Fall baking: Cue the apples and pumpkin

I have slowly and a bit reluctantly let go of summer, inched into the fall season, and started dreaming of fall baking complete with warm spices, apples, pumpkin, pears and maple-flavored everything. I mean, isn’t that what fall is all about? (Okay, maybe some football too.) In my divine order of fall baking, apples come first. After all, apples are equated with teachers and back to school. I also happen to live in the beautiful state of Washington, where apples are aplenty; the state produces over half the Nation's domestically grown apples. Or maybe apples reign first for me because I refuse to give into the societal pressure related to pumpkin spice lattes re-joining the Starbucks menu in late August. Hold on pumpkin, wait your turn. My first little fall baking task was the Zoë François Apple Almond Galette. However, I’m proud to say that I waited until the calendar officially declared it was fall and then the very next day, I baked a pumpkin chocolate snack cake.

My trial run of the Zoë François Apple Almond Galette 

First, let’s agree that everything Zoë makes is beautiful. I love the rustic-ness of this galette mixed with the pretty arrangement of the apples. I haven’t always been a big fan of almond flavoring but have grown to really like the taste of almond in certain baked goods. So when my former neighbor was in town from Arizona and happened to mention that she loved almond croissants on the day before she and another friend came over for dinner … that clenched the deal. I decided to make the apple galette with almond paste for dessert even though I’d never bought almond paste before in my life. Plus, I’m typically intimidated by pie crust but figured any shrinkage wouldn’t show in a galette!

The reason I’m calling this my trial run is two-fold. Zoë serves the galette with homemade vanilla ice cream and sugared cranberries – which I make wait for their cheery debut until Thanksgiving 😂. And I may have had a teensy tiny little baking fail. I thought it was a good idea to use a mix of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples to get all the pretty greens and reds going. Not quite so. The skins of the green apples turned an unpleasant color. Very sad indeed. Note to self: stick with the red-skinned apples. But no worries, the second time I make it in November it will be perfect. Rounder for sure, apples sliced equally and lined up perfectly and topped with sugared cranberry ice cream. This time, I sprinkled it with slivered almonds and Swedish pearl sugar. 

ga·​lette | \ gə-ˈlet \ Now that I look at this, it doesn’t look half bad! Definitely making again.

Apple Almond Galette Ingredients:

• 1 recipe pie dough

• Almond cream filling (see below)

• 4-5 apples thinly sliced (if you have a mandolin use that, but I managed by alternating between cutting by hand and using my food processor)

• Egg wash, 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water

• 2 tbsp sugar for sprinkling over top

• Optional: pearl or decorative sugar, slivered almonds, sugared cranberries

Almond Cream Filling:

• 4 oz almond paste

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter room temperature

• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

• 2 tbsp sugar

• 1 egg yolk

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1/2 tsp almond extract

Instructions:

First make your favorite pie crust. I followed Zoë’s recipe exactly, making sure the ingredients were super cold, and it turned out perfectly. I was quite pleased. You could also use a store-bought refrigerated crust, just bring to room temperature. However, you’ll have less room for the apples. 

Roll out the dough on a floured surface. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Make the almond cream: In a small food processor blend the almond paste, flour, sugar, butter, almond and vanilla extracts and yolk until smooth. Spread over the center of the dough, leaving about a 2-inch border.

Arrange the sliced apples over the almond cream with the skin sides up, tucking them in a creative pattern. Fold the 2-inch edges of dough over the apples, pinching the dough to secure. Place uncovered dough over the apples and crimp to keep it in place. Freeze the galette (on the baking sheet) for about 15 minutes.

Brush the edges of the crust with the egg wash. Sprinkle the entire galette with granulated sugar. Here’s when I added the pearl sugar and slivered almonds. 

Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for 25 minutes longer. Poke the apples with a fork to see if they are to your liking as far as tenderness. 

After the galette is cool, place on a platter or pedestal to serve. I have a large spatula intended for pizza that comes in handy to transfer galettes, tarts, cakes, etc. You can always rewarm slightly if that’s your preference.

The crust sprinkled with sugar was perfect.

Verdict: The friend from Arizona took her apple galette cold. Must be a desert thing. Two of us still living in the PNW enjoyed it warmed up with ice cream. The husbands who had been exiled to another house texted for an apple galette delivery. 

Bottom line: Unanimously enjoyed! Plus, it was perfect with my coffee the next morning, and the next..

Spiced Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Pumpkin Glaze

I was driving 300-miles south to see my mom and wanted to take something yummy and a bit festive. The cakes in Yossy Arefi’s Snacking Cakes book are meant for just such occasions. Easy to make, and better yet, easy to transport. Being that fall had officially flung, pumpkin – specifically the Spiced Chocolate Pumpkin Cake on page 161-162 – was in order. In the book she shows this particular cake made in a 9x5 loaf pan. But the beauty of her recipes is that they also work in an 8x8 baking pan or an 8”-round cake pan. The “spice” in the cake comes from cinnamon and cayenne. But I chickened out and didn’t include the cayenne. The frosting has a little pumpkin puree, more cinnamon and cloves. The chocolate cake itself was super moist thanks to the olive oil and the addition of chopped dark chocolate for melty pockets of gooiness. I love how the glaze goes onto the cake and is translucent in some spots. Next time I will make it in a loaf pan and call it breakfast. I believe when cake is in the house, it must be eaten when fresh and not just for dessert but also for breakfast. And a snacking cake on the counter is fair game for snacking on at all hours.

The warm color of the pumpkin glaze says fall to me. Tea towel from Hearth & Hand at Target.

Spiced Chocolate Pumpkin Cake Ingredients:

• ¾ cup brown sugar

• 2 large eggs, slightly beaten

• 1 cup pumpkin puree

• ½ cup olive oil

• ½ cup whole milk

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

• ½ tsp. kosher salt

• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

• ½ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

• 1 cup flour

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• ½ tsp. baking soda

• ½ cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips (I used a mix of what I had on hand – 70% dark and a little milk chocolate) 

Pumpkin Glaze:

For the pumpkin glaze, stir all ingredients together in a small bowl. It should be pourable, so add a little more milk if needed. 

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 1 Tbsp. pumpkin puree

• 1 Tbsp. (or more) whole milk

• ¼ tsp cinnamon

• Pinch of ground cloves

• Pinch of kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Lay a piece of parchment paper in an 8x8 square pan with enough hanging over two edges to serve as handles. I always grease the bottom and sides of the pan, so the parchment paper sticks and doesn’t scoot around.

Next, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and brown sugar until pale and foamy. Add the pumpkin puree, olive oil, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne if using. Whisk until well mixed and the oil is emulsified. I used the whisk attachment on my hand mixer to make life easier.

Add the cocoa power and stir until smooth. Next add the flour, baking powder and soda.

Chop the chocolate and fold into the pumpkin batter.

Pour the batter into the pan and level it with an offset spatula. Tap pan on counter a couple times to get rid of any air bubbles.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. Check it at 45; mine was done at this point. Place cake on a wire rack and let cool in pan 15 minutes. Then use the parchment handles and lift the cake out and let cool completely on a rack.

Pour the pumpkin glaze over cooled cake. When set (about 20 min), lift again and place on serving plate; or if you’re traveling with this baby, place it back into the 8x8 pan. I made a foil tent over the cake and secured it in a cooler for its car ride down I-5. In retrospect, it would have been better to wait and pour the glaze over the cake once I had arrived at my destination. That way you don’t have to worry about the frosting sticking to foil or plastic wrap.

There she is. Warm, comforting chocolate and pumpkin-y.

Verdict: My mom said it was so chocolatey (is that a bad thing?) that she needed Cool Whip on it. So wrong. My brother said: not my favorite. Who is he? My sister had two pieces. Bravo. My husband? Let’s just say that twice I woke up to chocolate-and-pumpkin frosting-stained plates in the kitchen sink.

Bottom line: No respect. But all the more cake for my husband and me to snack on.

And definitely more pumpkin and apples in the forecast.