Apple and Calvados Tart-Galette de Pommes au Calvados

Whisk together 2 ½ c plain White Lily flour, 2 t sugar and ¾ t salt. Cut in 2 sticks semi-soft butter with your fingertips or in a pasty blender.  When it resembles coarse meal.  Drizzle evenly with 9 T ice water and gently stir with a fork until incorporated.

Squeeze a small handful: if it doesn’t’ hold together, add more ice water 1 T at a time.

Do not overwork.

Turn out onto lightly floured surface and divide into 8 portions. With heel of hand,

Smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat.  Gather dough together with scraper and press into a ball, then flatten into a 6” disk.  Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin into a rough 16” round (¹/₈” thick), then transfer carefully to parchment-lined large baking sheet. Loosely fold in edge of pastry where necessary to fit on 14” baking sheet, then chill, covered loosely with plastic wrap for 30 min.

While pastry is chilling, peel, core and slice 1¾ lb Gala apples into ¹/₈” slices. Toss slices with 2 t lemon juice and ¹/₃ c plus ½ T sugar.

Calvados Apple Sauce

Peel and core 1 lb gala apples, then cut into 1” slices.  Bring apples, ½ c water, ½ c sugar, ½ t finely grated fresh lemon peel, and ¹/₈ t cinnamon to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 min. Uncover and simmer until most of liquid is gone.  Add 2 T Calvados and simmer for 2 more minutes. Mash with potato masher.

Put baking sheet with pastry on a work surface and unfold any edges so pastry is flat. Spread applesauce over pastry, leaving a 2” border and top sauce with sliced apples, mounding slightly.  Fold edges of dough over filling, partially covering apples (center will not be covered)and pleating dough as necessary. Dot apples with 3 T butter, then brush pastry edge lightly with water and sprinkle with remaining ½ T sugar. Bake galette in middle of oven until pastry is golden and apples are tender-about 40-45 min at 450^o.

While galette is baking, melt 1½ T apple jelly in a very small saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring. Slide baked galette on parchment onto a rack, then brush with melted jelly and cool galette until warm or room temperature.

Calvados Cream

Beat together 1 c chilled heavy cream and 1 T xxx sugar until cream just holds peaks. Beat in 1 ½ T Calvados.

Serve with dollops of Calvados cream

Calvados is a dry apple brandy from France.