly squeezed for the highest quality
  • Fresh Apples – Use baking apples. Pick two different varieties that are good for pies like Granny Smith, Honey Crisp and Golden Delicious. This makes a more flavorful tart.
  • Egg White -To glaze the crust before baking.
  • Apricot Jelly or Jam – To glaze the fruit after baking.
Rustic Apple Tart on a white plate with apples in the background.

A French Apple Tart

Bill fired up the Big Green Egg and we served beef tenderloin wrapped in bacon, a few side dishes, and this scrumptious apple galette. Served with vanilla ice cream, it was sampled by everyone despite our sated appetites. This French pastry is a dreamy fall dessert, but with apples available year-round, a fruit galette is perfect any time!

Partial view of Apple Tart from above on a white serving plate.

How to Make

Here are some step-by-step images to help you visualize the recipe process.

Galette crust ingredients in a food processor.
Apple galette dough ready to chill.
Processed crust formed into a disk and wrapped in plastic.
Apple Galette crust rolled out on a Silpat.
Crust rolled into a round on a Silpat.
Peeled, sliced, sweetened apples in a glass bowl.
Sliced peeled apples with cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice.
Unbaked apple galette on a sheetpan.
Apples arranged on crust, then edges folded over to contain the juices.
Baked apple galette cooling on a rack.
Baked galette cooled, then brush the apples with jam or jelly to glaze.

Expert Tips

  • Select your favorite baking apples. I like using more than one kind for a better depth of flavor. This time I used Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples. Golden Delicious and Granny Smith is another tasty pairing.
  • Use cold butter, cold cream cheese, and ice-cold water to make the galette crust. It will be much flakier when these three ingredients are well chilled.
  • PRO-Tip: I like using a large mixing bowl to guide cutting a 15-inch round of the dough. Once I have that round cut, I like to make a few superficial marks 3 inches from the edge of the pastry to mark how far out to layer the apples.
  • I start in the middle with 3-4 slices, then make concentric circles working out towards the edge. Make sure to leave a couple of inches uncovered at the perimeter so you have some dough to pleat and fold over the apples.
  • I use fewer apples than in the Cook’s Illustrated recipe as I like making neat concentric circles of apples. But feel free to add an extra apple if you’d like to up the filling-to-pastry ratio.
  • As the finishing touch, it’s lovely to brush the exposed crust with egg, then generously sprinkle with sugar. It tastes great, too!
  • PRO-Tip: Not in the original recipe, but after the galette is baked, you can brush the apples with a little apricot jelly or jam as a simple glaze. This gives a beautiful sheen to the fruit.
  • Serve each slice with a scoop or vanilla, caramel or even cinnamon ice cream if desired.
Apple Galette photo and text collage for Pinterest.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is A Galette?

Galette is a French term that refers to a dessert, similar to a tart, with a pastry crust folded over a fruit filling before baking. Though, less common there are savory variations as well. One of the most well-known galettes is a Galette des Rois, which has a puff pastry crust filled with frangipane, which is made for Epiphany.

I’ve made a Peach Raspberry Galette as well as a Peach Blueberry Galette, but this Apple Galette is my favorite! For another easy apple dessert, check out this Boozy Apple Crisp from Creative Culinary.


How Do You Pronounce Galette?

If you look in an English dictionary, you’ll find the pronunciation is this: /ɡælˈet/. But to make it easy, in case you don’t remember “æ” from your school days, this is how I say this culinary term: GUL’ et.

Can a Galette Be Made Ahead of Time?

It sure can. I’ve served the apple galette at room temperature, but if you’d like, pop it in a 350-degree oven for 5 minutes or so to warm it up. Then top each slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to serve.

How Do You Store a Galette?

A galette can be stored at room temperature for a day or two. In the summer, when it’s warm and humid, it’s best to keep it in the refrigerator after that, bringing it back to room temperature before serving.

A galette can also be frozen for 2-3 months. First, freeze it uncovered on a baking sheet for an hour or two, until it’s firm. Then place it on a cardboard round, wrap well, and keep for 2-3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and gently warm to serve.

More Recipes You’ll Love:

Neighbors at the dining table..
Photo circa 2011

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Overhead Rustic Apple Galette on a white plate
The Recipe:

Apple Galette

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield 8 servings

A scrumptious rustic apple dessert with a tender, easy to roll out crust and a spiral of cinnamon-spiced apples!

Ingredients

Dough:

  • 1 ¼ cups flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons cold butter (1 stick), cut into ½-inch pieces
  • 4 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into ½-inch pieces
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1-2 tablespoons ice water (I used closer to 2 tablespoons)

Filling:

  • 4 medium apples (about 2 ½ pounds), peeled, cored and cut into ¼-inch slices (I used 3 Granny Smith and 3 Golden Delicious)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze:

  • 1 egg white, lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • Apricot jelly or jam, optional, to glaze the fruit

Instructions

  1. In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and cream cheese and pulse till the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal, about 10 pulses.
  2. Sprinkle with lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of water and pulse a few times till liquid is dispersed. Pinch a bit of the dough to see if it holds together; if not, sprinkle with the remaining water and pulse to combine.
  3. Turn the dough out onto the countertop and gently press it into a ball. Flatten into a 6-inch disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  4. Preheat oven to 375º. Remove the dough from the refrigerator.
  5. Roll into a 15-inch circle between two sheets of parchment paper. Remove the top parchment and move the dough round with the parchment paper to a baking sheet.
  6. Toss apples with the sugar and cinnamon; and arrange apples overlapping in semicircles, starting about 3 inches in from the edge of the dough, placing the thicker sides of the apples facing out.
  7. Fold the outer dough border up over the apple filling, pleating as needed, then use cupped hands to press the sides of the dough so it adheres to the apples.
  8. Bake for 30 minutes, then brush the exposed crust with egg white and sprinkle the remaining sugar over the whole tart.
  9. Bake until the crust is golden and the apples are tender about 30 more minutes.
  10. Cool for 10 minutes, then slide the tart and parchment onto a cooling rack.
  11. If you'd like, brush some apricot jelly or jam over the apples to give them a slight sheen.
  12. Use a large spatula to remove the tart from the parchment onto a serving plate. Serve slices with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Notes

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 321Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 212mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 3gSugar: 23gProtein: 4g

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© Liz Berg
Cuisine: American / Category: Desserts