Apple-frangipane galette

It's apple season!  Fall has arrived and that probably means at least one requisite visit (particularly if you have children) to the farm for a hay ride and some apple and pumpkin picking.  If you're lucky, maybe you'll be able to pick some tomatoes on the vine and roast them for dinner too.

Golden delicious apples we picked and used for this galette

I buy apples every week and "enforce" them on my 7-year old son, who unfortunately receives them with predictable dismay 85% of the time.  He'll eat them...eventually.  It "only" takes about an hour for him to finish an average size one I sliced.  So this apple galette wasn't made with him particularly in mind.  But this is for anyone who love apples, almond flavor, and a flaky, buttery, just-sweet-enough crust.

The French term galette basically refers to a casual, rustic kind of free form tart, which appeals to me since it's a whole lot less intimidating than making an apple pie.  This recipe comes from my well-used copy of Ready for Dessert.  It looked and sounded like something I could do and perfect for this current apple season.

You could make peach, pear or some other stone fruit galette but I like the classic apple and I get a chance to use some of the fresh apples we picked.  This apple galette starts with a really easy crust.  Easy as in you can use a food processor, stand mixer, or even just a pastry blender and your hands to make it (although I had a very bad experience attempting to make dough by hand and prefer the food processor).

A layer of frangipane beneath the apples makes this galette just a bit more special.  Frangipane is an almond pastry cream made mainly with almond paste, butter, sugar, and eggs.  I think the idea of trying the frangipane filling appealed to me as much as making this fruit tart as a whole because I adore almond paste and desserts incorporating some kind of almond/nut component.  And the frangipane really adds a great extra layer of flavor and aroma to the overall.  As a bonus, it acts like insulation between the crust and apples so that the bottom of the crust stays crisp and intact!

I think one of the things I like best about this recipe is how simple it turned out to be.  Yes, there are a few steps involved but each one is fairly quick and easy.  You can (and should) make the dough and frangipane a couple of days ahead of time.  So while it does require some advance planning,  it is by no means a burden.  The other great thing is I think this kind of tart lets the fruit shine.  In this case, I used red and yellow golden delicious apples we picked from our seasonal apple picking trip a few days prior.

Now, I have a tip (for what it's worth): when you go apple picking, please look around and see if the farm sells honey and if so, buy a jar.  I've been just a little turned off by honey lately though I use some almost everyday with my bowl of oatmeal.  I think most of those little jars of honey bears just don't have enough, or the right, flavor.  Your local farmer's market is another possible source for good honey but I struck gold on our apple picking trip when I grabbed a jar there.  It is so good, it makes me want to eat it plain.

This made a chilly, wet Fall day a little sweeter...

Drizzle just a little bit of some good honey over a slice of this galette and it's another level bliss.  Take it one step further and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream (I've gotten a bit into the habit of making my own) and the story is finished.

This is one of those desserts I'm really proud I made because it's so different from what I'd normally bake and eat.  I love making a new discovery, learning new techniques, and tasting new flavors.  Sharing with family and friends makes it all the more rewarding.