Pies + Tarts

peach and cherry galettes

peach and cherry galette | the vanilla bean blog

I’m sneaking in for a post. I just couldn’t help myself; there were cherries. Not just any cherries, but hand-picked cherries dripping from trees like drops of rain: red, sparkling drops of sweet-tart rain. We filled our bucket gleefully, and my baker-heart had prophetic visions of flaky turnovers leaking dark juices, and sweet-sour chutney served next to roasted chicken; cherry and vanilla bean compote to cover the tops of pancakes and waffles, and of course, pies. Real cherry pies with real Door County cherries, to celebrate these August days that are slipping away…
peach and cherry galette | the vanilla bean blog
peach and cherry galette | the vanilla bean blog
peach and cherry galette | the vanilla bean blog

The end of summer is knocking loudly at our door and I’m not answering yet, hoping he’s read my ‘no soliciting’ sign and takes a hint, tries the next house. We’re not ready, not yet, my heart has been whispering while pitting cherries, while watching the sun set earlier each night, while filling out piles of paperwork for kindergarten and trying desperately not to let my unstoppable tears smudge the ink.

I’m just not ready to let go, let her go.

peach and cherry galette | the vanilla bean blog

Peach and Cherry Galettes

adapted from America’s Test Kitchen
I didn’t change much. This is one of my most favorite summer desserts! The tart dough is made with a technique called frisage, and it guarantees a wonderful, flaky crust. If you’ve never used it before, I’ve included a link to a video tutorial to help you. You can use any stone fruits here, and berries instead of cherries. This makes one large galette, or 4-6 small galettes.

dough
1 and 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup spelt flour
1/2 tsp salt
10 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
3-6 tbsp ice water

filling
1 pound peaches, pitted and sliced into 1/2 inch thick wedges
1 cup cherries, pitted and sliced in half
3-5 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling

crust
Process the flours, salt, and butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs, and the butter is the size of small peas. Add the water through the feed tube 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough holds together when pinched [about 10 pulses].

to fraisage the dough
[also, a You Tube video here]
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gather into a rectangular shaped pile. Use the heel of your hand to smear the dough against the work surface. Continue to smear until all the dough has been worked. Gather into a pile again, and repeat. Flatten dough into a 6 inch disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for about an hour.

Roll the dough into a 12 inch circle [or 6 small circles, about 6 inches wide] on a  piece of parchment paper, and refrigerate  for 20 minutes. Adjust your oven rack to the middle position and heat to 375.

fruit filling
Toss the fruit and sugar together. Mound the fruit in the center of your rolled dough, leaving a 2 inch border [or 1 inch border for tartlets]. Fold the outermost dough over the fruit, pleating it as you go [about every 2-3 inches]. Brush the dough with water and sprinkle with an additional 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake until tart is deep golden brown and the fruit is bubbling, about 1 hour [less for tartlets – about 35-45 minutes]. Rotate baking sheet halfway through baking.

Cool the tart on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then use the parchment to transfer tart to a wire rack. Cool about 25 minutes. Serve.
peach and cherry galette | the vanlla bean blog
peach and cherry galette | the vanilla bean blog
peach and cherry galette | the vanilla bean blog

  • Reply
    Jess Jo
    Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 6:21 am

    Oh, I love these gorgeous photos & this tart!! Can I use plain flour instead of spelt? x

    • Reply
      Sarah
      Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 4:06 pm

      Yes! All-purpose flour will work just fine instead of spelt.

  • Reply
    Randle
    Monday, September 2, 2013 at 5:16 pm

    Love the subtlety of this post. The end of the season along with sending your child to school–beautiful images. Hang in there!

  • Reply
    Rebekka
    Thursday, August 22, 2013 at 1:08 pm

    Perfect and wonderful. I really just love your blog so much 🙂

  • Reply
    Katherine @ Londonnotebook.co.uk
    Thursday, August 22, 2013 at 2:53 am

    Cherries are really the essence of summer, aren’t they? It’s cherries and strawberries for me.

  • Reply
    Laura
    Wednesday, August 21, 2013 at 8:02 am

    Deep down in my hippie-dip heart I sincerely DO believe that summer is a state of mind that you can bring yourself back to whenever the need arises. It is the start of something new and sometimes those starts are so hard. But there will be stories shared over sweets like this at the end of the day and all kinds of wonderful and fresh things. Sending you the biggest hug, miss. (So, so happy when I saw this pop up this morning) 🙂

  • Reply
    nicole neesby
    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 11:58 pm

    hello dear!
    i am so happy i found your blog this morning. it is pure eye candy. 😉 keep up your great work. i can’t wait to follow your adventures in the kitchen.
    xo

  • Reply
    Sacha
    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 8:16 pm

    So sweet, Sarah. Summer’s end is tough, but I’m sure on that first day, when she comes home with stories to tell, you’ll know that the two of you were ready. I made a galette this weekend, too. They’re easy, gorgeous, and really do wrap up the best of summer in their pretty, buttery packages. These are lovely, and I don’t think I’ve ever paired peaches with cherries in a dessert. No time like the present (if we still had cherries around here…).

  • Reply
    Mallory
    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 3:42 pm

    Cherries and peaches, two of the best bounties of summer. I think I bought my last batch of cherries the other day and it makes me really sad. Guess I’ll have to wait until next summer.

  • Reply
    Melissa@Julia's Bookbag
    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 11:58 am

    Oh the big K! That was so hard for me. But when I saw how much my daughter loved it, loved being there, loved her teacher, loved it ALL ~ that made up for my slightly damaged Mama heart. xoxo

  • Reply
    Maria@pinkpatisserie
    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 9:36 am

    Summer is especially hard to let go of this year, even though I so love Fall. Kindergarten comes so soon doesn’t it? Beautiful galettes, I imagine they help make the transition a little easier? Lovely, sweet photos.

  • Reply
    Melissa // The Fauxmartha
    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 9:11 am

    Love Door County. Love that you’re back. And love these galettes. Hoping the transition to kindergarten (ahh!) is a sweet one. (I’m sure there will be plenty of bittersweet mixed in). xoxo

  • Reply
    Lindsey
    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 9:07 am

    Beautiful technique, I’ve never heard of working pie dough with your hands. I’m sure it yields a lovely result as evident by your awesome photos!

  • Reply
    Erika
    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 7:36 am

    These galettes are stunning! I agree we should hold on to summer just as we would love to hold on to our little ones.. I remember that kindergarten paperwork like yesterday, we are now registering for high school. Time slips away so fast!

  • Reply
    thelittleloaf
    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 7:31 am

    I’m so glad you decided to jump in and post this recipe, it’s gorgeous. As for summer, I’m holding on for dear life, I love it so much 🙂

  • Reply
    Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 7:10 am

    I love the simplicity to these! Gorgeous!

  • Reply
    Kathryn
    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 3:23 am

    Oh the end of summer is such a bittersweet time isn’t it? I hope you hold onto it for just that little bit longer and that your days are filled with treats like this.

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