Cherry Galette

So a galette is technically a flat round pastry.  The galette is like a pie, only you have one crust and you fold it over on top of the filling.  This cherry galette was featured on How Sweet Eats blog by Jessica Merchant.  She made the cherry galette using sour cherries, hence the name The Best Sour Cherry Galette!  However, I could only find bing Washington cherries when I shopped.  The sour cherries have a very short window of time when they are available.  You still may be able to find them where you live.  The recipe was still delicious using the Washington cherries.

Ingredients:

Crust -- This makes enough for 2 galettes, so put one in the freezer!

• 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur gluten free baking mix.)
• 1 tablespoon sugar (I used 1/2 tablespoon of Truvia Cane Sugar Blend.)
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 1 large egg lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/2 cup ice cold water
• 1-1/2 cups cold unsalted butter cut into pieces (3 sticks or 24 tablespoons)
• Raw sugar for sprinkling (I used Truvia.)
• For brushing:  1 egg + a few drops of water beaten together

Filling

• 2 pounds sour cherries fresh or thawed (I used Washington bing cherries, only because I could not find sour cherries.)
• 1/3 cup sugar (I used 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons Truvia Cane Sugar Blend.)
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch (I used Rumford, a non-GMO, gluten-free cornstarch.)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoons butter cut into pieces
• Vanilla ice cream for serving (I did not eat the galette with ice cream.)

Instructions:

Crust

1. Add the four, sugar and salt to a food processor and pulse just until combined.  In a small bowl, whisk mix together the egg, vinegar and water.  Add the cold butter pieces into the food processor and pulse until small coarse crumbs remain.  Sprinkle the water/egg mixture over the flour and pulse again until the dough comes together.
2. Remove the dough with your hands and wrap it in plastic wrap.  This dough makes enough for 2 galette crusts, so separate it into 2 sections now, --or separate it after it's refrigerated.  Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.  Freeze one of the other balls of dough.
3. After 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Filling

1. Place the cherries in a bowl.  Toss with the sugar, cornstarch and salt, making sure to coat all the cherries.  Drizzle in the vanilla extract and toss.
2. Remove one of the crusts from the fridge.  (The other is good for another week or so, or it can be frozen.)  Roll one of the pie crusts into a.."rustic" shape--no shape necessary really--until it is about 1/4 inch thick.  Place the dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Place the cherries in the center leaving a 2-inch+ border of crust.  Top with the butter cubes.
3. Once the cherries are placed, fold the crust over top of them.  Brush the crust with the beaten egg wash.  Sprinkle it with the raw sugar.  Bake the galette until the crust is golden, about 40 to 45 minutes.
4. Remove it and let cool slightly, then slice.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

My "Rustic" Cherry Galette!

This galette is rustic-looking, but it is so tasty!  It is not overly sweet, even made with Washington cherries.  The crust is flaky and delicious!  I did have enough filling and crust to make two galettes.

Okay, I must address the cherry pit issue.  The cherries I bought were fresh, so I had to pit them.  I don't own a cherry pitter, so I was looking for a way to pit cherries.  There is a trick with, of all things, a paper clip!  It worked!  I am adding a video so you can see how to pit a cherry using a paper clip. 

I hope you enjoy this Cherry Galette.  With its beautiful red color, it would be a perfect addition to your 4th of July celebrations!