Plum, Peach, and Strawberry Galette

I've been dreaming of making a galette for a LONG time now. It's basically a free-form pie, created by the French. There is the classic "galette des Rois" which is "King Cake" during the time of Mardi Gras. But its interpretation is a bit different than the traditional galette. And actually, "gâteau" is the more used French term for cake, but again, this is a bit confusing subject here, huh? So for our purposes, we are focusing on the simple free-form pie with fruit filling. Say that 10 times fast!

Michael and I shared a Bountiful Basket with a neighbor couple last weekend and it was filled with lots of yummy fruit. So, I knew what I had to make this week in order to use it all. We had some beautiful saucer peaches, which if you've never seen them before, they look like little UFOs, but in white peach form. And we also had gorgeous black plums and strawberries that were aching to be paired with the peaches in this dessert.

I have to tell you about the photo taking process for this recipe, because there was a bit of chasing daylight and desperation associated with it. Thank goodness Utah doesn't get fully dark until about 10 p.m. in the summer time. Because it was 8:30 and I'm pulling this out of the oven, placing it on a cooling rack, and bringing it outside to our front porch in order to catch some Western sun that was still lingering. 

A couple of our neighbors walked by and I'm sure they though that was weird, but the weirdest part was when I cut a slice and took it outside to photograph on the electrical box that sits in the middle of our apartment buildings! Yep, I just laid a little piece of fabric down along with the plate, leaned against the box buzzing with electricity, and proceeded to take the last of my pictures. And, I'm proud to say that they came out not too bad considering the circumstances! The things we must do for our "art"!

Anyway, I digress...this is really such a tasty dessert and so easy to make. I love how some of the simplest things turn out to be the prettiest. I love the combo of peaches, plums, and strawberries and I'm pretty sure you will too. But don't be afraid to play with your own fruit combos here, that's why cobblers and galettes are so easy, you just throw a few basics together and the oven does the rest of the work. This is summer at it's finest my friends!

Plum, Peach, & Strawberry Galette
(dough recipe adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod)

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup coarse cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

1/3 cup buttermilk
 or "sour" milk
3 small plums
4 saucer peaches or 2 medium yellow peaches
5-6 strawberries
1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions:

1. To make the dough, combine flours, sugar, cornmeal, and salt in a processor; pulse 2-3 times. Add butter and pulse 4-5 times, or until mixture resembles coarse meal. With the processor running, slowing pour the buttermilk through the chute, processing until the dough forms a ball. Remove the dough ball and adhere any remaining pieces of dough to it, then wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes before rolling out.
2. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a sheet of wax paper long enough to make a 14-15-inch wide circle, then folded over. Fold was paper over dough, then, starting at the center of the dough, roll out, forming a 14-15-inch wide circle. Place the dough on a greased baking sheet. Arrange fruit in the middle of the galette dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold the border over the fruit, overlapping where necessary and pressing gently to adhere the folds.
4. Lightly brush the edge of the dough with the egg and sprinkle crust and fruit with granulated sugar.
5. Bake the galette for 45-50 minutes, or until the fruit is tender and the crust is golden brown. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool for at least 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with a little whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!

Makes 6-8 servings

Notes
- You can make the galette dough in advance. It will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days. 
- Trust me when I tell you to top this with whipped cream. It is a perfect pairing for the slight tartness of the fruits.
- I would suggest adding a little brown sugar and cinnamon to the fruit before placing it in the dough. I think those flavors mixed together would make it taste even yummier than it does.