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Move Over, Pumpkin Pie

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

 


Candied nuts and a winter fruit chutney top Lauren Mitterer’s almond galette; photograph by Ruta Elvikyte

November 24, 2015

Move Over, Pumpkin Pie
Impress Thanksgiving guests with this decadent—yet simple—winter dessert from WildFlour Pastry’s Lauren Mitterer


Written By Marion Sullivan

This fall, we tasked Lauren Mitterer, pastry chef and owner of WildFlour Pastry, with celebrating dairy in a holiday dessert. Here, she shares her recipe for an almond galette with maple cream and winter fruit chutney, a sophisticated substitute for the traditional Thanksgiving pie. The flaky pie dough of a galette—a French term for a rustic, free-form pastry—is rolled into a flat circle, then folded around the filling. In Mitterer’s version, candied almonds stud a cream cheese and yogurt filling and garnish the top; a sweet, tart chutney of dried cranberries, cherries, apricots, and prunes provides a pop of color (find the chutney recipe at charlestonmag.com). A final touch of whipped or ice cream, Mitterer counsels, makes a perfect marriage.

Almond Galette with Maple Cream & Winter Fruit Chutney
(Serves 6)

For the maple cream:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
2 Tbs. plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp. pure maple syrup
1/4 tsp. kosher salt


Put the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle and beat on low until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the remaining ingredients and beat until combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape it down again, making sure all of the ingredients are incorporated. Place the mixture in a container and refrigerate for up to two days.

For the candied almonds:
1 cup sliced raw almonds
1 Tbs. pure maple syrup
Pinch kosher salt
Pinch cinnamon


Preheat an oven to 350°F.

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, spread the nuts out on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, and bake for eight to 10 minutes, stirring every three minutes for even baking. Once the nuts become golden, immediately transfer them onto a sheet of parchment paper on the counter, making sure the nuts are not clumped together. Once cool, divide the nuts in half, and add one half to the maple cream. Reserve the other half for garnish.

For the galette:
1/2 cup cold water
2 ½ cups plus 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/2 Tbs. kosher salt
1/2 Tbs. sugar
3/4 packed cup shortening, chilled and cubed
6 Tbs. unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 egg whisked with 2 Tbs. water for egg wash
1/4 cup raw sugar


Put the water in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Then add the flour, salt, granulated sugar, shortening, and butter. Mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, just until ingredients are combined and a dough forms. Remove the dough from the mixer, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to a day.

Preheat an oven to 350°F.

Roll the chilled dough out on a well-floured surface into a roughly 10-inch circle. Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the entire surface of the dough with the egg wash. Spoon the maple cream onto the center of the circle of dough.

Gently fold the dough from the outside edge in over the cream filling, pinching it in regularly spaced pleats going in one direction to hold in the filling. (See photograph.) Brush egg wash on the top of each pleat before making another to ensure the pleats hold. Once the circle is complete, brush egg wash over the entire top of the crust and sprinkle on the raw sugar. Bake the galette for 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove to a serving platter. Spoon on the winter fruit chutney (recipe at charlestonmag.com) and top with the reserved candied almonds.

The galette is best served warm. You may accompany it with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

To find more dairy-based recipes featured in Lauren Mitterer’s Chef’s Table, click here.

And to get other recipes from local chefs, click here.