Believe it or not, my most creative time of the day is when I’m first waking up in the morning while my eyes are still closed and I’m slowly coming on line to start my day. That in-between where my mind bounces easily to one thought to another with no real plan… call it free association or what ever. But it is in those moments where I come up with some of the most fun ideas. It’s like the quiet allows my mind to conjure all the things its been considering and thinking about then like a puzzle solved my idea becomes real. I can see it so clearly on what I want to do. Those days, I hop out of bed and get started! Nothing better than having a fully realized idea in your head. This recipe was one of those ideas that was an offshoot from my Rotten Apple Cider, but this time I made a Grim Reaper Galette with red wine and Chambord macerated pears. Enjoy!
I even made them as individual Grim Reaper Tartlets which I think make them extra festive! Enjoy!
Grim Reaper Galette
Equipment
- 1 pastry blender
- 1 apple corer
- 1 mini heart cookie cutter
Ingredients
Chocolate Galette dough
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3 tbsp. packed brown sugar
- ¾ cup butter, cold and cut into ¼-inch slices
- 6-8 tbsp. ice water
Macerated Pears
- 3-4 pears, cored, peeled and halved
- 2 cups Chambord Black Raspberry liqueur
- 1 cup dry red wine (for color)
Raspberry Jam filling
- 2½ cups raspberries
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp. corn starch
- sliced almonds (optional)
Instructions
Pear Skulls
- Pour 2 cups of Chambord Black Raspberry liqueur and 1 cup of red wine into a medium sized bowl. Working one at a time so that the pears don't brown, core and peel pears and then cut it in half lengthwise. With the larger end of the pear on top, use the apple corer to cut out two holes for the eyes and then cut out the nose with the heart shaped cookie cutter. Use a paring knife to score the smaller end to create teeth and then add a skull crack if desired. Place pears in Chambord/wine mixture and allow to soak over night.
- When ready to assemble tart, remove pears from macerating liquid and place on a plate. Reduce macerating liquid over medium high heat until syrupy, 8-10 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Chocolate Galette Dough
- Add flour, cocoa powder, sugars and salt into a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add cold butter slices and use pastry blender or a fork to work in the butter until it looks like pea-sized crumbles.
- Stir in ice water, 2 tablespoons at a time until a ball forms and pulls away from the bowl. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, shape into a round disk and wrap tightly and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes or overnight.
Raspberry Jam
- Add raspberries, sugar, water and corn starch to a medium saucepan and mash with a potato masher and heat over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently until mixture begins to thicken ~10 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside or refrigerate until ready to assemble.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator and roll out onto a lightly floured surface until its about ⅛- inch thickness. Transfer dough to a parchment lined baking sheet. Fill center of dough with raspberry jam leaving about 3 inch border around the jam. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Place macerated pears on jam. Fold dough over to encase the jam and pears. Brush dough with egg wash and bake in a 400℉ oven for 35-45 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of the Chambord syrup and enjoy!
- Individual grim reaper tartlets: Divide the dough evenly into 6 or 8 rounds and assemble as instructed above. Bake at 400℉ for 25-35 minutes.
Could this be put into a pie tin without changing the recipe? Thanks!
I’d imagine it could be put into a pie tin without any changes. I haven’t tried it myself, but it might need a little tweak in baking time. You’ll have to keep an eye on it and see if it needs more or less time. If you try it let me know how it turns out.
Lori🖤
Hello. I run the blog, yourfoodiedesires, on Tumblr and I was wondering if I would be able to use your current and future photos to post on my blog?
I do not take credit for anything I post on my blog except my own creations. There are always links back to the homepage and also the link of the post.
I have included my blog’s website address so you can see examples of how it will look.
https://yourfoodiedesires.tumblr.com
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you.
Hi Angela
Yes, you can use my photos on your Tumblr blog with links back to ghoulatheart.com. That’ll be great. Thank you for asking. Happy Halloween.
Lori🖤
Thank you! I appreciate it. Happy Halloween as well!
These look amazing and I’m going to make them for our Halloween party this year :-). How far ahead of time can the dough be made? I’m trying to get done early what I can. Thanks!
Hi Ariana
You totally can make it in advance just wrap the dough in plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, anything longer, I would freeze it and thaw in refrigerator a day before needing it. Hope that helps.
Lori🖤
Hi, the recipe looks amazing but I have one question – when is the reduced macerating liquid added?
I use it to drizzle over the galette before serving. I’ll update the recipe, I might have forgot to write it. Thanks for letting me know.
Lori
What can I use instead of the liqueur?
Hi Anna
If you don’t want to use the liqueur, you can use all red wine or you can substitute with a dark fruit juice, pomegranate, grape, cranberry, cherry etc. Hope that helps.
🖤Lori
How long do these last after made? I want to make the finished Galette a day ahead of time. Do I refrigerate after baking or room temperature? Thank you
If you make it a day ahead of time, I would wrap it and keep it at room temp. but if you make it more than a day ahead I would refrigerate it.
Lori🖤