Fresh cherries get a sprinkling of Fairy Fig Dust in a rustic galette
By Cat Neville
Ripe, red cherries don’t need much adornment. In fact, I would argue that the summery fruit is best eaten straight from the stem, but when I recently received a packet of The Fig & The Knife’s Fairy Fig Dust, I knew that the spice blend was meant to mingle with cherries’ sweet-tart flavor.
Personally, I’m a fan of the galette, a rustic, free-form pie of sorts that is simple to make and a perfect platform for seasonal fruit. Rather than bubbling away in a pie shell, the fruit in a galette is spooned on its crust in a shallow layer and much of it is left open to the heat of the oven, allowing the fruit’s natural sugars to caramelize and giving the filling a complexity that standard pie can lack. There’s also a greater ratio of crust to filling in a galette, something I really like because I love the interplay of the texture and toasty flavor of crust against the sweet and soft fruit filling.
This recipe calls for brown sugar rather than plain white sugar, something that cuts the sweetness a bit and offers a molasses-y tinge to the crust and the filling, which is an ideal complement to the figs, dates, cardamom and ginger in chef Janette Gomez’s Fairy Fig Dust. She suggests adding this limited release blend to waffle batter or cookies, which is a great idea. Here, it’s stirred into the cherry filling and also sprinkled on the crust.
Use this recipe as a starting point to make a galette with any type of fruit. The crust is very easy to make and once you have the technique down, you can fill your galette with whatever fruit is in season, from apples in the fall to strawberries in spring.
Rustic Cherry Galette
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp brown sugar, divided
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg, beaten
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and cut in half
1 Tbsp cornstarch
juice of 1/2 lime
1 Tbsp Fairy Fig Dust from The Fig & The Knife, plus more for sprinkling
egg wash (1 egg, beaten, mixed with a bit of water or milk)
| Preparation | In a medium bowl, evenly mix the flour, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and salt and then add the cold butter, working the mixture with your fingers, breaking the butter down into the flour until it looks sandy and will hold together when squeezed. Add in the beaten egg and stir, then turn the dough out onto your counter and knead until smooth, about a minute or so. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap and put into the fridge to chill for about 30 to 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the pitted and halved cherries with remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar, cornstarch, lime juice and 1 tablespoon of the Fairy Fig Dust. Stir until everything is evenly incorporated.
Remove dough from fridge and dust counter and a rolling pin with a bit of flour. Roll dough to about 1/8-inch thick and 12-inchies around. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer dough to the sheet.
Spoon cherries in the middle of the dough, keeping 2 to 3 inches around the perimeter. Fold dough into the center, around the cherries, leaving much of the cherries exposed. Don’t worry about making the dough look perfect — just fold the dough up and allow the edges to be jagged.
Brush the galette with egg wash and sprinkle with the remaining Fairy Fig Dust. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, keeping an eye on the dough to make sure it becomes golden, but does not get too brown.
Allow to cool and serve with whipped cream, ice cream or just by itself. The galette will keep for a few days and makes a pretty perfect breakfast with strong coffee.