Caramel Apple and Blackberry Galettes.

Autumn is officially here!!!  The temperature has started to drop and the warmth of Summer has started to fade.  The trees are adorned with jewel coloured leaves and the nights are drawing in dark and cold.
I have to admit, I love this time of year...... Am I the only one I wonder??

To celebrate the start of my favourite season, I have baked some beautiful Caramel Apple and Blackberry Galettes.

Ingredients:

Pie Crust.

4 oz cold margarine.
8 oz plain flour.
2 oz caster sugar.
Quarter tsp salt.
100ml ice cold water.

Method:

Cut the cold margarine into pieces in a large bowl.  Add the flour, sugar and salt, mix well.

Whilst mixing, drizzle the ice cold water slowly into the bowl.  Mix until a dough forms and then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll, with a rolling pin to the desired size, until it fits the pastry tins.  Reserve some pastry for decoration.

Caramel Sauce:

600g caster sugar.
30g soft margarine.
300ml double cream.

Method:

Place the sugar into a saucepan, over moderate heat, and allow to dissolve.  Try to do this without too much stirring.

Once the sugar is bubbling and turning golden, stir once or twice and take the pan off the heat to allow the rest of the sugar to melt.

Next, add the soft margarine and mix in well, until it has fully melted.

In another pan, heat the double cream and then pour very gently into the sugar mix.  Be careful not to burn yourself, as the mixture will spit at you.  Keep on stirring until smooth and silky, this shouldn't take too long.

Allow the mixture to cool, before use.  Any leftovers, store in clean sterilised jars until needed.

Apples and Blackberries.

3 Brambly apples.
100g Blackberries.
1 tsp lemon juice.

Finally, peel and dices the apples until they are small squares and toss them in a small amount of lemon juice, to stop them from discolouring.  Add the blackberries and very gently mix them together.  Try not to break the shape of the blackberries.

Add the fruit mixture to the pastry cases and dot over some of the caramel sauce.  Not too much, as it will bubble over the sides of the galette.

As a final flourish, design some Autumn leaves with the remainder pastry and use this to decorate the top of the galettes.

Once assembled, pop the galettes into a pre-heated oven 180 degrees Celsius for 20 Min's.  Keep a close eye on them after this time as they tend to brown really quickly.

Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream or a pouring of double cream.  Delicious!

Happy Autumn, Everyone Xxx