Apple Cranberry Galettes — Veganized

To all my little vegan friends, here's a lovely dessert idea that's perfect for Thanksgiving. I made the original non-vegan version, then made a second minus the dairy. Both were fantastic. It was super easy to "veganize" the recipe by replacing butter with Earth Balance, and by using soy milk as an egg wash.

BTW, boo to turkey and hooray to vegetable vindaloo! This Thanksgiving I will be enjoying a nice Indian dinner at Hema's Kitchen with my good friend, sparkling Shiraz. Gobble, gobble.

Apple Cranberry Galettes — Veganized
Adapted from Pâtisserie Natalie, original non-vegan recipe here

For the dough:

• 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons (1-1/4 sticks) chilled Earth Balance vegan butter + 2 tablespoons
• 2 tablespoons (or more) ice water
• soy milk (to be used as an egg wash)

For the filling:

• 4 large Granny Smith apples
• 2/3 cup fresh cranberries
• 5 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan butter
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger

Mix flour, sugar, and salt in food processor. Add 12 tablespoons of butter; pulse until coarse meal forms. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk and wrap in plastic. Chill 2 hours.

While you're chilling the dough, you might want to prepare the filling (procedure below).

Preheat oven to 375º F. Roll out dough on a floured work surface 1/2" thick. Cut into 8" diameter circles and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

Place about 1/3 of a cup of the filling in the center of the circle and fold up edges of the dough in one direction. Place a 1/2 tablespoon of butter on the filling.

Using a pastry brush, paint the sides of the galette with a small amount of soy milk. Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes depending on your oven.

For the filling:
Peel and cut apples into very thin slices, about 1/4" thick, then set aside.

In a large saucepan, turn on medium heat and melt butter. While the butter is melting, combine lemon juice, sugar, and spices in a small bowl. Pour into the saucepan.

Cook the cranberries in the pan first, without the apples. Wait until they start to make "popping" sounds, then remove from the pan, leaving the juice in the pan.

Cook apples just until they are easily sliced with a little pressure from a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and toss the cranberries in. Stir the fruits in with the sauce until incorporated. Makes about (4) 8-inch galettes.

6 weeks and counting...

The specialty and wedding cake section of the program, as well as the exam, has thankfully come to an end. And boy, was this exam ever so challenging — I just barely finished everything that was required. We had to produce three cakes: an entremet, a pithivier, a torted buttercream cake complete with fancy-shmancy piping techniques, and a bouquet of gum paste flowers.

We did learn some pretty interesting cake decorating techniques, but quite honestly, it was my least enjoyed portion of the pastry program. Yep, I'm a simple girl, who likes her pastries gum paste and fondant-free.

Made of sugar, so it's technically edible

3-tiered fondant cake with stringwork and borders

So, I'm headed into my last quarter of the program with just 6 weeks left! This week starts off with breads, then we will move on to breakfast pastries, and finally, petit fours. Apparently, they have saved the best for last.