The finale of my French week is a galette - a freeform fruity pie for dessert. But you can also have it for breakfast and lunch! It's important to keep the pastry cold so chill it before rolling out, and chill the whole pie for half an hour after you put the filling in, while you're heating up the oven. Apple and cranberry is a great combo but feel free to use whatever mix of ingredients you have on hand - pear and walnut, apple and dried apricots or prunes, apple and berries, fresh stone fruits and flaked almonds, mango and coconut...

Pie tastes better with ice cream, so I whipped up a dairy-free version with coconut cream from the Minimalist Baker's recipe. 

Serves 8-10

Crust:

1 3/4 c flour

1/2 tsp salt

115 g cold butter, cut into cubes

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 tsp white vinegar

3-4 Tbsp ice cold water

Filling:

1/2 c dried cranberries

600 g apples (about 4-5)

2 Tbsp lemon or orange juice

2 Tbsp flour

1/4 c granulated sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp butter

egg wash (1 egg mixed with a little water) or 2 Tbsp milk/cream of choice

granulated sugar for sprinkling

Ice cream:

2 cans coconut cream that have been chilled in the fridge for 24 hours

1/4 c granulated sugar

1/4 c maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla bean paste

pinch sea salt

For the ice cream, if you have an ice cream churner, put the churning bowl in the freezer the day before.

Whiz all the ingredients in a blender and pour into your ice cream maker. Churn for around 25 minutes then transfer to a container and freeze until firm. If you don't have an ice cream maker just freeze in a container and stir or whisk the mixture every hour until it starts firming up, about 6-8 hours.

For the galette:

In a large bowl mix the flour and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or rub in with your fingers until the mixture looks like pebbles. Mix in the egg and vinegar and stir in enough ice water to bring the dough together. Flatten and wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Place the cranberries in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Let soften for 10 minutes then drain. 

Peel and thinly slice apples into a bowl with the lemon juice. Mix in cranberries, flour, sugar and cinnamon.

Line a baking tray with baking paper. Roll out the dough on a floured surface into a circle around 35 cm in diameter. Trim where necessary to make a nice round. Transfer pastry onto the baking tray.

Cover the dough with the filling, leaving a 5 cm border around the edge. (Before you put the filling in you could sprinkle in some toasted chopped nuts on the base to help prevent the pastry going soggy.) Dot the filling with butter. Fold in the edges of the circle, showing your filling in the middle. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Brush the edges of the pie with egg wash or milk/cream and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake until the filling and pastry is golden, 30-35 minutes.

Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve with yoghurt, cream or ice cream. Ice cream is preferred, of course.