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Blueberries are just so glorious. Their passionately deep purple colour combined with a surprisingly delicate flavour is almost hedonistic. Blueberry recipes need to take great care in finding flavour combinations that round off and celebrate the blueberry flavour without over- powering it. Lemon is a brave bed- fellow here but the quantities given balance well and the almond is subtle.
Galette is a French term for a flat, free form crusty or crumbly cake. This “open tart”, bursting with radiant summer flavours, is perfect for summer entertaining or to round off a picnic. You may like to serve it with cream or ice- cream but beware adding another flavour to the mix. Personally I prefer it unadorned.
This is easy- peasy to make and it’s always a pleasure to make something that doesn’t require the washing up of a cake tin! This is meant to look rustic. Please don’t spend ages folding and pleating- that would defeat the object.
We had a lovely walk and picnic today with some friends. Blackberries are late to come through this year, down here in Hampshire but today they were proudly nodding to us, beckoning the children to pick them (and squish them on their T- shirts it seems). I am sure that this recipe would also be wonderful with blackberries or even nectarines.
Ingredients
For the pastry:
200 g plain flour
140 g lightly salted butter
25 g golden caster sugar
Zest of 1 small lemon, finely grated
1 large egg yolk
For the filling:
75 g unsalted butter, softened
65 g golden caster sugar
75 g ground almonds
15 g plain flour
1 large egg
200 g blueberries
1 tbsp milk
2 tbsp demerara sugar
Tin
A baking sheet lined with baking parchment or a stoneware flat stone.
Oven
Pre- heat the oven to 190C (Fan 170C)/ Gas Mark 5
Method
1. To make the pastry, whizz the cold butter and flour together in a food processor until it is the consistency of fine bread crumbs (or use your fingers if you prefer the traditional “rubbing in” method or if you haven’t got a food processor).
2. Tip into a bowl and stir in the sugar and lemon zest. Use a knife to mix in the egg yolk and 1-2 tbsp of cold water until the mixture starts to come together. Finally use your hands to bring it all together until you have a ball of pastry with no little bits left in the bowl. Shape the pastry into a disc, wrap in cling film and then leave it to “rest” in the fridge whilst you make the filling.
3. In a clean bowl, use a food mixer or wooden spoon to beat the sugar and butter together. Add the flour and ground almonds and finally the egg, beating until you have a light, fluffy mixture.
4. Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll it out until you have an approximately 30 cm diameter circle.
5. Use a spoon to spread the almond filling onto the pastry in a circle. Leave a 5-6 cm border around the edge of the filling where the pastry is uncovered.
6. Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the almond mixture.
7. Fold up the edges of the pastry towards the centre, covering some of the almond mixture as shown in the picture.
8. Brush the pastry with milk and then sprinkle with the demerara sugar.
9. Bake in the centre of the oven for 25- 30 minutes until the berries are starting to burst and the pastry is golden, filling your home with the delicious scent of summer home- baking.
ScrummyWalks 