Outline: Cool Girl Galette
In my recurring recipe posts. I share a rough outline of a recipe that you can then fill in as you see fit. Today we talk about galette, the easiest and chicest dessert.
I love pastry. I love shortcrust. American pie crust. Puff. It's carbs and butter. What’s not to love? A good pastry crust can also take humble ingredients and make them glamorous. I love galettes because they are a blank canvas, and you don’t need any special equipment. No tart pan or pie pan. No pie weights or pre-baking. A galette is like the cool girl of the pastry world. It's the pastry version of that fabulous friend who arrives at dinner wearing a sequin skirt and a vintage band t-shirt. It’s the ultimate effortless glam dessert.
Ingredients
Pie crust: 3 cups flour. 2 Sticks butter. 1 cup cold water. (These ratios make 2 crusts)
Fruits or berries that can be cooked in 20 minutes in the oven
1 cup sugar or ¼ cup honey or ½ cup agave
1 tbsp cornstarch (optional)
Pinch of salt
Flavorings (optional)
Egg for egg wash (optional)
Parchment
Sheet pan
Technique
Curst:
Dice cold butter. Crumble butter into the flour using hands, fork or food processor. Add water a little at a time. You likely won’t use the whole cup of water. As you add water, press the dough together. As the flour hydrates it’ll start to stick together in clumps. Add enough water that you get a single ball of dough, but it breaks kinda easily. Knead that dough no more than 3 times. Split into two even portions. Form into flat discs. Wrap in cling wrap and put in fridge for 30 mins.
Pre-heat oven to 400
Chop or slice fruit or berries into a size you like. The size and shape of the fruit will be determined by the softness of the fruit and your willingness to be fussy.
Softer fruit like stone fruit or peaches can be a little thicker. 1/8th slices work. If you slice them in this way, you can arrange them in a beautiful fane shape if you choose. I typically do not.
Harder fruit like apples either has to be sliced very thin or pre-cooked a bit. I personally have never pre-cooked fruit for my galette because it defeats why I love the galette so much—limited cookware is needed. But a thinly sliced apple should sufficiently cook down.
Berries, just chop into bite-size pieces unless sufficiently small. Blackberries and raspberries usually don’t need to be cut. Strawberries I usually quarter. Cherries, I usually halve.
Coat the fruit with your sweetener of choice.
Why the different amounts of sweetener you ask? Great question. Honey is sweeter than sugar, and agave is kinda in the middle. You can honestly use as much sweetener as you like. Just know that honey has a strong flavor that can overpower the fruit and flavoring. When adding sweetener take it slow, and add more if you like. You want all the fruit coated so it’ll release its juices.
Add a pinch of salt, flavorings, and cornstarch to the fruit and let macerate for 30 min to several hours.
Again, the flavorings can be whatever tastes good to you. This is a great time to experiment. Chai tea spices are beautiful on peaches. Tarragon tastes great with strawberries. Thyme and apples are great friends. I love pushing the boundaries between savory and sweet. Don’t be afraid just to let the fruit shine. This is effortless glamour. This is the dessert equivalent of “I woke up like this.” So keep it simple if that sounds good.
The cornstarch thickens the juices. It’s nice but not 100% necessary. The filling would just be runnier without it. Regardless, this galette will not set up like a traditional pie. When you cut into it, the filling will spill out a bit. That’s okay. It’s chic.
Roll out the pastry into a circle (it’ll be about 9 inches round and 1/4 inch thick) on a sheet pan covered in parchment. The Parchment is optional, but it’ll help when transferring the pastry to a plate.
Pile the fruit into the center of the pastry, leaving at least ½ inch border. Fold the edges of the pastry around the filling to keep everything contained.
Make an egg wash by whisking the egg with water and brushing it on the crust edges. Sprinkle with a little dusting of sugar.
Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Remove and let cool for at least 20 min. Serve plain, with whipped cream or ice cream.