Ready for Dessert: Apple-Frangipane Galette

Saturday, some friends came over for a German feast. That's my favorite kind of feast, because it means Matt's doing the cooking. Ha! I was tempted to make my Mom's apple strudel recipe, but I didn't feel like putzing about with filo dough, so I picked the Apple-Frangipane Galette recipe from Ready For Dessert instead. It seemed like it shared strudel's spirit.

This was a three part recipe, but it was still easy to make. The galette dough only has to chill for a half hour, so by the time I was done preparing the frangipane (which is almond paste processed with an egg, almond extract, rum, butter, and a few other things until it's as creamy as possible) and peeling and slicing the apples, I could move right into rolling out the dough.

Roll the dough into a big circle, spread the frangipane on top, dump the apples on in an even layer, leaving a border of crust to fold up over the apples, then sprinkle the whole shebang with sugar. I must have had a crack in my crust somewhere, because a giant pool of precious frangipane leaked out. I'd assumed apple juices had overflowed, so I was aggravated to discover it was my delicious almond paste.

I order you to get back in your crust, frangipane!!

I'd hoped that there would be a stronger interplay between the almond and apple flavors. It's possible that it lost some oomph by leaking a puddle of paste onto the baking sheet, but the almond flavor was very subtle. In one way, it's a compliment, because it really allowed the flavor of the apples to shine through, with nothing to season them except sugar. Part of me missed the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, but I kept telling myself that this was not an apple pie, and I shouldn't compare the two. Still, given the choice, I think I'd rather eat a pie.

Also, the crust was kind of doughy. It didn't crisp up or turn flaky. Bummer.

Conclusion: Liked it.

It's a testament to the quality of Lebovitz's recipes that my standards have gotten so high that I'm complaining about this at all. This galette was not my favorite recipe in the book, but it was still pretty good. In the interest of clearing out the fridge, I had to finish the last slice just now. I twisted my own arm.

We're trying to eat our way through a mountain of leftovers, so I won't cook a new RR recipe until at least tomorrow. I forgot that her measurements create enough food to feed a battalion. I'll need to halve them from now on.