Black Fruit Galettes

I want to start this post by thanking you all so much for your wonderful responses to the video! I’ll admit I was a teeny tiny bit apprehensive when it went up, unsure if people would like it, but thankfully my apprehensions were unfounded. I am so so happy it was well received!
For everyone who asked to see more videos- more are coming! I’ve been working hard and shooting lots of gorgeous things for you guys, which I can’t wait for you to see. I keep wanting to share little sneak peeks on social media but I’m also torn between wanting to keep things a complete surprise. Let’s just say, lots of exciting things are in the works. 🙂
Now, onto these galettes! These babies came about because I had leftover berries and figs from a shoot. I would usually be all too happy to eat those raw, but these fruits were a little past their prime and they needed to be baked with, so I made the only thing my tired self could manage: galettes.
Have I told you guys how much I love galettes? Nothing, but nothing, beats their ease and simplicity (except for maybe raw fruit) especially if you already have a dough in the freezer, which I always do. In fact, I currently have 4 disks of pie dough in the freezer. Also a container of caramel. And containers of this jam. And also pesto and garlic confit. And also a spice rubbed brisket that just needs to be popped in the oven and voila! What?! I like to be prepared for guests! And the apocalypse! Kidding. I just get so much satisfaction from seeing a fully stocked, perfectly neat freezer. It’s, like, an unrivaled satisfaction. Am I the only one who feels like that? … Okaayy, back to the topic at hand!
Like I was saying, galettes are super simple to make if you’ve got your dough already prepped. My advice? Spend an hour one Sunday afternoon making a huge batch of pie dough and freeze it for future occasions, like overripe-shoot-fruit.
These galettes came together from start to finish in approximately forty minutes and they were buttery, flaky, juicy deliciousness. You can make these for a summery picnic (they’re small and sturdy, thus perfectly portable) a brunch, or even for afternoon tea.
Does anyone else sit down for afternoon tea? No, just me? Again. I’m sensing a pattern here.
Go forth and galette, all of you! And have a great week.

Yields: around 8 small galettes

Why I love this recipe: my flaky piecrust, unfettered by the heavy weight of a pie filling, rises to even flakier heights in these black fruit galettes. The fruits are sweet, tart and faintly floral from the figs, beautiful to look at and to eat.

For the galette crust:

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, frozen
• 3 ounces ice cold water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 egg yolk, mixed with water
• turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

For the filling:

• 6 oz. fresh, washed blackberries
• 6 oz. fresh, washed blueberries
• 4-5 figs, washed and quartered
• juice and zest of half a lemon
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch salt

1. To make the crust, combine the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Use your fingers to cut in half the stick of cold butter until it is the size of peas. Then cut in the other half of the butter, leaving it in bigger, visible pieces.
2. Add the apple cider vinegar to the water and make a well in the center of the flour and butter mixture. Using a wooden spoon, mix the water into the flour until just combined.
3. If the dough seems dry, add more water a couple of teaspoons at a time. Press the dough together,  form into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the the dough in the freezer for an hour, or in the fridge overnight.
4. Gently toss the fruit with the sugar, lemon juice, zest, vanilla, salt and cornstarch together in a bowl. Refrigerate until needed.
5. On a lightly floured surface, flour the chilled disk of dough. Begin to roll it out, rolling in one direction at a time. As you roll it, pick it up and rotate it, to ensure that it doesn’t stick to any surfaces. Use flour as you need to.
6. Roll the dough out as thinly as possible and cut around 8 circles. Re-roll the edges and scraps to get as many circles out of the dough as you can.
7. Transfer the circles of dough to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Arrange a handful of the fruit over the tops of each galette round.
8. Fold the edges of the dough over the fruit and press gently to seal the dough together. Repeat with all circles of dough.
9. Put the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze the galettes for 25 minutes, or until very firm.
10. While the galettes are chilling, preheat the oven to 375º F and whisk the egg yolk with a drop of water in a small dish.
11. When you are ready to bake, remove the galettes from the freezer and brush the edges of each with egg wash and sprinkle with raw sugar.
12. Bake the tarts, rotating the pans halfway through until they are deep golden brown and crisp, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool slightly and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.