Pear & frangipane galette
I’ve made something similar in the past with plums and pistachio frangipane I think, but this was a whim of a bake. I went to Queen Victoria market here in Melbourne with no plan. Once I got there, there was an overwhelming amount of fruit and vegetables!. Going into fall here is very confusing for my North American wired brain, I have no idea what’s suppose to be in season, but I stumbled across some giant ass pears with the cute little leaves still attached, so I grab some and knew they were going into a galette. I didn’t want it to be super basic so I added a frangipane layer to pump up the flavour and give it a cozy fall vibe. Long story short I winged it.
The pastry is so tender, buttery, flaky, but strong, while the frangipane give off a rich nutty vibe, all tied together by the sweet delicate pears. Strong start to the fall baking season!.
Pastry
200g flour
1 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
140g cold, cubed salted butter
7-8 tbsp cold water
Frangipane
75g soft butter
75g sugar
75g almond flour/meal
10g flour
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract
pinch of salt
Pears
2 large pears, peeled, thinly sliced
3-4 heaping tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
Method
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter cubes and by using your fingers squish the butter into little discs, until there are no solid chunks of butter left. Add 7 tbsp of water, using a butter knife you basically want to cut the water into the flour, gently stirring it until a shaggy dough forms (If the dough looks too wet add in the extra tbsp of water). Shape the dough into a disc and wrap it up in cling film, leave the dough to chill in the fridge for about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 375F.
While the dough is chilling you can make the frangipane. In a large bowl combine all the frangipane ingredients, stir with a wooden spoon until a homogeneous paste forms. Set aside for later.
Toss the sliced pears, brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a bowl until the pears are evenly coated. Set aside.
Once the dough has chilled, lightly flour a clean work surface and roll out the dough to a large circle (i’m not going to give measurement cause it’s just home baking, its not that deep) but you want it as thick as a 1 pound coin, or two loonies stacks on top of each other.
Transfer the rolled out dough to a large piece of parchment paper, spread an even layer of frangipane across the pastry leaving about a 2 inch board around the edges, basically large enough for it to fold over like in the pictures.
Place the pears directly on top of the frangipane, creating an even layer, then fold the pastry edges over top to create a nice little package with a exposed surface.
Slide the parchment paper onto a baking tray, egg wash the exposed pastry and sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown :)
