Piece of Pie: Pear Frangipane Galette

A rustic galette is a beautiful thing, and not hard to pull off. I made it this weekend since it’s still too early for the summer tarts I love so much. You could substitute Golden Delicious apples for the pears. Apples and pears both go wonderfully with almond, which is what frangipane is.

Pear Frangipane Galette
Print recipe only here

Makes one 10-inch galette, serving 10-12

You’ll need a basic pie dough or sweeter rustic tart dough. This is a free form (no pan) tart so you need a firmer dough than, say your typical pate sucree - just use a pie dough recipe and you'll be fine here. Anyway, make the dough and chill it well. Pull it out of the fridge and roll out a 14-inch circle of dough, trimming off the excess. Transfer the dough circle to a parchment-lined baking sheet and put it back in the fridge.

Next, make the frangipane.

Cream:

• 5 ounces almond paste (you’ll find it in a can in the baking aisle of most grocery stores.)
• 4 T softened unsalted butter
• ¼ cup sugar

Add and mix well:

• 1 ½ T dark rum (I like Meyer’s)
• 1 t almond extract
• 1 egg
• 1-2 T cinnamon sugar

Peel 4-5 ripe pears. Quarter, core and slice them lengthwise. Toss them with 1 T cinnamon sugar and the juice of half a lemon.

Remove the pie dough from the fridge and spread the frangipane over the dough, leaving a two-inch border. Arrange the pear slices on top in concentric circles or however you like. Then fold over the filling, pleating as you go. You could also make individual galettes using a five-inch dough circle and one half pear, sliced but kept in it's half shape.

Sprinkle the exposed dough with cinnamon sugar and toss back in the fridge or freezer for 15-30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375°

Bake the galette for about 30 minutes or until very nicely golden. Let cool for about 15-20 minutes before slicing.