Last week it was a friends birthday, and I wanted to make her a yummy treat. So I made an Apple Crostata along with Cinnamon Ice Cream. For the ice cream, I used a recipe I had made before and knew was great-from David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”. For the crostata, I combined several recipes. The crust was from “Baking with Julia” by Dorie Greenspan, and the filling was combined from several various sources. I loved the filling, combining tart and sweet apples with vanilla bean and sugar. The crust was flaky and tender, with some extra texture from the cornmeal. A nice winter treat.

APPLE GALETTE
Yield: 2 8″ galettes
1 recipe dough, see below
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, halved, sliced 1/4″ thick
2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, halved, sliced 1/4″ thick
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
For Galette:
Preheat oven to 400degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Put 1/2 dough on a lightly floured work surface and roll it into a 10″ to 11″ circle that’s about 1/8″ thick. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining half of dough.
Place the 6 Tbsp of sugar in a large bowl. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean, and stir to blend well. Mix in apples. Add the melted butter and toss to coat.
Spread half the apples onto one piece of dough, leaving a 2-3″ border; repeat with second half. Fold the uncovered border of dough up over the filling, allowing the dough to pleat as you lift it up and work your way around the galette. Brush the edges with a little milk or cream, and sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired.
Bake the galette for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and crisp. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the galette rest on the sheet for 10 minutes. Slip a wide spatula under the galettes and slide them onto the cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Dough:
3 tablespoons sour cream(or yogurt or buttermilk)
1/3 cup ice water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 to 8 pieces
Stir the sour cream and 1/3 cup ice water together in a small bowl; set aside. Put the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade;pulse to combine. Drop the butter pieces into the bowl and pulse 8 to 10 times, or until the mixture is speckled with pieces of butter that vary in size from bread crumbs to peas. With the machine running, add the sour cream mixture and process just until the dough forms soft, moist curds.
Remove the dough from the processor, divide it in half, and press each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.
CINNAMON ICE CREAM Makes about 1 quart
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
Ten 3″ cinnamon sticks, broken up
2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
Warm the milk, sugar, salt, and cinnamon sticks and 1 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan. Once warmed, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.
Rewarm the cinnamon-infused milk mixture. Remove the cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon and discard them. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and into the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.