black cherry and blueberry galette

… the British summer is in full swing and apart from a little much-needed rain we’ve really had an amazing time of it.  It’s actually slightly cooler this weekend and I don’t see many people complaining about it.  The hot weather can be exhausting, no one really sleeps well and everyone is grumpy so a little cool weather is a great excuse to be lazy and do some cooking and this black cheery and blueberry galette is perfect!

black cherry and blueberry galette

This is such a simple and rustic recipe yet it delivers in heaps.  I think a galette, which is essentially an open fruit pie, is the perfect summer dessert.  It’s not stodgy or heavy like a pie or a flan and it’s not too cloying or sweet like a cake.  It’s just pastry and then a celebration of your favourite fruits.  Any fruits will work but I think stone fruits such as plums, nectarines and apricots, as well as berries and of course apples and pears work well too… it’s also a great use for those stubborn ‘ripped at home’ fruits that really never do.  of course you need a very good shortcrust pastry here and the trick to that is two fold; firstly you need very cold butter which you should try your hardest not to overwork and secondly you need time to rest and refrigerate the pastry at every stage, when you first make the dough and then again once you’ve made the galette prior to baking.  I’ve gone for black cherries and blueberries because the cherries are so sweet and tasty at the moment ad the two fruits compliment each other so well.

for the shortcrust pastry

• 200g plain flour
• a pinch of salt
• 100g very good butter cut into small cubes
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• a little water to mix

for the filling

• 150g black cherries – stoned
• 100g blueberries
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 2 teaspoons cornflour
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar

you will need a large baking tray lined with parchment paper

start with the pastry – place the flour and salt in a bowl and rub in the cold butter – use your fingertips and try to be as light and high as possible to allow plenty of air in.  With cold butter it should take about 5 minutes to achieve a golden breadcrumb looking mix, stir in the sugar and then poor in a little water and using one of your hands shaped into a claw, bring the party lightly together into a ball… you should use no more than two tablespoons of water but one should do it.

place the dough into some cling film and pop it in the fridge for at least 2 hours

meanwhile place the fresh fruit, sugar, cornflour and vanilla into a bowl and stir it all together and then pop it i the fridge

after two hours, take the cold pastry out of the fridge and roll it out into a rough round… probably 25 cm diameter but it should be no wider than your baking tray can handle… then carefully shift it onto the baking tray

spoon the filling into the middle of the pastry leaving a nice wide strip of pastry around the outside, then fold the pastry into the centre, naturally pleating the pastry as you go round the centre

brush the whole thing with a little milk or beaten egg and then sprinkle with crunchy sugar and then refrigerate again for at least an hour

pre-heat the oven to 180C and then bake for 40 mins or until golden and bubbly

eat and of course, enjoy!