Good news: April is Make-A-Wish® Dessert Month at Cactus Club Cafe, which means your favourite Cactus desserts are served without the guilty conscience. That’s because $1 from every sweet treat sold at all Cactus restaurants will be donated to Make-A-Wish® to help grant the wishes of children living with life-threatening medical conditions.
Chef Rob Feenie and Cactus Club Cafe’s wish recipient Hannah appeared on BT Vancouver to celebrate the start of this year’s promotion and to demonstrate how to make one of Rob Feenie’s favourite desserts which he developed while cooking in France – Apple Galette.
Hard-core Cactus fans will be pleased to know this recipe is similar to the Apple Galette which previously featured on our menu. We are now excited to share Rob’s recipe, so you can make it at home. Better still, skip the dishes and visit your nearest Cactus for a slice of guilt-free goodness.
APPLE GALETTE with Caramel Sauce
Serves 6-8
Part 1: Frangipane
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup ground blanched almonds
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 eggs
Preparation
1. Cream together butter and sugar in a kitchen mixer with a paddle attachment.
2. Mix in ground almonds and flour.
3. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one.
4. Cover and refrigerate; will keep for up to a week.
Part 2: Caramel Sauce
½ cup water
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp corn syrup
1 ½ cups whipping cream
1 cup butter
Preparation
1. Place water in a saucepan, and then add sugar and corn syrup. Cook on high heat, brushing the sides of the pot with water to keep sugar from crystalizing. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the mixture turns a dark amber colour.
2. Stir in cream carefully, as it may splatter a bit.
3. Decrease the heat to low and add butter, whisking until melted and completely mixed. Increase the heat to high and bring back just to a boil, then remove from the stove.
4. Fill a bowl with ice water and place another bowl on top of it. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl on top of the ice water and allow to cool.
Part 3: Apple Galette
1 cup sugar
2 to 3 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 lb. frozen puff pastry, thawed
4 to 5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
¼ cup melted butter
Icing sugar, to garnish
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
3. Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured board to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut out 6 to 8 rounds, using a 6-inch diameter cutter.
4. Place pastry rounds on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Spread equal amounts of the frangipane in the center of each pastry round.
6. Arrange apple slices in a spiral pattern on top of the frangipane.
6. Brush apples with melted butter, and then sprinkle with the cinnamon mixture.
7. Refrigerate the galettes for 15 minutes. Bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until pastry is puffed and the bottoms are golden.
To serve:
If the caramel sauce is not at room temperature, warm it a little in the microwave on high at 15-second intervals (should be warm, not hot) and drizzle each galette with a ribbon of caramel sauce. Dust the top of each galette with icing sugar and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Click here to watch the BT Vancouver segment and see the recipe come to life, as demonstrated by Iron Chef Champion Rob Feenie and his honorary Sous Chef Hannah.
See you soon for a dessert or two!