Picture this: a warm, sunny day, a gentle breeze, and the tantalizing aroma of a freshly baked rustic sweet cherry galette wafting through the air.
Embark on a delightful culinary journey with the rustic cherry galette. It is a free-form tart that celebrates the natural vivid beauty and flavor of fresh cherries.
A simple rich dessert: Rustic sweet cherry galette
This mouthwatering sweet cherry dessert is made with a homemade pie crust and a luscious cherry filling. There’s also a dash of almond extract in there, which adds a subtle sweet, nutty flavor that pairs perfectly with the tart cherries.
It’s the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness, and when paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it becomes sheer indulgence. It’s like a pie without all the fuss.
The galette is actually a great way to devour lots of fruit in one go. Plus, a galette cools down much faster than a regular pie, so you can get to devouring it sooner!
Rustic Sweet Cherry Galette
Equipment
- Oven
- Rimmed sheet pan
- Wire rack for cooling
- Rolling Pin
- Mixing bowls
Ingredients
- 1 nos. 10" pie crust chilled
- 2 lbs cherries about 4 cups, pitted
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp coarse salt
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1 nos. egg (beaten)
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- coarse sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Take the pastry dough out of the fridge and let it sit for about 10 minutes before rolling out.
- Stir together the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, fresh lemon juice, salt, and almond extract in a bowl.
- On a lightly floured surface of parchment paper, roll the dough out to a 14-inch round (rough edges are ok).
- Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Pile the fruit mixture in the center, leaving about a 1 1/2-inch border all the way around.
- Fold the border up around the fruit, letting it fall into creases naturally.
- Brush the edges of the galette with the egg wash(egg and heavy cream mix).
- Sprinkle the crust generously with the coarse sugar.
- Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling in the center, 1 – 1 1/4 hours.
- Remove the pan from the oven and cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack.
- After that, transfer the parchment directly to the wire rack to cool completely before serving.
Notes
- Freeze extra pie crust for future use. It will be handy when galette cravings strike the next time.
- Do you own a cherry pitter? If not, use this tip to pit cherries with a bottle and a chopstick.
- For a healthier version, you can reduce the amount of sugar in the cherry filling or substitute it with a natural sweetener like honey or maple syrup.
- Be sure to bake until the juices are bubbling. Otherwise, the cornstarch won’t have activated and thickened the juices.
- Use fresh sweet cherries for your cherry mixture.
- You can also try using sour cherries for a tangier twist, canned cherry pie filling, or frozen cherries if fresh cherries are not in season.
- Adding a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg to the pie dough can elevate the flavors and add a warm, aromatic element to the galette.
- Skip the vanilla ice cream topping for alternatives like a dollop of fresh whipped cream, clotted cream, or mascarpone cheese.
- Cold butter in the dough will help you get a flaky pastry that holds up to the juicy cherry filling.
- Experiment with different fruits like peaches, apples, or berries to create your own unique galette recipes.