Craving a quick and easy fall dessert that looks impressive? This cranberry apple galette is the answer and you'll love each bite of the flaky homemade crust and the tart-sweet fruit filling.
If you love fall-flavored pies, then you must try our pecan pie and our shortcrust pastry recipe will fulfill all your pie baking needs.
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Ingredients
Simple ingredients make this cranberry apple galette an easy dessert to make for any occasion. Here's a brief overview of a few.
- Apples: Choose a tart baking apple, such as Granny Smith. These apples will hold their shape well when baked, preventing a mushy result.
- Cranberries: Fresh or frozen berries work very well in this recipe. Don't use dried cranberries, as they'll be too chewy.
- Demerara Sugar: This coarse brown sugar adds a subtle sparkle and crunch to the crust when it's baked. You can substitute with coarse turbinado sugar.
How to Make
Gather the ingredients to make cranberry apple galette. You'll need four Granny Smith apples, fresh or frozen cranberries, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and cinnamon.
- Peel and thinly slice the apples, then toss them with the lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown.
- Add the cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch and toss until well mixed.
3. Roll out half of the pastry on a floured surface. Shape it into a circle about 11 or 12 inches in diameter.
Transfer the pastry circle to a parchment-lined cookie sheet and pile half of the apple and cranberry filling on top. Leave a 2 to 3 inch border of pastry around the fruit filling.
4. Fold the pastry over the cranberry apple filling, then brush it with beaten egg and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
5. Bake the cranberry apple galette at 400°F for 35 minutes, or until browned. Let it cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then let it cool on a wire rack.
6. Enjoy your cranberry apple galette warm or at room temperature.
Recipe FAQs
A galette is a rustic French tart made from shortcrust pastry and a fruit filling. It's typically baked free-form, which means it's not in a pie plate or tart pan. The edges of the pastry are folded up around the fruit that is piled in the center.
Many people wonder at the difference between the Italian crostata and the French galette. In fact, they are the same dessert, simply with different names because they are from different countries.
The word galette comes from the Norman word gale, which is the name for a flat cake. That's an appropriate title for this flat dessert!
The best way to prevent a soggy bottom is to avoid putting the filling on the pastry until right before baking. The lemon juice and sugar will pull the moisture out from the fruit filling as it sits, which will produce liquid. Bake the galette on a metal cookie sheet for the crispiest base, and make sure that it cools on a wire rack for proper air circulation.
Another tip is to avoid using liquidy fruits in the filling, such as strawberries. Tossing the fruit with a tablespoon or two of cornstarch or dusting a little semolina on the crust before adding the filling helps keep the pastry crispy.
Galette taste best served warm or at room temperature. It's not recommended to store them in the refrigerator and eat cold as the pastry firms up considerably and looses a lot of the flavor and texture.
Store
- Make ahead: Bake the cranberry apple galettes up to three days ahead of time and reheat when ready to serve.
- Leftovers: Keep at room temperature, making sure that it's covered tightly with plastic wrap or sealed inside of an airtight container. It will keep well at room temperature for up to 3 days when stored properly.
- Reheat: Return the cranberry apple galette to a pan and reheat it in a 375 F oven for 10 minutes, or until warm. Alternatively, you can microwave it for 60 seconds on 70% power.
- Freeze: Seal it inside of a zip-top freezer bag, or wrap it in a double layer of aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost it at room temperature.
Variations
- Pastry: Substitute puff pastry for the shortcrust to make this more fancy.
- Fruit: Add your favorite berries, or swap the apples for pears, cooked quince, peaches, or other fruit.
- Spices: Use pumpkin spice, mixed spice, or any combination of warm spices instead of the cinnamon.
Expert Tips
- Be sure to slice the apples an even thickness for the best cooking.
- Toss the sliced apples in lemon juice to prevent them from browning.
- Use homemade shortcrust when making cranberry apple galette for the tastiest result.
- Arrange the apple slices in a fanned out pattern for a more impressive presentation.
- Using a sturdy cake lifter makes it easy to transfer the galettes from the cookie sheets to the wire racks or serving plates.
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Recipe
Cranberry Apple Galette
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 15 ounces flaky shortcrust pastry
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons demerara sugar
For the Filling
- 4 large Granny Smith apples
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Equipment
Instructions
- Peel and thinly slice the apples, then toss them with the lemon juice to prevent them from browning. Each apple should be cut into approximately 32 slices.
- Add the cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon to the bowl of apple slices and toss until well coated.
- Place half of the pastry on a lightly floured work surface and roll it into 11 or 12-inch diameter circle. Transfer the pastry to a large parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Arrange half of the apple slices and cranberries on the circle of pastry, leaving a border of about 3 inches all the way around.
- Fold the pastry over the cranberry apple filling, then brush it with the beaten egg and sprinkle the pastry and filling with demerara sugar.
- Bake the cranberry apple galette at 400 F for 35 minutes, or until the pastry is a rich golden brown. Let it cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then let it finish cooling on a wire rack. Cover the filling with foil if it's starting to brown too much.
- Repeat steps 3-6 with the other half of the pastry and filling.
- Serve the cranberry apple galette warm with vanilla ice cream or crème anglaise.
Notes
- Using a sturdy cake lifter makes it easy to transfer the cranberry apple galettes from the cookie sheets to the wire racks or serving plates.
- Be sure to slice the apples an even thickness for the best cooking.
- Toss the sliced apples in lemon juice to prevent them from browning.
- Use homemade shortcrust for the tastiest cranberry apple galette.
- Arrange the apple slices in a fanned out pattern for a more impressive presentation.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Our cranberry apple galette post was originally published on Sept. 11, 2020.
Alex
The apples are chewy and the cranberries are sweet and sour. The pastry is soft and crumbly, and the sugar adds a lovely flavor. Delicious!
Emma
Thanks for your sharing your thoughts, Alex!
Beth
This is a warm, soft dessert. I like the rustic look and the layered apples. The pastry is golden and crumbly. The cranberries in the filling and the demerara sugar on the crust are great. This tastes nice with vanilla ice cream.
Emma
So glad to hear that you enjoyed the galette, Beth! 😊