TWD: Blackberry Nectarine Galette

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Amy of Michelle in Colorado Springs: Summer Fruit Galette. Having successfully made my very first homemade pie crust for the Double Crusted Blueberry Pie a few weeks ago, I went into this week's recipe with a little less trepidation.

A Galette is basically a single crust pie without the pie dish. You roll out your pie dough, add the fruit filling, then fold the edges of the crust towards the center to hold the filling in. It's a very simple, rustic dessert.


The beauty of this particular dessert is that you can fill this Galette with your favorite summer fruit, or whatever you have on hand. I decided to use blackberries and nectarines. Dorie suggests simply cutting the nectarines in half and placing them cut side down, but I didn't have enough nectarines to do this, so I simply used one half in the middle and then spread nectarine slices around it. I then filled in the gaps between the nectarine slices with blackberries. This ended up creating a sort of sunburst effect.


Dorie recommends two different elements to help soak up the fruit juices in this recipe: graham cracker crumbs and a custard drizzle. Instead of bread crumbs (what we used in the Blueberry Pie), graham cracker crumbs are spread along the bottom of this Galette to help absorb the fruit juices. Now I was a bit confused about the drizzle of custard that Dorie recommends for this Galette. At first, I had visions in my mind of a thick custard that was dolloped on top of the tart. Then I realized that I had misread the recipe instructions. It's basically an egg whisked together with some butter and sugar. Towards the end of baking, you drizzle it in between the nooks and crannies of the fruit - then stick it back in the oven to bake. I was initially worried that it would make the Galette terribly ugly, but while it did not enhance the appearance of the Galette, it did not make it look worse, in my opinion.


My absolute most favorite part of this Galette was the layer of ginger preserves at the bottom! I had never tried ginger preserves before, but they were fantastic with the fresh fruit! I used some Dundee Ginger Preserves I found at Central Market. I cringed a bit at the price ($8.00 for 16 ounces), but I'm so glad I did not opt for another type of preserve just to save money! I actually used 4 tablespoons of preserves instead of the 2-3 that Dorie recommends. It was the perfect complement to the fruit. What you will first notice when you bite into this Galette are the sweet and sour flavors from the fruit... then the sweet and spicy ginger hits your tongue, followed by the buttery and flaky pie crust. Mmmmm. Perfection.


I am not a huge fan of pies in general (except for apple crumb pie), but this has to be the best "pie" I have ever had. I will definitely be making this every summer. This recipe is really great for entertaining because you can make the pie dough ahead of time and freeze it. The actual assembly comes together in just minutes.


Thanks again to Michelle for choosing the Summer Fruit Galette. You challenged me to make my first Galette - and it was a success! Not only that, but I found another Dorie recipe that I am absolutely head over heels for! If you would like the recipe, you can find it here (with recipe tips here). Make sure you visit the TWD Blog Roll to see how everyone else enjoyed this rustic, summer treat.