After making so many tomato galettes this summer, I was so happy to see Claudia Flemming’s Apple Crumb Crostata recipes featured about two weeks ago. I made it for the first time this weekend for my Friendsgiving and I’m planning to make it again, instead of apple pie, on Thanksgiving for my family. In spite of the fact that the instructions are somewhat long, I think it’s less work than an apple pie and it’s also light, tart, and refreshing which is something that’s appreciated in my family after a long Thanksgiving meal.
I’ve made a few small tweaks to the recipe, I used Erin McDowell’s Perfect Pie Crust, rather than Claudia’s, it’s a little simpler, and it’s become a no fail crust for me and I peeled and chopped the apples and made the crust about 24 hours in advance, which I do because I think it allows the crust to chill properly and also because it allows the apples to macerate which I prefer to do and then drain rather than to use cornstarch.
For the crust:
160 grams all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
115 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water, plus more as needed
For the filling:
6 to 8 tart apples, Claudia recommends Granny Smith, I used a combination of wine sap, wine crisp, and honey crisp, peeled evenly sliced
50 grams brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/8 teaspoon ground vanilla
For the crumble:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
90 grams all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
57 grams (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
For assembling and serving:
1 egg, beaten
whipped cream or ice cream
As I mentioned above, I prefer to make this gradually over a 24-36 hour which allows time for the dough to chill and for the apples to macerate
So, first, 24-36 hours before you plan to assemble and bake, peel and slice your apples and toss in a large mixing bowl with sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and lemon juice and then cover and refrigerate
And, make the crust, I prefer to use a food processor to make crostata and galette crust and I wrote about that this summer if you’d like to read more, anyway, if you have the wearwhithall, put your butter in the freezer about 30 minutes to an hour before you start
Blitz the flour, salt, and butter in the food processor until it resembles damp sand
Alternate between adding a tablespoon of ice water and blitzing for about 5-8 seconds until the crust begins to come together — the crust will quite literally begin to ball up just on top of the blades
Overturn the dough into a mixing bowl and knead it together briefly — I did three traditional fold-in-half-and-press-it-with-the-heel-of-my-hand kneads
Form into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 1 month —
When you are ready to assemble, remove dough from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 14-inch circle and transfer to baking sheet and chill until firm, about 15 minutes — I also like to very, very gently and faintly press a 12” pot lid into the crust just so that I have good 12” circle to guide me for assembling .
Make the crumble by mixing together granulated sugar, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon and drizzle with melted butter and stir with a fork until mixture is crumbly and all the flour is incorporated; the crumbs should be smaller than 1 inch
Remove baking sheet from refrigerator and arrange the apples in neat concentric circles along the 12” circle; reserve the juice that has gathered at the bottom of the pan
Brush exposed dough border with beaten egg and fold edge in up over fruit, making pleats every 2 inches
Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of the remaining juices over the exposed fruit, brush the folded outer edge with beaten egg, and then lastly, cover exposed fruit with about 1 cup crumble.
Bake for 40-50 minutes until crust is golden brown and fruit is bubbles, allow to cool and serve with whip cream or ice cream