This Blackberry Galette with Hazelnut Frangipane taught me something. I love being in the kitchen with my hands in it up to my elbows.
The trouble is the kitchen has developed a reputation as thankless task-master. I recognize that not all kitchen chores are fun. I don’t like peeling garlic. Sometimes I have to look the other way when dealing with raw meat. I’d rather pay someone to clean my oven and no matter how hard I try and can’t keep the kitchen floor up to snuff.
But for every one of those tasks, there are two or three (or more) reasons why I love seeking refuge in the kitchen. This galette is proof.
It’s starts with the berries. Washing berries is a joy. They seem to relish it too. I’ve seen raspberries plump themselves proudly under running water. Blueberries roll around the bowl like a bunch of frolicking children on a playground. But blackberries are the best. When properly handled they take on a sheen and blush no fruit can match.
I love working with nuts too. I love the fragrance they take on when they’re toasting. I enjoy shaking them in the pan looking for that perfect moment of color. This recipe requires grinding the nuts which spreads that toasty fragrance all over the room. Once they are ground they’re mixed with sugar and butter and egg. When made with almonds this classic combination is called frangipane. It’s the sweet filling for traditional French apple or pear tarts and it’s what makes an almond croissant to addictive. I used hazelnuts in this version today. They have a distinct nutty taste and a certain sweetness that pairs well with the tart, shiny blackberries I washed.
But it’s the pastry in this recipe that brings me the greatest joy. Whether it’s used in pie, or in something more rustic and fundamental like this galette, I enjoy working with good pastry dough. However, I always fear that recipes make pie dough way too complicated. They often scare people off. Once you’ve made a few pies you won’t need a recipe. You’ll learn to recognize what makes dough work– because your climate, your kitchen, even your hands play a role in making great pie dough. You’ll learn that pastry is one of the kitchen’s simple pleasure.
Crisp, flaky and just salty enough. Creating a crust with “tooth” that melts instantly on your tongue is the key to any great pie (or galette). But differing opinions and confusing controversies abound. What combination or ratio is best? All-butter or all-shortening? Maybe lard is better? How about a 50–50 ratio of butter and shortening (or lard)? Then there’s the popular 70 percent butter to 30 percent shortening (or lard) version. Is that any good? Don’t get me started on solidified coconut oil. Well, I have tried them all. The all-butter crust remains my favorite for its rich, savory flavor. It has just 4 simple ingredients that are always on hand at my house. So in my opinion, this is the one to master.
But I’m not here to teach you to make pie dough. I just wanted to remind you that the kitchen can be a joyful place to work. I think this galette proves my point. GREG
Ingredients
- 1 pie dough (see recipes)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour plus more for rolling
- 1 cup hazelnuts toasted
- 4 teaspoon granulated sugar divided
- 5 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white
- 4 cup fresh blackberries
- 2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 large egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon water as egg wash
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
Directions
Prepare the Crust (see recipe here http://www.sippitysup.com/perfect-pie-crust): Divide dough in half, shape into 2 discs, one about 5‑inches and 1 about 6‑inches in diameter, both about 3/4‑inch thick. Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days), or freeze up to 1 month.
Use a lightly floured surface and a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out the larger disc of the chilled dough to about a 12 to 13-inch circle, a generous 1/8‑inch thick. Transfer it to a parchment-lined baking sheet then cover lightly with plastic wrap and chill at least 20 minutes or up to overnight. Save smaller disc for another use.
Prepare the hazelnut filling: Use a food processor to grind the hazelnuts into a coarse meal. Transfer the ground nuts to a stand mixer. Add 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons flour and all the butter; beat on medium high until smooth. Lower the speed and add the whole egg and the egg white. Cover and chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.)
Prepare the galette: Place oven rack in the center position and heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Toss the blackberries with the lemon juice and remaining 2 teaspoons granulated sugar. Set aside about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove the plastic from the rolled dough and spread hazelnut filling evenly over the center of the crust leaving about a 2‑inch border. Pile the blackberries on op of the hazelnut filling. Fold the exposed edge of dough over filling, pleating as needed to form a neat rounded package. Don’t worry too much about the shape, this is a free form pie. Also don’t try to make the dough meet in the middle. You want to leave the filling exposed. Brush pastry with some egg wash and sprinkle it with turbinado sugar.
Bake galette until the crust golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 55 minutes. Cool galette on rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
This brings back sooooo many memories because of the blackberries. My sister and I used to pick them on the sides of the dirt road leading to my grandparents’ farm. My grandmother would wash them and toss them with sugar, making almost a simple syrup with the slurry. If we got enough, she would make a pie. Sigh…
Like the new layout here, Greg.
Um, yum. I love galettes- one of my favorite “lazy” pie substitutes. And I mean lazy in a very positive way. I love it when the crust is flakey and melts in your mouth, as you say in your post. Divine.
Beautiful color on the crust! Let me tell *you* about kitchen floors :/ I hate to peel garlic too, until I found this tip. Put the cloves in the microwave for 15 seconds. Let them cool a bit (they’re HOT!) and the skins will slip right off.
I love being in the kitchen too — up to elbows in butter, sugar, and flour! This looks so tasty Greg! I am totally going to try it this weekend 🙂
I don’t think we’ve cleaned our oven since we moved into our house a few years ago so clearly, that task also lands on my “dislike” list. Baking, on the other hand, continues to have a solid spot on the “like” list. The only problem with this galette is I don’t think the hazelnut filling would last long enough to make it to the galette 🙂
Fresh berries are one of the most luxuriantly delicious ingredients. Thank you for the beautiful use of them in this recipe.
Hooray. I don’t have to think of a “subject.” I“m a blackberry fan all the way so this would be refuge for me too. And, I haven’ t cleaned my oven in years.
I wouldn’t have been able to describe how joyful it is to work in the kitchen as well as you have here. We dislike and love the same things. Galettes are one of my favorite things to make in the kitchen. This blackberry galette is beautiful and so is the new look of your site.
Che meravigliosa! Call it a free form tart, a galette, or a crostata. That looks fabulous. I always enjoy blackberries, particularly in baked goods. They are the most consistently sweet member of the berry family and dependably luscious. Bravo!
Point well taken Greg.It almost remind me that I have some blackberries in the freezer that I picked last summer.
Greg, I love that you don’t drown the berries in sugar! This is definitely my kind of dessert. And I agree — an all-butter crust is the way to go.
I am of the opinion that different pies require different crusts. Depends on the filling they are offsetting…that being said when I made the crust from your Savory Pies recipe my guests went mad for the plugra butter crust:)
I love frolicking blueberries! This is what I wish was for dessert in my house tonight. 🙂
Lovely post — I, too, am having a big crush on blackberries…