Apricot Galette Food

ONE-HOUR APRICOT AND ALMOND GALETTE

Steps:

• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 425°F. Pulse almonds and 1/3 cup sugar in a food processor until very finely ground. Add egg and pulse to combine. Add butter, almond extract (if using), vanilla extract, salt, and 1 Tbsp. flour; pulse until almond cream is smooth.
• Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface just to smooth out any creases.
• If you're using a package of pastry that has 2 sheets, stack and roll out to a 1/4"-1/8"-thick rectangle.
• If your package contains a single 16x10" sheet of puff pastry, halve it crosswise and roll out one half on a lightly floured surface until rectangle is 1/4"-1/8" thick; save remaining half for another use. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Fold over edges of pastry to make a 1/2" border around all sides. Prick surface all over with a fork (this keeps the pastry from rising too much when baked and helps it cook through). Spread almond cream over pastry, staying inside borders. (Chill dough in the freezer for a few minutes if it becomes too soft to work with.) Set apricots, cut sides up, on top of almond cream. Sprinkle lightly with sugar.
• Bake galette until pastry is golden brown and puffed, 15-20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and continue to bake until pastry is deep golden brown and cooked through and apricots are softened and browned in spots, 15-20 minutes longer.
• Do Ahead:
• Almond cream can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

THYME APRICOT GALETTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Combine 1.1 ounces pastry flour, ice water, vinegar, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a small bowl; stir with a fork until well blended to form a slurry. Set slurry aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the remaining pastry flour with the oat flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, almond flour, and salt. Stir mixture with a whisk until well sifted.
• Cut in butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender (or 2 butter knives or a food processor) until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Add the slurry to the flour and butter mixture; stirring just until moist.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 5 times. Gently press dough into a 4-inch circle on heavy-duty plastic wrap.
• Cover with additional plastic wrap. Carefully roll dough into a 14-inch circle; freeze for 10 minutes.
• Remove dough from freezer; remove top sheet of plastic wrap. Let stand 1 minute or until pliable.
• Place dough, plastic wrap side up, onto a baking sheet (I used a pizza stone) lined with parchment paper; remove remaining plastic wrap.
• Combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons sugar; sprinkle over dough, leaving a 2-inch border.
• Leaving a 2 inch border around the edges of the dough, arrange apricots spoke-like on top of cornstarch mixture, sprinkling thyme leaves throughout.
• Then, fold the edges of dough over apricots (dough will only partially cover apricots).
• Combine jam, 1/8 teaspoon almond extract, and honey in a small microwave-safe bowl; microwave on HIGH 45 seconds.
• Brush jam mixture over apricots and dough edges. Sprinkle with remaining sugar.
• Bake at 400° for 35 minutes or until crust browns. Remove from oven; sprinkle with thyme. Cool 10 minutes.
• I served with a dollop of almond whipped cream (just added a little bit of almond extract when making the whipped cream - delicious!).

APRICOT-PLUM GALETTE WITH CREAM CHEESE AND PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the puff pastry into a 12-inch square on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate, 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Combine the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the egg, lemon zest and nutmeg in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Toss the fruit in a medium bowl with the apricot preserves and the remaining 1 tablespoon flour and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
• Spread the cream cheese mixture over the puff pastry, leaving a 3-inch border. Top with the fruit mixture. Fold the edge of the pastry over the fruit by about 2 inches, pleating as needed to make a circle. Lightly beat the egg with 1 teaspoon water. Brush the puff pastry with the egg wash. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Scatter the butter over the fruit. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes, sprinkling the pistachios over the fruit during the last 15 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet. Dust the crust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

SUMMER FRUIT CROSTATA

Steps:

• For the pastry:
• Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and toss quickly (and carefully!) with your fingers to coat each cube of butter with the flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board, roll it into a ball, cut in half, and form into 2 flat disks. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. If you only need 1 disk of dough The other disk of dough can be frozen.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to the baking sheet.
• For the pastry (makes 2 crostatas) .
• For the filling:
• Cut the peaches and plums in wedges and place them in a bowl with the blueberries. Toss them with 1 tablespoon of the flour, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the orange zest, and the orange juice. Place the mixed fruit on the dough circle, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.
• Combine the 1/4 cup flour, the 1/4 cup sugar, and the salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts to hold together. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Gently fold the border of the pastry over the fruit, pleating it to make an edge.
• Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the fruit is tender. Let the crostata cool for 5 minutes, then use 2 large spatulas to transfer it to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

PEACH GALETTE WITH BROWN SUGAR CRUST

Steps:

• To make the pastry, put the flour, butter and sugar in the bowl of food processor and pulse until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and 1 tbsp cold water, then pulse again until it forms a ball. Wrap and chill for 30 mins.
• For the frangipane, beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, add the egg, whisk again, then fold in the ground almonds to make a paste. Cut the peaches into thin slices, then toss in a bowl with the lemon juice, cornflour, vanilla and icing sugar. Mix gently until the fruit is coated and the cornflour dissolved. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and heat a large baking sheet on the middle shelf.
• Roll the pastry out in between two pieces of baking parchment to a large disc about 5mm thick and 35cm in diameter. Remove the top layer of parchment, draw a 30cm circle onto it, cut it out, and use as a template to cut out a disc of pastry, or roughly trim the pastry into a circle by eye for a more rustic look.
• Smooth the frangipane over the middle of the pastry with a spatula, leaving a 5cm border around the edge. Arrange the peach slices over the top in a pattern, either in a circle or little fans of fruit.
• Fold in the edges of the pastry to slightly overlap the fruit. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle over the demerara, then transfer to the hot baking sheet using the parchment.
• Bake for 30-35 mins until the pastry is golden and the fruit looks soft. Leave to cool to room temperature. Heat the jam in the microwave for a few seconds, or in a small pan until warm and runny, then use to glaze the fruit. Serve with thick cream or ice cream.