Berry season is upon us and there’s no better way to enjoy their sweetness, other than nibbling right out of the basket, than in a fruit pie. But fruit pies can be tricky to get the crust shaped just right. That’s why I prefer to bake galettes, the rustic version of pie, that is both easier to make and delightful to behold. There’s something so homey and comforting in the free-form creases of flaky dough that envelope the bubbling fruit center.
For this version I used 2 + pints of deep red organic strawberries from Frecker Farms. Oh, they are delicious! Make sure the berries are red to the top for sweetness, but still firm so that that they hold their shape when baked. I added a tablespoon of orange blossom syrup (can be purchased at Monsieur Marcel at The Original Farmers Market) as well as the zest of an orange to the fruit to give a bit of a citrus pop, which worked to deepen the strawberry flavor. If you don’t have orange blossom syrup, you can replace it with another fruit simple syrup, maple syrup or more sugar.
Please note that this recipe works well with any berries or a combination of berries or stone fruit and any combination of those. You can also use lemon zest or even tangerine zest. Have fun creating your favorite version of fruit pie as a galette. I guarantee you’ll be baking them all summer long.
Don’t be daunted by the steps involved. I wanted to give as many details as possible.
I like to serve the galette warm, as is, and enjoy the sweetness of the fruit and heavenly crust. Of course, add whipped cream or ice cream to your delight!
Cook’s Tips for Perfect Vegan Pie Crust:
- Miyokos European Style butter is fantastic and makes a perfect crust
- Freeze the butter for at least 15 minutes up to 30 before adding to the flour mixture
- Make the pie crust dough and refrigerate before turning on the oven to keep the kitchen cool
- Cover the dough with a sheet of plastic wrap to roll out, instead of flour
- Always roll dough from the center out to the edges
- Once dough is rolled out, chill for 15 minutes before adding fruit
Strawberry Orange Blossom Galette
Galette Crust
1 1/4 cups (150 grams) AP flour
2 tsp organic cane sugar
¼ tsp salt if using salted butter. Otherwise ½ tsp
4 oz. vegan butter (I used salted) chilled in freezer 15 minutes
4 T ice water
Fruit Filling
2 ½ pints strawberries
1 T orange blossom syrup or equivalent
4 T organic cane sugar
1 T orange zest
2 T cornstarch
1 T full fat plant milk
Turbinado or other coarse sugar
Extra orange blossom syrup
Wash and thoroughly dry the strawberries with the hulls intact. Set aside on a sheet pan to continue drying. Your fruit should be very dry so the galette interior isn’t runny when baked.
Make the crust:
Put the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Cut the chilled butter in small cubes and add to the processor, scattering over the flour. Pulse until the dough just comes together. For me, it was 20 pulses. Remove the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a disc. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. This is the time to preheat the oven to 400 degrees to get it to a good even temperature. Have the oven rack on the bottom shelf.
Roll out the crust:
Flour a clean surface and place the dough on top, unwrapped. Place the sheet of plastic wrap on top of the dough and roll out to a 12 inch circle, rolling from the center out. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and refrigerate while making the fruit.
Make the fruit filling:
Hull the strawberries. Slice lengthwise in thirds or quarters depending on size. Put in a large bowl. Add the orange blossom syrup, sugar and orange zest and toss to combine. Put the cornstarch in a fine mesh strainer and sift over the fruit. This will help prevent clumping. Stir it all up and let sit to thicken 10 minutes.
Make the Galette:
Remove the sheet pan with rolled out dough from the refrigerator. Spoon the strawberries with a slotted spoon in the center of the dough, leaving 2 inches of space to the edges, arranging to your liking. Drizzle one tablespoon of the leftover fruit juice from the bowl over the fruit. Discard the rest. Fold over portions of the crust to create the galette as pictured. It is quite easy. Brush the exposed crust with some of the plant milk. Sprinkle some turbinado sugar over the dampened crust. Bake about 35 minutes until the crust is browned and fruit bubbling. Remove from the oven and brush the berries with a bit more orange blossom syrup. This will give them a nice gloss. Let cool at least 15 minutes and then move to your serving plate. I used a metal pizza spatula. It worked great! Leftovers should be refrigerated and eaten within a few days.
