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Pear Galette with Ginger

This Pear Galette with Ginger has all the elements of my ideal dessert; flaky crust, lightly sweetened fruit and a hint of spice.

pear galette with gingerWhen we go out to dinner I don’t often order dessert, but when I do it’s virtually always some type of pie or tart. And when I do order dessert, this is the type of dessert I hope for but rarely get. A flaky and crisp pastry crust with fruit that is lightly sweetened and has just a hint of spice for interesting flavor. The ginger-sugar highlights the fruit but doesn’t drown the pear flavor.

pear galette

A layer of bread crumbs will absorb the juices so the crust doesn’t get soggy

bartett pears

pear galette

If you have a pizza stone this is a great time to use it

Last week I baked a bunch of pies to celebrate “Pi Day“. With each pie crust I rolled I ended up with some dough scraps. Normally I’d use those scraps to make Pie Scrap Cookies, one of my family’s favorite treats. I had so many scraps that I bundled them together and used them to make this galette. Lesson here; don’t be afraid to use the dough scraps after making a pie. This dough is pretty forgiving.

pear galetteOnce again this recipe is not really a recipe, but a concept. You could make a galette using thinly sliced apples with a little cinnamon, or make a mixed berry galette. Since a galette bakes quickly the fruit mostly stays intact. So even soft fruits like berries can be baked into a galette without turning into mush. I use just enough sugar to enhance the fruit’s flavor, but not so much that is creates a saucy liquid. The bread crumbs will absorb juices so the tart doesn’t become soupy and fall apart when  you cut it.

pear galette If you own a pizza-stone, this is a great time to use it to create a nice crisp crust.

I use a tapered french rolling pin to roll all types of dough. I feel it has better control than a rolling pin with handles.

pear galette

Pear Galette with Ginger

Yield: 8 slices
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

The perfect easy to make pear treat.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Recipe pie crust 
  • 3 Tablespoons (1.5 oz, 40 grams) vanilla sugar (see note)
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 egg
  • 3 Ripe Pears (I like Bartletts)
  • 2 Tablespoons Panko or any unflavored bread crumbs

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. If you have a pizza stone preheat that in the oven at least an hour before baking.
  2. Roll the pie dough to a 14" round. Lightly sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour and fold into quarters. Wrap the dough and rest it in the refrigerator while the other ingredients are prepared.
  3. In a small bowl combine the vanilla sugar (see note) and ground ginger. In another bowl, whisk the egg to make egg wash. Peel, core and slice the pears into 1/2" thick slices.
  4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unfold. If you're baking on a pizza stone put the dough on a cornmeal-dusted wooden peel. If you are not using a pizza stone put the dough on a parchment lined half sheet pan.
  5. Sprinkle the dough with the bread crumbs, leaving a 1" border all around. Leaving a 1" border, arrange the pear slices in circles, pointing the narrow end of the pear towards the center. Sprinkle the ginger sugar over the pears, reserving about 2 teaspoons for the crust
  6. Bring the dough border over the edge of the fruit, folding over as necessary to form a neat circle. Brush the border with the egg wash and sprinkle with the reserved ginger sugar.
  7. Slide the tart onto the preheated stone or slide the sheet pan into the bottom rack of the oven.
  8. Bake until the crust is nicely browned and the fruit has softened a bit.
  9. To promote browning on the edges of the fruit you can turn the oven up to 400°F for the last few minutes of baking or run it under the broiler (be careful not to burn the crust!).
  10. Best served slightly warm or room temperature

Notes

If you don't have vanilla sugar you can either rub the seeds from 1/4 of a vanilla bean into the sugar or toss 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract with the pear slices before arranging them on the dough.

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