Cherry Recipes For Rainy Days: Warm And Cosy Cherry Galette
Monsoon calls for cherry recipes, and cherry galette fits right in and is cosy and warm. This dessert looks like it requires far more skill than it actually does, and unlike a traditional pie, a galette skips the pie dish altogether. The dough is rolled into a rough circle, the filling is piled in the centre, and the edges are simply folded up and over, pleating as you go, with the slightly imperfect, free-form shape being the entire point. It does not need any lattice work or any pastry-making skills that an ornate pie demands.
The crust here is a classic all-butter pastry, built in a food processor, using cold butter that leads to the flaky, layered texture once baked. You can make the dough, more than you need, and make it two days in advance and freeze it for longer storage. The filling for this cherry galette is simple, using fresh cherries, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract and almond extract. The almond extract is a small addition but makes a noticeable difference, drawing out the cherries' natural depth without tasting distinctly of almond.
How to make a cherry galette at home comes down to one key technique – the fold. You have to work around the circle of dough, lift the edge up and over the filling every three to four inches, slightly overlapping each fold as you go. This creates the signature pleated border while leaving the centre of the fruit exposed to heat, which is exactly what allows the cherries to bubble, concentrate, and caramelise at the edges. For best results, use fresh, in-season cherries, which will always give the best flavour.