I had some peaches that I wanted to make a special dessert with for the last of the summer get-togethers in the garden, and, as I’m meant to be in South of France right now (and not) I thought something very French was appropriate.
The galette is a classic French patisserie, in which you can use any seasonal fruits. I used peaches as they’re in season right now, but you could easily swap for cherries, rhubarb, plums, apples or pears, you get the picture.
Taking inspiration from an Ottolenghi recipe I wanted to pair the peach with rosemary, but thought they could do with a good soaking in booze too, so ‘macerated’ them (this is apparently the word for marinading in 'desserts') in a juice of sherry, orange, sugar & rosemary.
Served with a fresh orange mascarpone & yoghurt cream, this was a completely delicious & actually quite a light summery French pudding.
Serves 8
Ingredients
Macerated peach
5 peaches - cut into segments
5 sprigs of rosemary
150g of caster sugar
2 glasses of sherry
Zest & Juice of 1 orange
Pastry
250g plain flour
200g cold butter
65g light brown sugar
Salt
1 egg yolk for pastry
Frangipane
100g ground almonds
1 egg
60g salted butter
60g soft brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbl orange zest
Glaze
1 egg for glazing
3 tbl demerara sugar
Mascarpone, yoghurt & orange cream
200g mascarpone
4 tbl greek yoghurt
2 tbl orange juice
2 tbl orange zest
2 tsp vanilla essence / or paste
Method:
Macerate your peaches by slicing the peach and sitting in a large Tupperware or bowl with the rosemary, removing the woody sprig & zest of 1 orange
Dissolve the sugar with the sherry and orange juice, pour over the peaches, and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
To make your pastry pulse the cold diced butter, with the flour, sugar & a pinch of salt in a food processor - If you don’t have a food processor then you can rub with your hands.
Make sure it forms breadcrumbs but there are still bigger lumps of butter and it’s not too fine otherwise your pastry will be tough
Separate your egg, and add your egg yolk with a sprinkle of ice water to the breadcrumb mixture, pulse again/ or mix with your hands until it forms a lump - as soon as it forms together stop!
Put the ball of pastry in clingfilm or wrap in a plastic bag and put in the fridge for at least 30 mins
Make your frangipane by beating together the sugar, butter & orange zest until creamy, then beat in your egg, vanilla and ground almonds - set aside
Heat the oven to 190 (fan) °C
After your pastry has chilled for at least 30 mins, remove from fridge
Lay out a large sheet of greaseproof paper (the size of your large baking tray) & roll out your pastry on top into a circular/ oval shape until its around 30cm in diameter - it doesn’t need to be perfect
Place the greaseproof onto the baking tray
Spoon over the frangipane over the pastry leaving around 5cm of pastry edge for folding
Drain your peaches in a sieve over a pan, reserving the juice to make a syrup for later!
Place your peaches in a pattern covering the frangipane
Roll over the sides of the pastry over the peaches
In a bowl whisk an egg gently with a fork, and then using a pastry brush the egg to glaze the fold of the pastry, sprinkle with the demerara sugar
Place in the hot oven and cook for 30-35mins
Whilst galette is cooking, heat up the peach juice to create a thick syrup, by heating in a small pan on high heat until it vigorously bubbles - let it bubble for 5-7 minutes, then remove from heat and leave to the side to cool slightly
Remove your galette from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes, then spoon over your syrup onto the peach centre, ensuring it is equally covered
Leave it to come to room temperature before eating
Make your mascarpone cream by whisking all the ingredients together for a few minutes, leave in a bowl
Serve your galette, by slicing it in segments like a pizza and serve with a cooling dollop of the mascarpone, yoghurt & orange cream
