Braided Apple Galette With Goat Cheese & Honey

Trade the traditional apple pie for an upscale apple galette!

Make this dessert ahead of time and forget the fuss Thanksgiving morning!

Khara Westergard shares her recipe for a braided apple and goat cheese stuffed galette. It has all the flavors of a traditional apple pie with a new look! Khara’s all-butter flaky pie crust recipe that she uses as the base of her galette can be found on the Studio 5 website here.

For more recipes and ideas from Khara, follow her on Instagram @BalsamicBaker.

Apple, Goat Cheese, and Honey Galette

INGREDIENTS

• The Pie Crust recipe increased by 1.5
• 5.5 oz. (1/2 C. + 3 Tbsp.) White Granulated Sugar
• 5.5 oz. (1/2 C. + 3 Tbsp. Packed tight) Light Brown Sugar
• 1/4 C. Flour (Regular or GF) (scooped, not fluffed)
• 2 1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. Salt
• 3 lb. Bag (6-7 C after peeling/slicing) Green Apples (Peeled & sliced 1/4” thick)
• 1 Tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice (mix into apples right after slicing)
• 8-9 oz. Goat Cheese (about 3/4 of a 10.5 oz. log)
• Honey – To taste – Generously drizzled over baked finished pie.
• **optional – Werther’s caramel or a handful of pomegranates or craisins for topping.

METHOD

1. Mix sugars with flour, spices, & salt until well mixed. Add apples & lemon juice. Mix well.
2. Roll your refrigerated pie crust out onto a large piece of parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray. Use an 8” cake pan, pot lid, or similar alternative to mark a circle in the center of your pie crust. Place 3/4” logs of cut goat cheese around the marked circle.

For a braided edge Galette

1. Using a paring knife, cut 3/4” slits around the edges of the crust to create lots of flaps that do not reach the marked circle. Leave 1/2 – 3/4” or so uncut around the circle. Your crust will look like a sun. Using the parchment paper to help lift, peel & lift one flap up & over the goat cheese crossing toward the right. Skip a flap. Lift the next flap over, crossing toward the left. Go back to the skipped flap & cross toward the right. Skip the next available flap. Cross the next one to the left. Cross the skipped flap to the right. Skip the next available flap & Cross the next to the left. continue the pattern.
2. After braiding, press the edges of the braid into the bottom of the crust with one finger. Cover with food wrap & freeze for at least 1 hour (or longer as needed).
3. Preheat oven to 450 F. Brush edges of frozen pie crust with egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp. water) & generously sprinkle with large grain decorators’ sugar (regular in a pinch).
4. Add apple filling, careful to reserve some of the juices if there is too much (you can heat them on the stovetop over medium heat or in a microwave until they boil and thicken just a bit then add them back over the top of the apples avoid too much juice leakage.). Optionally add caramel pieces or other additives on top also. Sprinkle the tops of the fruit with more decorative sugar.
5. Put cold pie straight into the oven & drop the temp to 425-degree F. Putting the cold pie quickly into a high-heat oven aims to shock the crust into staying in its place instead of spreading.
6. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 375 F & bake for 30-35 minutes.
7. Cool for 30 minutes before serving & drizzle with honey.

For a simple traditional Galette

1. Reserving most of the juices, add apples to the center of the Galette pie crust inside the circle of goat cheese. Optionally add caramel pieces or other additives on top also. Fold the crust over the top of the filling & allow folds to overlap. Pour the juices back over the top of the exposed apples. Brush crust with egg wash (1 beaten egg mixed with 1 Tbsp. Water). Sprinkle large grain decorative sparkling sugar over the top of the crust & fruit (regular sugar in pinch)
2. Chill the galette well in the fridge, lightly covered for 1 hour, before baking to make sure the crust is set. A cold set crust put straight into a 425-degree oven aims to shock the crust into staying in its place instead of spreading.
3. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 375 F & bake for 30-35 minutes.
4. Cool for 30 minutes before serving & drizzle with honey.