Peach Pear Plum Galette

I don't really get much baking with fruits done, even though I always mean to. After drooling over all kinds of fruit related desserts this whole month, I finally decided to get one done, quick and easy. And nothing defines quick and easy more than a galette. I love it's rustic simplicity. I picked out whatever fruits I had in the fruit box, and went ahead with this dessert. And it was such a hit. Just proves that you don't need to slave for hours over creating a good dessert, sometimes the easiest ones are the best!





And yes, I did manage to burn the tops of those peach slices, but the big one in the middle and towards the end are plums, it looks black, but it actually wasn't. I just wanted a browner color, I hadn't used an egg wash, so I applied one and baked for 10 extra minutes on the next day. I'm pretty particular that way. And it didn't taste at all burnt. :P





I also made some frangipane to go along with it, which, if you have tasted, know how good the galette must have tasted with it. And if you haven't, what's stopping you? It's one of the most delicious things ever!!! The entire tart, apart from the refrigeration time, took less than half an hour to put together, it's that easy. And you can easily skip the frangipane, it's delicious without it too, but there's absolutely no reason to, since it takes 5 minutes, all in the food processor.





Peach Pear Plum Galette





For the crust - 



1 1/2 cup [180 g] flour

3/4 stick [90 g] butter, cubed

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

Ice cubes, as needed, about 1/4 cup





Instructions - 

Freeze the flour and cubed butter for about 5 minutes, if you have the time.
Using a pastry blender [my preferred way] or a food processor, cut together the butter with the flour, sugar and salt until it resembles coarse breadcumbs. A few small lumps are good.
Drizzle in the ice cold water from the melting ice cubes, a little at a time, incorporating it into the dough, without overworking it. You should stop as soon as the dough can be pressed together, it will look uneven, that's perfect. You do not want it to look homogenous.
Refrigerate for atleast half an hour, while you prepare the other components.


For the Frangipane -

Adapted from Bill's Food via Leite's Culinaria



1/2 stick [70 g, 2 1/2 oz] butter

1/3 cup [75 g] sugar

3/4 cup [150 g] ground almonds, roasted if time permits.

2 egg yolks

1/2 tsp vanilla extract - I used almond instead.





Instructions -

If you don't have ground almonds, grind whole almonds together with the sugar to a fine powder in a food processor, otherwise you might run a risk of turning it into paste.
Pulse together the ground almonds, sugar, butter, yolks and extract in a food processor until mixed well. Refrigerate until chilled.


Fruit topping - 



20 oz fruits - I used 3 peaches, 2 plums and 1 pear

1 tbsp lemon juice





Assembling -

While the dough and frangipane are chilling, prepare your fruits. I don't like the skin of peaches, so I took them off by placing in boiling water for a minute and then peeling them off.
Slice and de-seed whatever fruits you are using, and sprinkle some lemon juice over them. Keep aside.
Remove the dough and the frangipane from the fridge.
Roll the dough out to a rough circle. I made two smaller galettes to make them more individual portioned.
Spread on the frangipane, right upto the edges. I had some leftover.
Leaving about a 2 inch gap on all sides, lay out the slices fruits in whatever manner you choose. Fold the edges on the dough over the fruit. Refrigerate the assembled galette for about 15 minutes [You can skip ths if you are in a hurry].
Preheat the oven to 200 C [390 F]. Crack a small egg in a bowl, lightly beat it, and brush over the dough. [This gives you a nice brown color]. You can also sprinkle some coarse sugar on top.
Bake the galette for 45 minutes, or until dough is golden brown and fruits look caramelized. Serve warm, with a dollop of ice cream if you wish.