Peach Galette.Stephanie Eddy/The Globe and Mail
Peaches are at their prime – so perfectly juicy and flavourful they don't need much to transform into a showstopper of a dessert. Just toss them on top of a flaky pastry base, bake and serve with whipped cream. I'd say it's easy as pie, but it's actually easier.
Stephanie Eddy, who writes about her baking exploits at clockworklemon.com, lives in Calgary.
Servings: One 9-inch galette
Ready Time: 2 hours and 5 minutes, including chilling time
CRUST
1 1/4 cup (180g) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp (13 g) sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (114 g) butter, chilled
3 to 4 tbsp cold water
FILLING
4 medium-sized ripe peaches
1/3 cup (67 g) sugar
1 tbsp, plus 1 tsp cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1 egg for brushing the pastry
Whipped cream to serve
Method
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar and salt. Cut the chilled butter into 1-inch cubes and add them to the bowl. Pulse until the mixture looks crumbly and there are no pieces of butter bigger than a pea. Gradually pulse in the cold water until the mixture still looks crumbly, but holds together when pinched.
Dump the crumbly mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap, cover with another piece of plastic wrap and firmly press into a disk. Place the disk in the fridge and allow to chill for at least 50 minutes (or up to two days).
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Once the dough has chilled, slice the peaches into 1/4- or 1/2-inch wedges, place in a bowl, and gently toss with the sugar, cornstarch and salt until coated. Set aside.
Place the unwrapped chilled disk of dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll it out to an 11-inch circle. Lay the dough on a baking tray and peel off the top layer of parchment paper. Arrange the peach slices in a single layer of concentric circles, leaving a two-inch border around the edges.
Fold the outer edges of the pastry over the peaches, overlapping the edges as you go. If there is peach juice left in the bowl, drizzle a couple of tablespoons of it over the fruit (but leave the rest behind to prevent a soggy crust). If your peaches are tart, sprinkle an additional tablespoon of sugar on top of the fruit.
Whisk the egg in a small bowl with a couple of drops of water and brush over the edges of the pastry. Bake at 375 F for 50 minutes or until the crust is golden and the fruit is bubbling.
Remove the tray from the oven and allow the tart to cool on the tray for 10 minutes. Then remove the galette from the tray by moving the entire piece of parchment paper onto a wire cooling rack. Cool the tart to room temperature and serve with whipped cream.