Red Plum Galette

For a lovely dessert, create this rustic plum galette with a flaky, buttery crust folded over juicy plums.

BY MONICA KASS ROGERS THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Of the many juicy fruits that come with nature’s bounty, red plums are among my favorites. A simple galette is an easy way to highlight them. The word galette—French for “flat cake”—originated in the 14th century, and over the centuries the term has been applied to a wide array of sweet and savory treats, all baked on a flat, round crust. This red plum galette is a free-form pie with some almond flour added to the dough for a pleasantly flavored crunch. A light glaze of apricot preserves adds to the golden glow of the fruit. You can make this with other plum varieties or even fresh peaches. This versatile dessert tastes delightful when served warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or when served chilled and topped with crème fraiche.

Ingredients

For the galette crust:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup almond flour

• 1 3/4 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water

For the red plum filling:

• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon for sprinkling on assembled galette crust

• 1/4 cup almond flour

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 6 or 7 ripe red plums, halved, pitted, and cut into slim wedges

• 1/4 stick unsalted butter, cut into tiny pieces

• 1 egg mixed with 1 teaspoon water for egg wash

• 3 tablespoons smooth apricot preserves

Method

For galette crust:

Sift almond flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, and salt into a wide shallow bowl. Cut in the unsalted butter until mixture resembles wet sand with some bits of butter still visible throughout. With a fork, stir in just enough ice water for mixture to start clumping together. Spread work surface with two overlapping pieces of plastic wrap. Tip crust mixture onto plastic. Gather up plastic around the mass and knead through the plastic to form a ball of dough. Spread plastic back onto work surface. Flatten dough into a round disk. Cover with two more overlapping sheets of plastic. Roll out into an 18-inch circle. Transfer crust with plastic sheets still intact, to a flat baking sheet or large, flat, and round pizza pan. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

For filling:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with oven rack set to center position. Combine 1/4 cup of the sugar with the almond flour and all-pur- pose flour to make “crust dust.” Remove galette crust from refrigerator. Remove plastic wrap from the top of the crust. Line a large sheet pan or pizza pan with parchment paper. Invert crust onto parchment. Remove remaining plastic wrap from crust. Sprinkle “crust dust” evenly over the dough, leaving the two inches nearest the edge bare. Place the plum wedges in a bowl; stir remaining 1/4 cup sugar into the plums. Pile the sugared plum wedges onto the prepared crust; dot with the butter pieces. Fold the edge of the dough up and over the plums nearest the edge to create a 2-inch border, pleating crust as needed. Brush edges of crust with egg wash. Sprinkle with remaining teaspoon of sugar. Bake the galette for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the fruit is very soft, and the crust is nicely browned. Remove from oven; brush fruit with apricot preserves. Cool galette to room temperature. Slide galette onto serving platter, removing parchment. Slice and serve galette on its own, warm with vanilla ice cream or chilled with crème fraiche.